Nicklas Backstrom and Garnet Hathaway scored a goal apiece to lead the Washington Capitals past the host Boston Bruins 2-1 Saturday in both teams’ first game following the All-Star break.
Washington earned its first regulation win since Jan. 19 but has won three of its last four games.
Hathaway’s game-winning goal came in the second period. He has tallied in two straight contests for the first time this season.
Washington’s Darcy Kuemper made 27 saves, stopping all 10 shots he faced in the third period.
A late penalty gave Boston a 6-on-4 advantage for the final 25.5 seconds with goaltender Jeremy Swayman pulled.
Nick Foligno scored and Swayman made 21 saves for Boston, which is 2-3-1 in a six-game span. Swayman had gone 7-0-3 in his previous 10 starts, but it was his first action since Jan. 28.
Boston had a 28-23 advantage in shots on goal.
The opening 5:48 featured five penalties called between the two teams, and Washington took a 1-0 lead on Backstrom’s 5-on-3 goal at the 6:28 mark. After Marcus Johansson took the initial whack just outside Swayman’s crease, Backstrom finished at the right side.
Boston picked up its pace as the period closed, but the score was still 1-0 at the intermission as Kuemper made an impressive stick save on Nick Foligno with less than six minutes to play.
The Washington stopper kept the one-goal margin halfway through the middle period, denying Brad Marchand’s wrister from the right circle after a brilliant backhand feed by Charlie McAvoy.
Hathaway doubled the Washington lead at 11:40, keeping the puck in at the blue line after a failed clear before stepping into the high slot for a wrister that beat Swayman high.
Just after Taylor Hall’s forecheck broke up a potential odd-man rush, the Bruins cut their deficit to 2-1 when Foligno corralled a bouncing puck behind the net and tucked it under Kuemper’s pad with 3:26 remaining.
The Bruins could not capitalize on a power play midway through the third, with Kuemper stopping a Bergeron one-timer from the bumper. Boston finished 0-for-4 on the man advantage.
–Field Level Media