Three third period goals from the Bruins powered them to a 4-1 win over the Capitals on Monday night at the TD Garden.
Two teams that were 7-2-1 in their last 10 games met at the TD Garden on Monday night in the final game before the three-day NHL holiday break. The Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals hooked up in the first of three meetings and in a slugfest the Bruins ended up winning after scoring three goals in the final 20 minutes to break a 1-1 tie.
The win came at a cost for the Bruins who lost David Pastrnak to an injury in the second period. Now whether he suffered the upper-body injury on contact with Tom Wilson or not remains to be seen. It could have been something he had been dealing with before this game. With that said, here are three takeaways from the Bruins' win that keeps them in third place in the Atlantic Division after their fifth straight win on home ice.
Bruins penalty kill came up huge
Ten seconds into the third period, Oliver Wahlstrom, playing just his second game at the TD Garden since being claimed on waivers, was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for a hit on Capitals defenseman Matin Fehervary. Already minus Pastrnak, that left the Black and Gold with 10 forwards for the rest of the game.
To the Bruins credit, they allowed just one shot during the major and it gave them much-needed momentum for the rest of the period. The game was tied 1-1 and with it being early in the period, you're thinking just allow one and you're still in it. They did even better, with no goals on one shot.
Brad Marchand & Elias Lindholm stay on a heater
Don't look now, but Elias Lindholm is starting to produce and it's coming from getting more time with Brad Marchand. Tied 1-1 late in the third period, Marchand and Lindholm had a 2-on-1 break and Boston's captain made a pass to his first-year teammate who deeked Capitals' goalie Charlie Lindgren and buried the game-winner on a backhander. It was Lindholm's third goal in his last five games.
A couple of shifts later, Lindholm/Marchand/ Charlie Coyle gave the Black and Gold a two-goal lead when Coyle knocked home Marchand's shot that hit the post and went to the Bruins' new right wing on that line. Marchand sealed the win with an empty-net goal with just over a minute left and now he has a 10-game point streak going.
Justin Brazeau power play producer
Don't look now, but the Bruins have gone back-to-back games with power-play goals. After Morgan Geekie scored the game-winner against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night on the man advantage, Boston's second power-play unit cashed in during the first period.
Justin Brazeau was camped out in front of Lindgren and was able to score off a rebound for a 1-0 lead. After struggling to begin the season, Brazeau has become an important piece of the second unit producing goals. If the Bruins power play was ever able to turn it around, that would be a bonus for them.
Not to be overlooked, Jeremy Swayman made 10 saves for the win. Yes, you read that right, 10 saves over 60 minutes, which included a five-minute major penalty kill. Numbers you don't see combined often. The Bruins did a nice job all night long blocking shots and keeping Washington to the outside. It was a defensive clinic by Sacco's team, who will return to the ice on Friday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets on the road to begin a home-and-home 24 hours apart.
