Photo by Steve Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images
The Washington Capitals blanked the Boston Bruins by a score of 3-0 on Saturday afternoon in the first meeting between the two teams this season. Washington improved to 23-20-7 (.530 points percentage) and ended a six-game losing streak (0-5-1). Goaltender Charlie Lindgren made 18 saves.
Washington’s Lines
Alex Ovechkin — Dylan Strome — T.J. Oshie
Aliaksei Protas — Connor McMichael — Anthony Mantha
Max Pacioretty — Michael Sgarbossa — Tom Wilson
Beck Malenstyn — Nic Dowd — Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Martin Fehervary — John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin — Nick Jensen
Joel Edmundson — Ethan Bear
Lindgren
Darcy Kuemper
Scratched: D Alexander Alexeyev, RW Matthew Phillips
Injured: D Trevor Van Riemsdyk (illness), C Nicklas Backstrom (hip), RW Sonny Milano (upper-body), C Evgeny Kuznetsov (NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program)
Pacioretty played his 15th game of the campaign, earning him his next games played performance bonus worth $500,000 (which will go against next season’s salary cap).
Boston’s Lines
Brad Marchand — Charlie Coyle — Jake DeBrusk
James Van Riemsdyk — Pavel Zacha — David Pastrnak
Jakob Lauko — Morgan Geekie — Trent Frederic
Anthony Richard — Danton Heinen — Jesper Boqvist
Matt Grzelyck — Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm — Brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort — Parker Wotherspoon
Jeremy Swayman
Linus Ullmark
Scratched: D Kevin Shattenkirk, C Oskar Steen
Injured: N/A
Marchand appeared in the 999th game of his NHL career.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring
N/A
Grzelyck was ejected for spearing Pacioretty, who left the ice, at 18:13.
Matt Grzelcyk gets a 5-minute major and game misconduct for spearing Max Pacioretty.
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) February 10, 2024
Shots: 14-4 Washington
Other Notable Stats: 14-11 Boston in hits, 7-2 Boston in blocked shots, Washington had two power plays (one of which continued to the second period)
SECOND PERIOD
Pacioretty would return to the game to start the period.
Scoring
1:05, 1-0 Washington (PPG): Oshie ripped a wrister from the slot past the glove of Swayman to finish off a triangulation passing play between him, Pacioretty (who was at the goal line), and McMichael (right half-wall). The goal marked Oshie’s 189th as a Capital, passing Bobby Carpenter for ninth place on the franchise’s all-time goals list, and the 299th of his NHL career. Since his Capitals’ debut on Jan. 3, Pacioretty’s seven assists rank third on Washington (Carlson, Ovechkin: eight assists each).
#ALLCAPS 1-0. OSHIE PP GOAL pic.twitter.com/VhGVp5xBnZ
— Capitals Replays (@capsreplays) February 10, 2024
Shots: 23-8 Washington (including 8-4 in the second)
Other Notable Stats: 67% Washington in faceoffs, Washington scored once on three power plays, 27-19 Boston in hits, 9-6 Boston in blocked shots
Screenshot: Natural StatTrick
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring
3:27, 2-0: Strome wristed one over the blocker of Swayman in front after getting a saucer pass from Ovechkin on a two-on-one rush. Strome hit the 20-goal mark for the third straight season. Ovechkin has three goals and six points during a five-game point-streak.
Dylan Strome with a snapshot goal on the 2 on 1! #ALLCAPS 2-0 #NHLBruins.
— MXHockey (@_MXHockey) February 10, 2024
19:33, 3-0: Ovechkin broke up a pass, banked the puck off of the wall, raced to it, took it to the net, and extended his goal-scoring streak to three games. The goal broke the NHL record for most empty-betters (57). Ovechkin has now scored in four-straight games and has tallied 15 points (six goals) in his last 14 contests. With a goal and assist this afternoon, Ovechkin recorded his eighth multi-point game of the season and the 425th of his career. Ovechkin’s 425 career multi-point games are the second most among active players (Sidney Crosby: 458).
8️⃣3️⃣4️⃣ pic.twitter.com/fwPQ11txse
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) February 10, 2024
Shots: 28-18 Washington (10-5 Boston in the third)
Other Notable Stats: 34-30 Boston in hits, 12-11 Washington in blocked shots, Boston went scoreless on four power plays
The Toronto Maple Leafs are now the only team that has yet to be shut out this season after Boston was on Saturday.
Standings
Washington is currently seven points behind the Philadelphia Flyers (with two games in hand) for third place in the Metropolitan Division in addition to being six back of the Tampa Bay Lightning (three) and seven behind the Detroit Red Wings (one) for wild-card spots.
Next game: Sunday vs. Vancouver Canucks (1:30 PM ET, Monumental Sports Network in-market, ESPN+ out-of-market)
By Harrison Brown
