John Carlson scored the tiebreaking goal and added one assist, while teammate T.J. Oshie added two goals as the Washington Capitals defeated the visiting Boston Bruins 3-2 Wednesday night.
Carlson came through for Washington after the Bruins had tied the score early in the third period. He fired a high shot past goalie Jaroslav Halak at the 4:42 mark that gave the Capitals a 3-2 lead and eventually the win.
This victory continues the Capitals' recent string of success against Boston. Washington now is 16-1-0 in its last 17 games versus the Bruins.
The Capitals became the first team in the NHL to go over 50 points, with 51 through 33 games.
Goalie Braden Holtby continued his career-long string of success against Boston, improving to 18-3-0. He finished with 30 saves, as the Bruins held a 32-25 advantage in shots.
The Capitals have won seven of their last eight, while Boston slipped to 0-3-1 in its past four games since winning eight in a row.
David Pastrnak gave the Bruins an early 1-0 lead when he fired a shot past Holtby from the short side 9:36 into the game.
Patrice Bergeron appeared to give Boston a two-goal lead later in the period, but the Capitals challenged it for offsides, and the officials wiped out the goal.
Washington then took the lead thanks to two Oshie goals in the second period. The first one came on a power play at the 4:35 mark, when Oshie got the rebound of his own shot that banged off the crossbar and put it past Halak.
The Capitals then took a 2-1 lead when Oshie made a few quick moves past Bruin defenders and then put a backhander by Halak at 8:05.
Boston tied it when Sean Kuraly deflected a Torey Krug shot past Holtby 2:53 into the third period. Carlson notched the game-winning goal less than two minutes later.
Halak finished with 22 saves.
--Field Level Media
