National Hockey League
Boston 4, Washington 3
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, January 20, 2022
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Referees: Kendrick Nicholson, Kyle Rehman
Linesmen: David Brisebois, Bevan Mills
Attendance: 17850

Charlie McAvoy scored a power-play goal with 45 seconds left in the third period to lift the Boston Bruins to a 4-3 win against the visiting Washington Capitals on Thursday night.

David Pastrnak scored two goals, Jake DeBrusk also scored, and Linus Ullmark made 14 saves for his seventh straight win as a starter for the Bruins, who have won six of the past seven.

Evgeny Kuznetsov, Lars Eller and Nicklas Backstrom scored, and Vitek Vanecek made 29 saves for the Capitals, who lost to the Bruins 7-3 on Jan. 10.

The Bruins took a 3-2 lead at 9:41 of the third period when a centering pass by DeBrusk went off the sticks of both Vanecek and Kuznetsov and slightly across the goal line for his sixth goal of the season.

Backstrom answered 36 seconds later with a goal to tie it 3-3.

Kuznetsov scored from the bottom of the left circle to give the Capitals a 1-0 lead at 4:07 of the first period.

Boston scored on its first shot of the game to tie the score 1-1 at 4:57 of the first.

Pastrnak left the puck for a trailing Taylor Hall, and he took a wrist shot from the top of the right circle. The puck hit traffic and banked to Pastrnak, who scored into the open side of the net.

Pastrnak got loose on a breakaway and stuffed the puck under Vanecek's outstretched left hand to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead at 8:37 of the second period.

The Capitals tied it 2-2 at 16:12 of the second period when Eller's wrist shot from the left faceoff dot went off Ullmark's glove and into the net.

Brad Marchand -- who leads the Bruins in goals (20), assists (23) and points (43) -- sustained an upper-body injury in the second period and did not return.

Boston forward Anton Blidh and Washington defenseman Nick Jensen also left the game with injuries and did not return.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Washington   Boston
Nicklas Backstrom 1 Points David Pastrnak 2
Nicklas Backstrom 1 Goals David Pastrnak 2
Connor McMichael 1 Assists Erik Haula 2
N/A Power Play Goals David Pastrnak 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Vitek Vanecek .879 Save Percentage Linus Ullmark .824
Vitek Vanecek 29 Saves Linus Ullmark 14
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Washington 17 3 0-4 1-3 6 25
Boston 33 4 2-3 4-4 8 31
Upcoming Games
  • Boston will play their next game at home against Winnipeg. The Bruins have a W/L % of .474 after a win and .800 after a loss.
  • Washington will play their next game at home against Ottawa. The Capitals have a W/L % of .435 after a win and .667 after a loss.