BOSTON (AP) — Elias Lindholm scored with 6:19 left to break a third-period tie, and the Boston Bruins killed a five-minute penalty without allowing a shot on goal on Monday night to beat the Washington Capitals 4-1.
It was 1-1 when Charlie Coyle made a long clearing pass to Lindholm and he slid it over to Brad Marchand at the blue line to start a two-on-one. Marchand passed it back, Lindholm faked goalie Charlie Lindgren to the ice and then backhanded it into the net to make it 2-1.
Coyle made it 3-1 two minutes later, and Marchand added an empty-netter. Justin Brazeau also scored and Jeremy Swayman made 10 saves for the Bruins, who won for the fourth time in five games and improved to 11-4-1 since Joe Sacco replaced Jim Montgomery on the bench.
Jakub Vrana scored and Lindgren stopped 18 shots for the Capitals, who came into the day leading the Eastern Conference, and have lost three of their last six games.
Capitals: Are 10-6 since Alexander Ovechkin broke his leg on Nov. 18.
Bruins: Forward and leading scorer David Pastrnak seemed to tweak something in the second period. He returned to the ice for a short time but then went to the locker room and was ruled out with an unspecified upper-body injury.
Ten seconds into the third period, Bruins forward Oliver Wahlstrom was sent off with a game misconduct and five-minute major when he pushed Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary head-first into the boards. Washington did not get a shot on goal during the power play.
The Capitals had a season-low 11 shots on goal.
The Capitals visit Toronto and Detroit on Saturday and Sunday before returning home to host the Bruins on New Year’s Eve.
The Bruins are in Columbus on Friday for the first leg of a home-and-home before heading to Washington.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl