Boston Bruins: 3 Studs Against the Capitals

The Boston Bruins had their four-game winning streak snapped Saturday night with a 4-3 overtime loss to Zdeno Chara and the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena.

Trailing 3-0 late in the second period, the Bruins were able to rally and grab one point by scoring a goal at the end of the second period and two more in the third, before Alex Ovechkin does what Alex Ovechkin does and ended the game 28 seconds into overtime with a nasty wrist shot.

Despite losing, the Bruins played very well and even outplayed the Caps for a good chunk of the game. Here are three studs that stuck out for the Black and Gold.

1. Charlie McAvoy

This might surprise some people, but without McAvoy’s play in the third period, the Bruins fail to get a point in what would have been dealing a frustrating regulation loss.

Trailing 3-1 in the third period, Patrice Bergeron won a faceoff in the Capitals zone to McAvoy, who took the puck deep behind the Washington net and set up Brad Marchand for a goal to cut the deficit to 3-2. In the final minute of regulation and the Bruins buzzing in the Caps end, McAvoy pounced on a loose puck in the slot and scored his first goal of the season to tie the game.

McAvoy was once against a workhorse for Boston by leading the team with time-on-ice at 23:53.

2. Patrice Bergeron

The Bruins new captain had a big hand in the Bruins rallying to gain one point in the standings as he assisted on all three Boston goals. Bergeron won 63-percent of his faceoffs, which included one early in the third period following a Caps icing that set up Marchand’s goal to cut the deficit to 3-2.

Playing just under 18 minutes, Bergy was active in front of the Capitals net and did some grunt work in setting up the first and third goals of the game for Boston.

3. Brad Marchand

Marchand had a little more in his game Saturday night as he and Bergeron reunited with Pastrnak and he scored his fifth goal of the season early in the third period to bring the Bruins within a goal.

Creating several scoring opportunities for the line, Marchand had six shots on net and fired another four that missed. He led the Bruins with nearly six minutes of ice time on the power play and was on the ice for all three goals Boston scored creating opportunities for his teammates.

The Bruins were able to rally from a three-goal deficit to secure a point on the road by the performances of their top three players to begin the season.