3 Bruins takeaways from pivotal win over Capitals after quiet trade deadline

One day after general manager Don Sweeney stood pat at the NHL trade deadline, the Boston Bruins hit the ice on Saturday afternoon at the TD Garden for a key Eastern Conference battle with the Washington Capitals. The Caps began the day four points behind the Black and Gold for the final wild-card spot in the East, while the Columbus Blue Jackets, who upgraded at the deadline, were just one point behind.

Columbus plays on Saturday night, but in the afternoon, the Bruins broke a 1-1 third-period tie with a pair of goals to pick up a valuable two points in regulation against the Capitals. There is no rest for Marco Sturm's crew, who will visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday afternoon. They will be without Evgeni Malkin after he was suspended for five games. Here are three takeaways after Boston won their 12th straight game at the TD Garden.

Bruins power play still struggles

Sure, unless the Bruins find a way to get points on the road, they'll likely miss the playoffs. However, if they can't start to find more consistency on their power play, well, that might make it too difficult to get in. Against Washington, they went 1-for-6, with a Pavel Zacha goal being the only strike.

That goal was batted in out of the air, which is how Boston has to score their goals now, dirty and lucky goals. One good sign was that David Pastrnak shot the puck more on the power play, but they need to find a way to put more pucks in the net on the man advantage. It's something that can go a long way toward their having success.

Bruins dominate, yet survive third period

Viktor Avridsson, who many thought might be traded at the deadline on an expiring contract, but Sweeney held onto him, broke the tie on a breakaway in the final period. Boston shot the Capitals, 8-7, but had the territorial advantage. They just couldn't build on the lead. It nearly cost them.

In the second half of the period, the Bruins hung on for dear life, which isn't something they want to do. Jeremy Swayman made some big saves to keep the lead, but the Black and Gold kept icing the puck. They survived it when Elias Lindholm scored with 23 seconds left in an empty net. They have to do a better job late in games of tilting the ice with a lead.

Bruins penalty kill came up big

As bad as the power play is struggling, the penalty kill bounced back from a hiccup against the Nashville Predators on Thursday night with a perfect 3-for-3 against the Capitals. Granted, Washington was missing some key pieces to the lineup, but they still have a formidable power play with Alex Ovechkin and Tom Wilson on it. Again, Swayman came up with some big saves, including on Wilson in the first period from point-blank range in the slot.

Boston did what they needed to do; they got two points against a team that sold some pieces at the deadline. Now, they'll have another opportunity to pick up two points against a shorthanded team in Pittsburgh on Sunday with both Malkin and Sidney Crosby out of the lineup. Anything short of two points would be a disappointment, but we've seen this scenario play out too many times lately.