March 7, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins right winger David Pastrnak (88) and Washington Capitals defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk (57) clash over the puck in the third period at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Image The struggle to prepare the offense took a huge step forward as the Boston Bruins saw their 13-game home winning streak come to a halt.
The Bruins will look for a better run to end a seven-game losing streak (0-3-4) against the Washington Capitals on Saturday afternoon.
The Capitals halted the Buffalo Sabres’ eight-game winning streak with a 2-1 win on Thursday. That moved Washington to within five points of Boston for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Coming off a 3-1 win over the Capitals last Saturday, the Bruins went on the road the next day and dropped a 5-4 overtime decision to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Boston agreed to split its next two games, including Thursday’s 4-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks, which was the team’s first home loss since Dec. 23.
“We were just looking for that one goal, which I think hasn’t happened in probably too long,” Bruins coach Marco Sturm said after his team gave up the first four goals of the game in a recent loss. “Today was just a little bit easy. We weren’t sharp and they had the advantage. We had our chances early but couldn’t score. That’s how hockey is played.”
Boston defenseman Hampus Lindholm didn’t allow himself to get too down after the loss.
“There’s a lot of faith in this group,” Lindholm said. “I think we have some really good production and great players, and like I said, we’ve been playing good hockey all year. We’ve got to continue to do that here on the road.”
Hours after his wife Rebecca gave birth to their daughter, David Pastrnak recorded a goal and an assist against the Sharks, extending his point streak to four games (two goals, four assists). He has one goal and four more in two games against the Capitals this season. The two goals made it 3-1 Bruins.
Pastrnak leads Boston in assists (54) and points (78). Morgan Geekie, who leads the Bruins in goals with a career-high 34, had a goal and an assist in Boston’s win over Washington on Oct. 8.
Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun has recorded an assist in each game against the Bruins this season. He scored the go-ahead goal with 1:33 left in Game 3 against Buffalo on Thursday.
Ryan Leonard scored for the third straight game Thursday and Charlie Lindgren made 29 saves for Washington.
“Before the game we talked about determination and character,” Lindgren said. “We know where we are in the standings now. Our backs are against the wall. One thing I know about the Washington Capitals is that we won’t give up. We’re going to keep fighting and we showed it (Thursday). Thank you to the guys in front of me. I thought they did a great job until the last minute.”
Aliaksey Protas recorded an assist in the first meeting with Boston and scored the team’s lone goal in the rematch.
Tom Wilson, who scored in his first meeting with the Bruins, joins superstar captain Alex Ovechkin for the team lead with 24 goals.
–Field level media
