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BOSTON (AP) — Tuukka Rask got the first win of his career against Washington, Gregory Campbell and Loui Eriksson scored second-period goals and the Boston Bruins beat the Capitals 3-0 on Thursday night.
Rask's sixth shutout of the season and 22nd of his career came just five days after the Capitals beat him 4-2, also in Boston. But since then Washington is 0-3 and Boston is 3-0.
Rask was 0-3-3 against the Capitals, but was rarely challenged on Thursday when his teammates' tight checking limited Washington's opportunities. Capitals goalie Braden Holtby suffered his first loss against the Bruins after winning the first four matchups of his career.
Boston finished the scoring on Brad Marchand's empty-net goal with 1:34 left.
The Bruins were aggressive throughout, regularly beating the Capitals to the puck, and had a 43-16 advantage in shots. Washington has lost all its games since winning four in a row as its bid to climb into the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference has stalled. It lost to Philadelphia twice, 5-4 in overtime then 6-4, before getting blanked by Boston.
The loss was the second in two nights for Holtby, who left after Philadelphia took a 4-0 lead early in the second period Wednesday and was replaced by Philipp Grubauer.
Boston didn't even have to worry about Washington's power play, the second best in the NHL. No penalties were called in the game.
Campbell gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 3:05 of the second period when he tipped in Patrice Bergeron's shot. Bergeron fired the puck from the top of the left circle and Campbell, standing just to the right of Holtby, deflected it in for his seventh goal of the season.
Eriksson got his seventh at 8:20 after missing one game with an infected heel that he said he sustained at the Winter Olympics in Russia where he played for Sweden. Carl Soderberg passed the puck from behind the net to Eriksson, whose short shot from the left side beat Holtby.
That was more than enough for the Bruins, who gave the Capitals little room to operate. Alex Ovechkin, who leads the NHL with 44 goals, had just one shot through two periods after scoring two power-play goals in Washington's win in Boston last Saturday. The Capitals took 31 shots in that game, while Holtby stopped 36 of the Bruins' 38 shots.
NOTES: Washington D Cameron Schilling played after being recalled from Hershey of the AHL on Wednesday. ... Boston D Andrej Meszaros and Corey Potter were healthy scratches one day after being acquired. Meszaros came in a trade with Philadelphia and Potter was claimed on waivers from Edmonton. ... Mark Recchi, a forward on the Bruins team that won the 2011 Stanley Cup, dropped the ceremonial first puck. ... Rask played in his 46th game, a new season high. ... G Jaroslav Halak, obtained from Buffalo on Wednesday, did not play for Washington.
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