Wilson gets 2 goals; Capitals beat Bruins 3-2

BOSTON — Tom Wilson got his first two goals of the season, and then joked about the one that got away.

"I think the third would have been the best," he said, breaking into a smile after the Washington Capitals continued their recent success against the Boston Bruins with a 3-2 victory on Saturday night.

"I think he got a skate blade on it or something," he said about a clean look in the third.

Alex Ovechkin also scored for the Capitals, who have won their last 10 meetings against the Bruins, including two in overtime. Braden Holtby made 31 saves while improving to 12-2 against Boston for his career.

"We weren't happy how we played a couple of games," Ovechkin said. "Sometimes you're just cruising around. I think today our line played very well."

David Pastrnak scored both goals for the Bruins, who had collected at least a point in their last six games, going 3-0-3. Tuukka Rask stopped 24 shots, falling to 1-10-5 in his career against Washington.

The Bruins fell behind 2-0 in the opening period.

"I think we have a young — and I'm not blaming it on young guys — we have a young, inexperienced group," Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. "I think some of these games they wait to see what happens instead of initiating. They need to have a better understanding of; be on time, get going right away."

Pastrnak's power-play goal out of a scramble cut Washington's lead to 3-2 with 2:32 to play, but Holtby made a couple of stops in the closing minute after the Bruins pulled Rask for an extra skater.

"We had a bad start and you can't have that," Bruins centre Patrice Bergeron said. "They made us pay in the first period."

Wilson got the Caps on the board when he collected the puck near the side of the net after Lars Eller's backhander caromed to him off the skate of a Boston defenceman, and the winger slipped a quick wrist shot inside the post.

Less than a minute after Rask made a glove stop on Ovechkin on a clean breakaway, the star forward one-timed Evgeny Kuznetsov's cross-ice pass into the net with a blistering shot from the left circle.

Boston closed to 2-1 when Pastrnak collected Bergeron's feed in the slot, shifted and tucked a shot behind Holtby 3:37 into the second, but Washington regained its two-goal edge late in the period.

Wilson, positioned near the top of the right circle, tipped Brooks Orpik's shot from the point, with the puck sailing over the head of Rask just under the crossbar.

Wilson nearly got a third goal while the Capitals were short-handed early in the third, but Rask made a pad save when Wilson cut in alone. Eller had a breakaway late on the same Boston power play that drew a spattering of boos from the TD Garden crowd for the Bruins' sloppy play.

NOTES: Referee Chris Rooney worked his 1,000th game and was honoured before the opening faceoff. The Bruins posted a message on the Jumbotron, his parents, wife, and two sons - both wearing kids-sized referee jerseys - were on the ice for the ceremony, and the Bruins and Capitals each presented him with signed team jerseys. ... Boston F Brad Marchand skated slowly to the bench after colliding with Capitals D John Carlson late in the first period. When he got there, Marchand smashed his stick on the boards and nearly half of it went flying onto the ice as play was going on. ... Ovechkin had been scoreless in his last two games. He hasn't been held without a point in three straight this season. ... A male fan seated about 25 rows off the ice got hit in the head with a puck and needed medical attention. He walked to a wheelchair and left with EMTs.

UP NEXT

Capitals: Host the Coyotes on Monday.

Bruins: Host the Wild on Monday — their 10th matchup against a Western Conference team in their initial 13 games this season.

Ken Powtak, The Associated Press