Minten, Bruins top Capitals in 9-round shootout

WASHINGTON -- Fraser Minten scored the only goal of the shootout in the ninth round, and the Boston Bruins ended a seven-game road losing streak with a 3-2 win against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Saturday.

After Jeremy Swayman made a save against Aliaksei Protas to begin the ninth round, Minten skated down the slot, deked and slid a backhand past Logan Thompson to end it.

“I just saw lots of guys try shots and I remember seeing a couple videos of him maybe biting on a fake in the pre-scouts,” Minten said. “So, I just went in and tried to watch for that, and it ended up working out.”

Charlie McAvoy scored twice for the Bruins (37-23-6), who were 0-3-4 in their past seven games away from TD Garden and were opening a three-game road trip. Swayman made 25 saves for Boston, which holds the first wild card from the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the Detroit Red Wings.

“It's a great start for us,” McAvoy said. “We know how big this road trip is. Obviously, it’s been kind of two different worlds at home and on the road, but we believe in our group, and we know that we've won a decent amount of games this year on the road. So, we know we can do it, and it’s just for whatever reason been harder for us.”

Rasmus Sandin had a goal and an assist for the Capitals (33-27-8), who trail the Red Wings by five points for the second wild card. Thompson made 32 saves.

“Every point’s huge,” Thompson said. “Would have been nice to walk out with two tonight, especially against a team we’re chasing. Every game’s big. We’re playing good hockey and just try to find two points next game.”

Matt Roy gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead at 1:15 of the second period when he received a pass at the right point from Sandin, skated down and scored with high glove-side slap shot from just above the right circle.

Swayman kept the Bruins within one when he did a split and made a right skate save against Sandin on a short-handed breakaway attempt at 4:04.

McAvoy tied the game 1-1 at 11:57 with a one-timer through traffic in front from the top of the zone off a pass from David Pastrnak.

“It was front foot, and I just was like, ‘I’m shooting this thing,’” McAvoy said. “So, I got it off, and you just get lucky there. But I guess maybe a friendly reminder to myself to just shoot the puck.”

Sandin gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead at 3:12 of the third period, scoring from the left point on a slap shot over Swayman's right shoulder through a screen.

“He was phenomenal tonight,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said of Sandin. “All around the puck. Made a bunch of great plays. Breakout machine. Defended really well. Love his game right now.”

McAvoy tied it 2-2 at 10:09 from the slot when he redirected Pavel Zacha's shot from the left point.

“You always need a driver in the room, off the ice, on the ice,” Bruins coach Marco Sturm said of McAvoy. “He has a little bit of swagger now, especially after the Olympics. It's nice to see because you need those drivers and, especially when they get rewarded, it's even better.”

Washington failed to convert on two power plays in the final six minutes of regulation.

“At the end of the day, we’ve got to score there,” forward Tom Wilson said. “It’s not good enough. We have the game on our stick and we’re the guys who are supposed to make it happen and we don’t. It’s frustrating. We needed the two points, so it’s a tough one.”

NOTES: McAvoy has eight points (four goals, four assists) in a six-game point streak. … Pastrnak (497 career assists) passed Rick Middleton for sole possession of ninth place on the Bruins’ all-time assists list. … The Capitals fell to 1-6 in games decided by a shootout. … With both goals scored by defensemen, Washington has 46 goals scored by blueliners this season. Over the past 30 years, the only seasons they have had more from defenseman were 2021-22 (49), 1995-96 (49) and 2001-02 (48).