McAvoy Scores Twice in Bruins Shootout Win Over Capitals

WASHINGTON –– The ninth round of the shootout rolled around without a puck finding the back of the net.

Head coach Marco Sturm looked down his bench and called on Fraser Minten to try to put it away. And that the 21-year-old forward did.

​Minten pulled it over to his backhand and tucked it home to secure the Boston Bruins’ 3-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday at Capital One Arena.

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

Jeremy Swayman, who made 25 saves and another nine in the shootout, skated up the ice to celebrate with his team. It marked the goaltender’s 26th win of the season, which is a new career high. It was also the Bruins’ first victory on the road since Jan. 17.

“One shot at a time. It’s fun to win games like that at this stage of the year,” Swayman said. “It is exactly what we wanted to start this road trip off with, is a win. We know how big these points are. No matter how it gets done, that’s all we care about.”

Charlie McAvoy got his team to overtime and, eventually, a shootout with a two-goal performance, his first since December 2024.​

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

After a scoreless first period, the Capitals took the lead to open the middle frame. Matt Roy unleashed a slap shot from just above the right circle at 1:15 to make it 1-0.

The Bruins soon found the 1-1 equalizer thanks to McAvoy. David Pastrnak pushed the puck up to McAvoy at the top of the zone, where he one-timed it past Washington netminder Logan Thompson at 11:57. It extended McAvoy’s point streak to six games, and Pastrnak’s to five.  

​Minten screened Thompson down low on the scoring play. He was moved up to center the first line between Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie on Thursday.

“I’ve had reps with those guys at different points throughout the year, so not too tough to fit in there,” Minten said. “They’re really elite players and just try to keep doing what I’ve been doing.”

Rasmus Sandin regained the advantage, 2-1, for the Capitals at 3:12 of the third period. It was McAvoy, again, who tied things up. This time, the defenseman was stationed in front and tipped in Pavel Zacha’s initial shot for the 2-2 scoreline at 10:09. It was McAvoy’s ninth goal of the season.

“Just big. I think it was just a great fight by us to stay in that game. Sway obviously keeping us in it, making some huge saves. Just resilient,” McAvoy said. “A game like tonight, where you go down, we’re clawing back, stay in it and have chances and ultimately win it in the shootout – it just builds our confidence for this trip."

Swayman took over for the remainder of the afternoon, standing tall in both  overtime and the shootout to grab the extra point for the Bruins.​

“He played excellent. Not just the shootout, but I thought he was unbelievable today,” Sturm said. “Big road game. Every point is huge. To start off a road trip like that, it’s huge.”

The Bruins now continue their East Coast swing, next facing the New Jersey Devils on Monday at Prudential Center.