Ovechkin, Capitals defeat Bruins for 12th straight time

WASHINGTON -- Alex Ovechkin scored his 24th goal of the season and the deciding shootout goal to help the Washington Capitals to a 4-3 victory against the Boston Bruins at Capital One Arena on Thursday.

Ovechkin beat Anton Khudobin (31 saves) high to the glove side for the only goal in the shootout. He had missed the net on the Capitals' final shootout attempt in their 1-0 loss at the New York Rangers on Wednesday.
"I think that's one thing that Ovi does is that if he has a failure, he sort of says, 'I'm going to make up for it,'" Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. "There was no doubt that thing was in."
WATCH: [All Bruins vs. Capitals highlights]
The win was the 736th of Trotz's NHL career, tying him with Lindy Ruff for fifth.
Ovechkin also scored in the second period to tie Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning for the NHL lead.

Braden Holtby made 31 saves to help the Capitals end a three-game losing streak (0-1-2).
The Capitals (23-13-3) came back from trailing 2-0 and 3-2 for their 12th consecutive win against the Bruins since a 4-2 home loss on March 29, 2014. They have won seven in a row at home, where they are 14-2-0 in their past 16.
"They're a very hard team to play and we just tried to play simple," Ovechkin said. "Tonight we gave them an opportunity to feel more comfortable than previous games, but it's nice we were able to come back and we can get two points."
David Backes scored twice for the Bruins (20-10-6), who had won five in a row. The Bruins are 8-1-2 in their past 11 games, but believed they deserved better Thursday.

"The point is good and all, but I think tonight was an effort where we could have had both," Backes said.
Backes beat Holtby to glove side with a shot from the slot 1:23 into the game for a 1-0 lead.
Forty-nine seconds later, Noel Acciari stuffed in the rebound of his right-post wraparound to make it 2-0 at 2:12.
The Capitals credited a big hit by defenseman Brooks Orpik on Bruins forward Tim Schaller at 5:11 of the first period for helping to change the momentum. Acciari said the Bruins' problems were self-inflicted.
"We played really well in the first and we kind of let them get back in the game in the second by just kind of easing up on it and teams like that will kill you," Acciari said.

Following consecutive shutout losses to the Vegas Golden Knights (3-0 on Saturday) and the Rangers, the Capitals were on the verge of breaking their record for the longest goal drought when Lars Eller made it 2-1 from the high slot at 12:31 of the second.
That ended the Capitals drought, which dated to Evgeny Kuznetsov's goal 4:32 into the third period of a 3-2 overtime loss at the Arizona Coyotes on Friday, at 177:32. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Capitals record for their longest goal drought is 181:15 from Oct. 25-Oct. 31, 1989.
Ovechkin tied it at 2-2 with a power-play one-timer from the left circle at 14:07.
"I think we just kind of needed that one goal to get that spark," Eller said. "The power-play goal came shortly after that. So, I think it was just a matter of getting that first one and then we were kind of rolling."
Backes made it 3-2 with a shot from the right circle that went in off Holtby's glove 7:19 into the third, but Brett Connolly tied it 3-3 when his centering pass deflected in off Bruins defenseman Kevan Miller's skate at 11:22.

Goal of the game

Ovechkin's shootout goal.

Save of the game

Holtby's save on Jake DeBrusk at 10:19 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Eller's goal 12:31 into the second period.

They said it

"At the end of the day, [Washington is] a good team for a reason. Obviously, we want to extend leads, and we had opportunities to, we just didn't finish." -- Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy on Boston blowing leads of 2-0 and 3-2
"It's gutsy, it shows character, but our starts the last little stretch have been an issue and that's something we can work on and get better at. But I think we grinded it out. We didn't lose our composure." -- Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby on the comeback win

Need to know

The Bruins went 0-for-5 on the power play. … Backes has nine points (five goals, four assists) in his past six games. … Holtby is 3-0 in shootouts this season after going 1-5 last season.

What's next

Bruins:At the Ottawa Senators on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; SN, NESN, NHL.TV)
Capitals: Host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSWA, MSG+, NHL.TV)