Bruins outlast Capitals for nine-round shootout win
RECAP: The Bruins earned two key points in a shootout win over the Capitals down in D.C. on Saturday afternoon.
Mar 9, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy (73) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the Washington Capitals during the second period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Opening Day for the Red Sox may be a few weeks away, but Bruins center Fraser Minten decided to pay homage to baseball Saturday down in Washington by way of a bottom-of-the-ninth shootout walkoff winner against the Capitals.
The Minten goal, which put an end to Boston's seven-game road losing streak behind a 3-2 final, was the lone goal in the 18-shooter shootout session.
To get to overtime and the shootout, the Bruins needed and got two goals out of defenseman Charlie McAvoy, including the game-tying goal with 9:51 remaining in the third period. But even after tying things up back up, the Bruins had to survive two penalty kills, and did exactly that, and with two of their killers (Hampus Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov) in the penalty box.
In goal, Jeremy Swayman stopped 25 of 27 shots faced in the 65-minute portion of the contest, and then stopped all nine Washington shooters in the shootout. That effort made Swayman the first Bruins netminder to post a 1.000 save percentage in a shootout of at least nine shooters.
Prior to this game, the Bruins did make some tweaks to their lines, with Minten and Morgan Geekie promoted to Boston's top line. That led to a demotion down to the third line for the struggling Elias Lindholm. Lindholm finished with a minus-2 rating and five shots on goal in the win.
The Bruins will continue this three-game road trip Monday night in New Jersey.
