In Washington, DC< the Capitals let a 3-0 lead slip away to the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
It took a goal in extra time from Alex Ovechkin, 28 seconds into the extra sessio, to rescue the Caps for a 4-3 win.
Yeah, it was fun,” Ovechkin said of his return. “It was interesting to see how I’m going to feel through the morning skate, from warmup before the game and in the game overall. So … we take it and move forward.”
Vitek Vanecek made 40 saves to get the win.
“He’s (Vanecek) been unbelievable so far,” Tom Wilson said . “He’s given us a chance to win every night and more. Obviously, a lot of adversity the first little bit here, and he’s been our best player every night, and we’re pretty lucky to have him back there right now.”
Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy and Nick Ritchie scored for the Bruins to rally them back for the loser’s point.
“I thought we were the better team, to be honest with you, if you look at the overall game. At the end of the day, we made a few mistakes,” Boston head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “They’re a team that can capitalize in a hurry. Got some guys that can score. But you need saves, too, to pick you up, too, in some of those instances. We are a young team. We’ve talked about that. We make some mistakes at times.”
Trevor van Riemsdyk, Richard Panik, and Nicklas Backstrom scored for the Caps in regulation, for the 3-0 lead.
“As soon as the overtime started, I thought he might be fresh, so we put him out there and he delivered,” Washington head coach Peter Laviolette said. “For me, it was a good first start for him. I thought he got better as the game went on.”
The loss snapped four-game win streak for the Bruins.
“It’s funny the way things work out,” Marchand said. “I was out of position there. I wasn’t where I was supposed to be. [McAvoy] made a great play, drew everyone to him and I was kind of left all alone, but I wasn’t supposed to be there, so I got lucky.”
Tuukka Rask made 18 saves in the loss.
“I think our group responded well to the adversity we had two periods into that game,” McAvoy said. “So, from that standpoint, it was a fun challenge and exciting in our room to come back and get a point out of that one and an opportunity in 48 hours to try again to get two points.”
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