Takeaways: Capitals Do A Complete 180, Dominate Bruins To Snap Six-Game Losing Streak

The Washington Capitals were in for a tall task as they headed into TD Garden to try and end a six-game losing streak against the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Bruins. Washington understood the assignment, though, and from the moment the puck dropped, it was all D.C.

T.J. Oshie, Dylan Strome and Alex Ovechkin scored, and the Capitals put together one of their best efforts of the season en route to a critical 3-0 win.

Here are all the takeaways from the victory:

The Capitals have struggled to find consistency this season, and that has been a main fault in their play. However, a different story played out on Saturday as Washington put together three consistent periods and dominated each of them en route to a huge victory.

Throughout the afternoon, the Capitals kept the pressure high and played with more speed, grit and urgency than the Bruins. Washington was the better team through each period, dominating in zone time, scoring chances and shots while limiting Boston to its lowest shot total through two periods since 2019.

Their effort paid off, too, as the Capitals got a power-play goal from T.J. Oshie on an extended power play following a major penalty and ejection for Matt Grzelcyk, who speared Max Pacioretty late in the first period.

In the end, that consistent speed and effort led to a crucial win, though the Bruins managed to make a bit of a push in the third. Washington was first to pucks, winning board battles, showing good awareness at both ends and keeping up the effort.

In order to ignite a spark on offense, head coach Spencer Carbery shook up the lines again and as part of his moves, placed Oshie on the top line with Strome and Ovechkin. That trio worked well together, contributing on both goals for D.C. while also generating several high-danger chances.

Oshie scored from the bumper spot after a nice feed from Pacioretty on the power play in the second, but in the third, his hard work along the boards led to a 2-on-1 break for Ovechkin and Dylan Strome. From there, Ovechkin fed Strome for his team-leading 20th goal of the season.

In the final seconds of the third, Ovechkin iced the game with an empty-netter, giving him the most empty-net goals in NHL history. Ovechkin now has points in five straight games and 15 points in his last 14 outings overall.

Oshie also has points in three of the last six games and is up to nine goals on the season. Strome, meanwhile, has four goals in his last five games and is on pace for a career-high 32 goals this season.

It was also an impressive night defensively, as the Capitals gave up very little to the high-flying Bruins. They took good care of the puck, made smart decisions and were able to keep the puck out of harm's way and were in the right spots while limiting the Bruins' rush opportunities. Washington also blocked quite a few attempts and killed off all four penalties against, including three critical ones in the third.

The blue line also had a solid outing. It had a different look, too, as Ethan Bear paired up with Joel Edmundson and Rasmus Sandin went to work with Nick Jensen, and they did a good job of maintaining possession and shutting down the likes of Brad Marchand and more by limiting their time and space.

Charlie Lindgren also stepped up when he was needed, stopping 10 shots in the third period and 18 overall for his third shutout of the season, a new single-season high. He also had a huge save on Charlie Coyle in the final minute.

Overall, everyone did their job, and it led to two huge points for D.C.