Recap: Bruins set points record in 5-2 win over Capitals

The Boston Bruins beat the Washington Capitals, 5-2, tonight at the TD Garden to set a new record for most points in a regular season at 133.

Head Coach Jim Montgomery and Brad Marchand said it’s a huge accomplishment, but their sights are on something else.

“We have something much bigger that we are building for,” Brad Marchand said.

The B’s power play rolled along, notching two goals — one from Marchand and his first in 16 games.

The fourth line also had two goals, including Tomas Nosek registering his 100th NHL point with the tally.

Here are the highlights!

First period:

Scoreless

Second period:

The Bruins opened the scoring at 8:32 of the second period on the power play.

David Pastrnak found Marchand inside the right-wing circle for a quick shot past Charlie Lindgren’s blocker. 1-0 Bruins.

The Bruins added another power-play goal at 14:20 of the second period.

From the high slot, Pastrnak threw a shot on net. At the paint, Tyler Bertuzzi picked up the rebound to put a shot past Lindgren’s blocker. 2-0 Bruins.

The Capitals bounced back at 15:27 of the second period.

Nick Jensen carried the puck into the offensive zone to put a long wrist shot from the high slot on net that hit Charlie McAvoy and traveled past Linus Ullmark’s stick. 2-1 game.

Third period:

The Capitals closed in on their deficit at 7:13 of the third period on the power play.

John Carlson sent a pass to Strome out front. The puck bounced off Dylan Strome to Tom Wilson heading towards the top of the paint where he put a backhander top-shelf over Ullmark. 3-2 game.

The Bruins retook a two-goal lead at 7:49 of the third period.

Charlie McAvoy sent the puck ahead to Nosek who found Garnet Hathaway driving to the net. At the paint, Hathaway sent a quick shot past Darcy Kuemper. 4-2 Bruins.

The Bruins scored a empty-net goal at 18:11 of the third period.

Marchand found Jake DeBrusk out front for the empty-netter. Final score: 5-2 Bruins.

Game notes:

• It was another one for the history books! The Bruins have now recorded the most points in a season at 133 points. They also have the most home wins in franchise history at 34 wins. Per the Bruins, Ullmark also tied the most wins in a single season by a Bruins goalie at 40.
• Montgomery acknowledged it’s nice to get the points record and be “in elite company” to the teams they passed with these game and point records. But he said he cared more about how the team is playing the right way to close out the season. He added he has zero concerns about the power play. Montgomery felt execution on the man-advantage has been clean.
• Marchand recorded his first goal in 16 games tonight and helped the power play continue to be a force tonight. The power play went a perfect two for two on the man-advantage. Marchand also assisted on Bertuzzi’s power-play goal.
• Montgomery liked that the goal gave Marchand an extra jump in his step. He saw Marchand simplify his game afterwards.
• Nosek hit a milestone in his NHL career as he registered his 100th point on his goal. He ended the night with a goal and assist.
• SCOC asked Marchand what it meant to see a guy like Nosek reach 100 career points, in a season with a lot of individual milestones hit. Marchand said, “It’s great. You could tell how excited he was. He was making sure no one else was touching that thing. It’s great to see. Sometimes guys like Nosey don’t get as much credit for the hard minutes that they play and the difficult things they do. But it’s great to see him hit that achievement. He’s very excited. He’s been a rock for us all year. He’s incredible on the draws and the PK and sneakily really good offensively. And that showed tonight on an incredible play and pass to Hathaway and got the game-winner himself. We are going to need that down the road.”
• Tonight, both teams saw their starting goalies leave the game. Ullmark exited the game during the third period. Montgomery said it was a precautionary measure and he should be fine. “Just some muscle tightening, that’s all,” he said postgame to reporters.
• Lindgren also left the game during the third period. It was unfortunate to see him not be able to finish, after he also had a great game in net that was fun to watch, like this crazy barehand save. While it’s not a Bruins highlight reel, it deserves some credit on here.

• The Bruins will end the regular season on Thursday, April 13, on the road against the Montreal Canadiens at 7 p.m.

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