Bruins overcome another 3-0 deficit to Capitals, but this time they win

© Nick Wass Davis Pastrnak celebrated the first of his two goals in the Bruins’ victory over the Capitals Monday night.

Same script,  vastly different ending.

The Bruins, after again falling into a 3-0 deficit at Capital One Arena, came roaring back for a 5-3 win over the Capitals Monday night, with Brandon Carlo ripping home the game-winner off a Sean Kuraly feed with 2:37 remaining.

Just over a minute after Carlo’s strike, Brad Marchand nailed in an empty-netter for the 5-3 final. It capped a  string of five unanswered goals for the Bruins.

It was Washington’s first regulation loss of the season (6-1-3). The Bruins, 6-1-2, now move to Philly for games Wednesday and Friday.

Trailing, 3-1, to start the third period, the Bruins had it knotted by the 13:07 mark, with a pair of strikes only five minutes apart by Pastrnak and Craig Smith.

Pastrnak canned his second of the night at 6:08, carrying a Jakub Zboril feed up to the top of the left wing circle, cutting to the middle and snapping home a 25-footer from the slot.

Smith’s goal, his third of the season, came off a Jeremy Lauzon goal line feed. After carrying down the  right wing, Lauzon reached the goal line and fed across a backhander for Smith’s easy pot at the left post.

Just like Saturday night, the Bruins fell into an early 3-0 hole and were forced to play uphill against one of the NHL’s strongest teams. Not a prescription for success.

All the more maddening, from the Bruins perspective, was that they came out blazing and rolled up 13 shot attempts in the first six minutes before the Capitals could manage one attempt on Jaroslav Halak.

But then the ice tilted, and the Bruins all but slid out of Capital One Arena.

For the remainder of the first period, the Caps outshot the Bruins, 25-3. By period’s end, the Caps were ahead in shots on goal, 15-8, and held a 2-0 lead, the first of those goals compliments of Zdeno Chara.

Big Z, with 6:34 to in the period, hit a half-slapper from inside the blue line, an easy shot that came his way directly off a faceoff in the left wing faceoff circle. The low shot came through traffic, beating Halak inside the left post. Caps, 1-0.

Chara collected a meager line of 5-9—14 in his last season with the Bruins.  Now 10 games into his new life in D.C., he has two goals, and coach Peter Laviolette is using him on the second power-play unit. Heaven for the Trencin Tower of Power.

Only 11 seconds after Chara’s strike, the Caps were back for more, thanks to a very forgiving defensive effort by the Bruins in their end. Daniel Sprong, with virtually no resistance (Charlie Coyle chasing him from behind), zipped easily into the right circle and snapped in a wrister for the 2-0 lead. Connor Clifton fronted Sprong, but offered of a meager stick poke before the Caps forward snapped in the shot.

It got worse before it got better for the Bruins. The Caps juiced the lead to 3-0 with 8:35 gone in the second, John Carlson beating Halak from the slot with a 30-foot snap drag. The Caps again were proficient with setting a screen, this time with Nicklas Backstrom taking away Halak’s look as he cut across the top of the crease. The Caps had three goals on 18 shots through just under 29 minutes.

The Bruins finally got on the board, with a slight assist to the officiating crew, who errantly called for a faceoff in the Washington end after the Bruins were whistled for offside (a transgression that brings the faceoff to the neutral zone). Just second after the draw, Marchand entered from off the right-wing board and Pastrnak, he of 48 goals last season, wired in a one-timer from 35 feet.

The score remained 3-1 for the remainder of the period, but Boston coach Bruce Cassidy was active in churning his lines. He double-shifted Pastrnak, sending him out there with both Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci as his center. He reunited the Trent Frederic-Charlie Coyle-Smith combo, and he also brought back together the fourth line, with Kuraly between Anders Bjork and Chris Wagner.

Another familiar wrinkle borrowed from Saturday night: Cassidy also started a power play with five forwards and no traditional point man: Marchand, Krejci, Pastrnak, Bergeron, and Nick Ritchie.