Bruins Ride All-Star Momentum over Capitals in OT

In the first night of NHL games since last weekend's All-Star break, hockey fans were treated to a matchup of the Eastern Conference's top two teams, as the Washington Capitals traveled up to Boston to face the mighty Bruins.

Fresh off a series of strong All-Star Game and Superskills performances, Zdeno Chara, Marc Savard, and Tim Thomas contained superstar Alex Ovechkin and Co. with a 3-2, overtime victory in a game that may set the tone for both teams' second halves.

The game started out sloppy for Savard and the Bruins, as the center took a high-sticking penalty a mere seven seconds into the first period of the game. One second after the power play expired, Capitals defenseman Mike Green scored (with assists by Ovechkin and Alexander Semin) to put Washington up early.

Seven minutes later, Shawn Thornton responded with a beautiful top-shelf goal to tie the game at one goal apiece. It was Thornton's fourth of the season, tying a career high for goals in a season. Michael Nylander then scored to give the Capitals a 2-1 lead at the break.

The Bruins took their second early penalty in two periods at the start of the second when Chuck Kobasew was called for hooking at 37 seconds, but this time the penalty didn't lead to a goal.

The Bruins scored their second goal on the power play midway through the second. Patrice Bergeron, in his first game back in the lineup since suffering a concussion late last month, made a valiant effort to keep the puck in the offensive zone after a Capital attempted to clear it. He got the puck to Savard, who potted his 17th goal of the season.

13 seconds later, the game's scariest moment took place when Chara took Ovechkin down. The Russian superstar slammed his shoulder into the boards and stayed down for a few minutes. Ovechkin was seen slamming his helmet and gloves to the ground as he left the bench for the dressing room. He returned for the third period, but was not his usual self.

The third period featured a series of scoring opportunities for both sides, but Thomas and Washington's Jose Theodore held their ground magnificently. The game went to overtime with the score still deadlocked at 2-2 and both teams wondering how they failed to capitalize on so many scoring opportunities.

Luckily for Boston, Krejci banked a shot off of Washington's Shaone Morrisonn (himself a former Bruin) to score the winner at 1:55 of OT.

Despite the win, the Bruins have plenty to work on in the upcoming months. Players made a lot of poor plays, going offside and missing the puck repeatedly over the course of the game.

Hopefully, for their sake, these were just symptoms of not playing for a few days. Coach Claude Julien, fresh off an All-Star victory behind the bench for the East, will certainly be working his players harder in the coming days not to make stupid mistakes.

The Bruins will host the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night at 7. The Capitals are off until Saturday, when they host the Detroit Red Wings in a 12:30 matinee.