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After falling to the Boston Bruins in their first preseason game on Thursday in Beantown, the Capitals had their second chance to earn their first win of the preseason on Tuesday night at Capital One Arena in the Nation’s Capital. However, for the second game in a row, the Capitals fell to the Black and Gold, this time by a score of 5-2

1st Period:

After some quick back and forth puck movement in the first minute of action, the B’s were the first to put a dent in the score, on a goal from center Cameron Hughes, with assists from former Capitals forward Daniel Winnik and goalie Kyle Keyser at the 1:45 mark. Capitals forward Riley Barber responded just under three minutes later, redirecting a shot from 2018 first-round pick Alexander Alexeyev from the point past Keyser to give the home team the equalizer. Center Travis Boyd, a contender for the team’s vacant fourth-line center opening, was credited with the secondary assist on the goal. With just over 11 minutes gone by in the opening frame, Capitals netminder Braden Holtby stopped former teammate Winnik point blank, as Winnik found himself all alone in front. With just over three minutes left in the period, Boston Forward Jakub Lauko was sent to the penalty box for holding Capitals offseason signing Nic Dowd. While the Caps managed some good looks on the man-advantage, it would be Boston who would get on the board next, as Lauko scored on a breakaway out of the sin bin. Boston would head to the dressing room with a 2-1 lead on the scoreboard and tied in shots with Washington, 8-8.

Cameron Hughes with the redirect, 1-0 #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/GYPSyC617a

— Marina Molnar (@mkmolnar) September 18, 2018

Riley Barber deflects in the Alexeyev shot for the goal. It’s 1-1.

Check out the live stream of the #Caps preseason game here: https://t.co/NGTPHxGvna pic.twitter.com/MMsaYk7iNI

— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) September 18, 2018

Braden Holtby is already in midseason form as he stretches the toe to deny Daniel Winnik the empty net!

Stream #CapsBruins live here: https://t.co/NGTPHxGvna pic.twitter.com/bXw6vaahL6

— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) September 18, 2018

Jakub Lauko hops out of the penalty box and beats Braden Holtby five hole, 2-1 #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/GPasP0R7b4

— Marina Molnar (@mkmolnar) September 18, 2018

2nd Period

The second frame began with Caps forward Shane Gersich taking a slashing penalty just 57 seconds in, one the Capitals managed to kill off. Just minutes later, Capitals blueliner Connor Hobbs and Bruins center Tanner Pond dropped the gloves, sending both to the sin bin for five minutes. Boston would see their second man-advantage of both the game and period after Barber, the Capitals’ only goal-scorer at the time, was sighted for hooking Boston’s Jeremy Lauzon; just like the first infraction, the Caps successfully killed it off. The B’s would strike yet again at the 8:56 mark, as Zach Senyshyn put a rebound past Capitals goalie (and top prospect) Ilya Samsonov, who had come in relief of Holtby, who played the first period, putting the visitors ahead by two. Austin Fyten and Steven Kampfer were credited with the assists on the goal.

Zach Senyshyn buries his own rebound, 3-1 #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/al9xQwMLPW

— Marina Molnar (@mkmolnar) September 19, 2018

The Capitals would get their second power play of the night after Fyten was nixed for slashing Shane Gersich. The Caps would again fail to convert on their opportunity to decrease Boston’s lead. The game would see its second fisticuffs when Caps prospect Liam O’Brien and Boston center Mark McNeill dropped the gloves with just 5:04 left to play in the middle frame. The Capitals would then get their own second power play of the period on a hooking call on Bruins blueliner Connor Clifton. Despite some solid looks, the Caps were again thwarted in their attempt to put a dent in the Bruins’ lead. The period was not without some controversy, however, as the Bruins scored on a misplay by Samsonov, who was bowled over while trying to bat the puck away from the crease. As video review is not present in the preseason, the goal (the second by Senyshyn) counted. The Bruins, for the second consecutive period, led the Capitals 4-1, and were led in shots 17-14. Both teams failed to convert on two power play opportunities each.

3rd Period

The Caps would get their third chance on the man-advantage to begin the final frame, and after several good looks, defenseman Matt Niskanen found a loose puck and fired it past Bruins netminder Dan Vladar. Just seconds later, the Caps were again given a man-advantage after Boyd was tripped. This time however, the Caps were unable to convert on just one shot on net. For the fifth time in the contest, the Caps would get another power play opportunity at the 6:55 mark of the third frame, but failed to convert. The Bruins would get a late power of their own, but again failed to score. With Samsonov pulled, Bruin Sean Kuraly fired a rink-long shot towards the empty cage, securing a 5-2 win for Boston and their second consecutive win against the Caps. The Capitals ended the night with 33 shots to Boston’s 20, and converted on one of seven power plays in the game. Boston failed to score on either of their two man-advantages. The Caps led Boston in faceoffs, winning 52% of the game’s draws. The Capitals return to action on Thursday against the Montreal Canadiens.

Sean Kuraly FROM WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY DOWNTOWN pic.twitter.com/JwBl6f9cXM

— Dan Ryan (@bruinshockeynow) September 19, 2018