The Boston Bruins finally had the momentum. After notching their first two-game winning streak since Jan. 12 last Thursday, Boston hoped to finally get its season back on track. Instead, their problems continued, falling 4-3 to the Washington Capitals last Saturday.

The Capitals looked right at home early in the game, scoring twice in the first 10 minutes. Left wing Alexander Semin notched the Capitals' first goal, while fellow winger Matt Hendricks netted another just 25 seconds later.

However, the Bruins did not leave the period empty-handed. With just six seconds left, left wing Milan Lucic grabbed the puck from the face-off and snuck a goal through the five-hole of Washington goalie Tomas Vokoun.

The Bruins roared right out of the gates in the second period, attacking the Capitals' defense. The effort paid off, as left wing Brad Marchand passed the Capitals' defense to tie the game.

Just as Boston looked like it was back in the driver's seat, Washington center Jay Beagle broke the tie, banging a shot past goalie Tim Thomas. Washington then scored on a power play goal from center Brooks Laich.

Once again, Boston was lost after coughing up the lead. During the third period, the Bruins lost their rhythm.

"When we were down a few goals, we were flat for a little bit," said Thomas.

The crowd grew increasingly impatient with the Bruins' lack of effort in this game. Defenseman Johnny Boychuk, however, gave the fans something to cheer about. After receiving a deflected puck, he slapped it by Vokoun to cut the Capitals' lead to one with just over three minutes remaining.

"We played really well at the end of the game," said Marchand, who contributed a goal and an assist to Saturday's contest.

The energized Bruins could not repeat the magic, however, as they could not tie the game.

"We did some good things out there and we got to keep it going tomorrow," said Boychuk.

Last Thursday, it was a very different story in Boston, even though it did not seem that way in the

beginning of the match.

Despite having little possession to open the game, the Sabres struck first at three minutes, 21 seconds through right wing Jason Pominville. With the strike, Pominville notched his 25th goal of the season.

While Thomas poorly handled the first shot, he salvaged his miscue with a point-blank save to slam the door on what could have been a 2-0 deficit.

Right wing Tyler Seguin then bolted down to the other end, firing a shot directly at Sabres goalie Jhonas Enroth. Defenseman Dennis Seidenberg then beat the Buffalo goalie with a laser from the blue line, only to see his powerful effort carom off of the post.

The Bruins would eventually find the equalizer with just 1:51 left in the period. Right wing Shawn Thornton fired a blast from across the rink. Even though it looked like an easy save for Enroth, center Greg Campbell tipped the puck at the vital moment, directing it past Enroth to light the lamp and tie the game.

The Bruins had many excellent scoring opportunities before they finally broke down the wall with 7:04 to go in the game. After a few initial shots were blocked, Boychuk slammed a "Johnny Rocket" from the right side that blew right by Enroth.

Sabres center Cody Hodgson almost notched the equalizer just one minute later, but the Bruins eventually were able to clear a puck that hung around the crease for quite some time.

With 4:06 left, Seguin made a nice break down the left side. Drawing the attention of the Buffalo defenders, the 20-year-old fed center David Krejcí on the opposing flank, who slotted the puck past Enroth. The Bruins then held on to win the game.

After a 5-2 defeat against the Pittsburgh Penguins last Sunday, the Bruins will look to right the ship on their Florida road trip, starting with a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight at 7:30 p.m.