Tied 2-2 in last Tuesday's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, left wing Benoit Pouliot slotted home a goal in the third period to put the Bruins ahead for good. Boston would leave the Lightning in the dust after that pivotal goal, winning handily in a 5-2 rout.

However, the outcome was not clear at the beginning of the game. After a sloppy giveaway in the middle of the ice, Tampa Bay center Steven Stamkos released a wrist shot from the point on the right side that beat Bruins goalie Tim Thomas and gave the visitors a 1-0 lead. That lightning strike occurred just a mere five minutes into the first period.

Defenseman Zdeno Ch??ra-who had been honored before the game for playing his 1,000th game on Saturday against the Anaheim Mighty Ducks-swooped in from the right side, beating two defenders en route to the goal. While his effort was denied on the doorstep by the seemingly impenetrable Dwayne Roloson, left wing Shawn Thornton was in prime position to bury the rebound in goal to tie things up with 10 minutes, 54 seconds gone.

Fittingly, Chara would bring in the second goal. Having been denied by Roloson on a slapshot moments earlier, he tried his luck again. While he wasn't able to solve the goalkeeper on his second attempt, the puck dropped in a prime position for defenseman Dennis Seidenberg, who slotted it home to put the Bruins up with 4:55 left in the period.

Stamkos would slide the puck past Thomas five minutes, 46 seconds into the third period to give the scoreboard a new look and raise concern in the crowd at TD Garden.

Pouliot would light the lamp with 8:26 to go, putting the Bruins ahead by a score of 3-2. Left wing Brad Marchand and center Rich Peverley dropped in two more goals to put the game out of reach for Tampa Bay.

Though they lost their second game of the week to the Washington Capitals in a shootout, the Bruins made things interesting until the very end.

Losing 2-0 with less than four minutes left, the Bruins struck twice in the final 3:10 to improbably tie the game.

"They battled back, but we just had to keep our heads straight," said Washington left wing Alexander Ovechkin. "We had to get back on track."

Boston would pay for its inability to score early in the third period. Having received a pass in the middle from fellow defenseman Marcus Johansson, Dennis Wideman fired the goal past Thomas to give Washington the lead with over 12 minutes remaining.

It got worse only a few minutes later. A poor pass from Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference gave Ovechkin all the time in the world to glide down the left side, firing a pass to Johansson, who then drilled the puck past Thomas with 10:06 left.

However, there was some hope left in the building, as center David Krejci struck to bring the deficit to one.

The improbable then became reality with just 76 seconds remaining in regulation. After receiving the puck about 20 feet from goal, Ference ripped a shot past Capitals goalie Michael Neuwrith, completing his team's shocking comeback.

The game would ultimately come down to a shootout. After center Matt Hendricks scored for Washington, center Tyler Seguin gave the Bruins some hope with a fine effort, setting the stage for Thomas to deny Ovechkin. The goalkeeper didn't disappoint. Right wing Alexander Semin kept the tie alive, beating Thomas high to send the shootout to sudden death.

Peverley sent a meek shot right into Neuwirth's glove, halting the Bruins' comeback. The Bruins would soon forget about the loss, sweeping the New York circuit last weekend to seal a playoff spot as the Northeast Division winners. Boston routed the Islanders 6-3, while skating past the Rangers by a 2-1 margin.

The Bruins hope to keep the momentum alive in a home game at TD Garden against the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight at 7:30 p.m.

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