BOSTON (AP) — Nicklas Backstrom is a believer in puck luck John Carlson Jersey , something the Capitals have had plenty of against the Bruins in recent years.Backstrom and his teammates had luck on their side again Thursday night as he scored the third-period winner to help Washington win its 14th straight over the Boston Bruins with a 4-2 victory.“Sometimes hockey isn’t fair,” Backstrom said after the Capitals won despite being outshot 41-22. “Even if they win the shots, we got the win. It’s weird sometimes.”Backstrom, who sat out Wednesday’s game against Philadelphia with an illness, glided in to the Bruins’ zone and ripped a left-circle wrister past Jaroslav Halak for the go-ahead goal with 14:14 remaining.Alexander Ovechkin netted his NHL-leading 31st and 32nd goals of the season, and also had the highlight hit of the game when he sent Zdeno Chara — the NHL’s tallest player ever at 6-foot-9 — flipping head over heels into the Capitals’ bench on a shove late in the first period.The TD Garden crowd gasped, but play continued and there was no immediate on-ice retaliation. The Bruins captain tumbled back onto the ice quickly and rejoined the play.Ovechkin declined to speak with reporters after the game about the hit.Jakub Vrana also had a goal for the Capitals, whose streak against the Bruins dates to March 29, 2014.“Didn’t happen again against this team. Have to get over that hurdle,” Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. “A lot of nights that would be good enough for points Lars Eller Jersey , if not two points, but not tonight.”Ryan Donato and David Krejci each had goals for Boston. The Bruins suffered a season-opening 7-0 blowout loss at Washington on Oct. 3 when the Capitals celebrated last season’s Stanley Cup title.“That was a different night, but at the same time you know they’re always coming out hard at home,” Backstrom said. “I feel like they’re way more physical at home than maybe on the road.”Halak had 18 saves for Boston, which had its five-game win streak snapped.“I didn’t make a save on the third goal. That’s the bottom line,” Halak said. “I got outplayed by their goalie, and you know, they got a win, so we just need to be better.”Washington led 1-0 after the first period despite being outshot 17-5. T.J. Oshie grabbed a giveaway by the Bruins and flipped the puck from the Capitals’ end to a wide-open Vrana, who beat Halak with 13:22 to play.Tensions boiled over in the second when Washington’s Lars Eller and Boston’s Brad Marchand got tangled up during a play. Eller Madison Bowey Jersey , whose celebration in front of the Boston bench after scoring the Capitals’ seventh goal in the opener drew postgame criticism from Marchand, was sent to the penalty box for unsportsmanlike conduct.Donato tied it at 1 with 5:49 to play in the second. But, Ovechkin quieted the TD Garden crowd 39 seconds later when he converted after a feed from behind the net to make it 2-1.Krejci ripped the tying power-play goal past Holtby from the right circle with 15:23 remaining in the third.Ovechkin scored into an empty net with 1:35 left to seal the victory.NOTES: Bruins D Charlie McAvoy missed his seventh straight game with a foot infection. He participated fully in Wednesday’s practice and could return for Saturday’s game against Toronto. … Washington D John Carlson, born in nearby Natick, Massachusetts, celebrated his 29th birthday. … Boston announced a partnership with the Boston Pride of the National Women’s Hockey League team on Thursday. The Bruins are the fourth NHL franchise to partner with a NWHL team.UP NEXTCapitals: Host Columbus on Saturday night.Bruins: Visit the Maple Leafs on Saturday night. PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Montreal Canadiens used a systematic approach to frustrate and shut down the Pittsburgh Penguins‘ star-studded attack.Paul Byron scored two goals and added an assist, leading the Canadiens to a 5-1 victory over the Penguins on Saturday night.“Our plan was just to skate and forecheck relentlessly,” Byron said. “When you give (the Penguins) space to skate, they’re going to make plays all night. But when you close lanes, I think that makes it hard for them.”The Canadiens opened the season with three of four possible points in two road games against Toronto and Pittsburgh. Byron contributed Saturday with his first multi-goal game since scoring a hat trick last December against Detroit.Brendan Gallagher Nicklas Backstrom Jersey , Joel Armia and Charles Hudon also scored for the Canadiens, who snapped a five-game losing streak against Pittsburgh. It was Montreal’s first win against Pittsburgh since Al Montoya’s 36-save shutout Oct. 18, 2016.Carey Price made 21 saves on Saturday for his first win against Pittsburgh since Oct. 13, 2015. Price had plenty of help as the Canadiens blocked 22 shots, one more than he faced.“It’s definitely huge to get those blocks,” Price said. “A couple of them, especially in the first period, could’ve been a game-changer.”Riley Sheahan scored for Pittsburgh, which lamented its puck management during a wild season-opening 7-6 overtime win against Washington on Thursday.Kris Letang, a Montreal native James Neal Jersey Womens , had an assist and passed Hall of Famer Paul Coffey for most points in team history by a defenseman with 441. Matt Murray, who has allowed 11 goals in two games, made 24 saves in the loss.“I think we’re a team right now that just wants to score instead of playing the game the right way and that means playing on both sides of the puck,” Penguins’ coach Mike Sullivan said. “Right now, we’re not even close to where we need to be. I know we have a talented group and I know we can score. Until we learn how to play defense and become harder to play against, we’re not going to control outcomes.”Last season, Pittsburgh scored five goals in each of its three games against Montreal. The Canadiens returned the favor with a five-goal outburst Saturday. The teams will meet again next Saturday in Montreal.“It’s obviously concerning,” Sullivan said. “You don’t ever want to get outworked. I thought they played harder and smarter. They were hard to play against.”Gallagher scored the game’s first goal midway through the opening period. Tomas Tatar’s initial shot off the rush hit Penguins’ defenseman Olli Maatta and bounced to Gallagher, who converted the 2-on-1.Byron’s breakaway goal gave the Canadiens a 2-0 lead later in the period. He beat Maatta at the blue line and tucked a backhand-forehand deke between Murray’s outstretched pad and the post.Byron scored his second goal just 3:43 into the second period. Max Domi chipped the puck from behind the goal to Byron, who flipped a shot past Murray.Byron had the primary assist on a short-handed goal later in the period to make it a 4-0 game. Armia finished the 2-on-1 pass from Byron with a backhand chip behind Murray.“If they would’ve scored a power-play goal T.J. Oshie Jersey , it would’ve made it 3-1 and could’ve made it a completely different game,” Byron said. “To get that fourth one, and take a little bit of wind out of the crowd, certainly helped us.”The Canadiens shut it down in the third period and outshot Pittsburgh 14-3. Hudon scored on a wraparound midway through the period.“(Pittsburgh) is a potent offensive team and we respected their offense,” Canadiens’ coach Claude Julien said. “For us to close the game was important because we took the game to them.”NOTES: The Canadiens scratched 35-year-old center Tomas Plekanec and 30-year-old defenseman Karl Alzner for the second straight game. Alzner played 622 consecutive games before he was scratched Wednesday against Toronto. . D Juuso Riikola, C Derek Grant and D Chad Ruhwedel were all scratched for Pittsburgh.UP NEXTCanadiens: Host Los Angeles on Thursday in their home opener.Penguins: Welcome Vegas on Thursday.