Rask shuts the door again as Bruins blank Caps

Boston, MA (SportsNetwork.com) - Tuukka Rask stopped all 16 shots he faced to record his NHL-leading sixth shutout of the season, as Boston silenced Washington, 3-0, at TD Garden.

"We had layers of coverage all over the ice, backchecked hard, had all of the elements we want to have to get a win. It was great to see that," said Rask in praise of his teammates for helping the cause.

Gregory Campbell, Loui Eriksson and Brad Marchand tallied for the Bruins, who have won three in a row and four of six.

The perfect effort on the scoreboard by the Atlantic Division leaders was backed up on the stat sheet by a game in which they did not commit a single infraction. It marked the first time since Feb. 24, 2012 in Buffalo that the B's were not whistled for a penalty.

Braden Holtby made 40 saves for the Capitals, who have lost three straight.

"The killer instinct isn't there right now and it needs to be there because we're running out of time," noted Caps defenseman Karl Alzner after his club allowed the Flyers the first four goals in Wednesday's loss and then three to Boston.

Campbell's redirection of a Patrice Bergeron blast from the left side on a delayed penalty gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead with 3:05 played in the second period.

Eriksson made it 2-0 at 8:20 by beating Holtby to the short side from the left wing after Carl Soderberg carried the puck around behind the Washington net and dished back out in front.

As they did in Wednesday's loss in Philadelphia, the Capitals didn't come to life until the third period. They threw eight shots -- as many as recorded in the first two periods combined -- at Rask, but he was equal to the task.

Marchand flipped the capper into an empty net with 1:34 remaining.

Holtby was sharp in the opening 20 minutes, fending off 10 Boston opportunities, while Rask had an easier time with four saves.

Game Notes

Rask posted his 22nd career whitewash ... The Caps played without forward Brooks Laich (groin) and defenseman John Erskine (upper-body), and recalled forward Chris Brown and defenseman Cameron Schilling from Hershey of the AHL ... Washington also assigned goaltender Philipp Grubauer to Hershey to make room on the roster for newly acquired Jaroslav Halak ... The Bruins announced prior to the game that defenseman Adam McQuaid will miss 2-to-3 weeks with a nagging quad injury ... Washington had won three of the last four games against the Bruins in Boston.