Washington- Two teams in desperate need of points hooked up Tuesday night at the Verizon Center, as the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals took to the ice. The Bruins were looking to build some momentum from Saturday's win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

After a scoreless first period that saw the Capitals outshoot the Bruins 10-2, Boston struck first in the second period. Marc Savard won a faceoff in the right circle to newcomer Brandon Bochenski. Bochenski stepped up and took a wrist shot that beat Washington goalie Olaf Kolzig stick side.

Early in the third period, Washington got the equalizer. Off the opening faceoff, the Capitals got the puck into the Bruins zone, and Brooks Laich skated into the high slot and launched a bomb over Tim Thomas's glove.

The Capitals struck again just over seven minutes later. The Bruins thought they had cleared the zone, but a diving stop by Mike Green kept the play alive. Richard Zednik then took the puck and skated to the middle. His shot was blocked, but rookie Eric Fehr was there to put the rebound right where it belonged to give Washington a 2-1 lead.

With Alexander Ovechkin in the box serving a delay of game penalty, Boston had their chance to knot the game up. Marc Savard faked a shot from the right circle, then dished the puck to Patrice Bergeron, whose one-timer beat Kolzig clean. The assist was Savard's 50th of the season.

The game remained tied at two heading to the shootout.

Alexander Semin scored on the first shot for Washington, beating Thomas with a deke to the backhand and putting it top shelf.

After misses by Bochenski and Ovechkin, the Bruins got the tying goal from Patrice Bergeron. Bergeron came down at a bit of an angle and let a routine snap shot fly that beat Kolzig over the blocker.

Eric Fehr shot one right into Thomas's pads, leaving it up to rookie Phil Kessel to provide the heroics. Kessel came down the left side, faked like he'd go right, but cut back and put a backhand up over Kolzig to give the Bruins the victory. Kessel is now 3-for-3 in shootout attempts, all winners.

The Bruins were missing forwards Glen Murray and Marco Sturm due to injuries. Jeremy Reich, playing in his second game with the Bruins, dropped the gloves with Ben Clymer during the first period.

Thomas made 32 saves in the win for Boston, while Kolzig made 22 in the shootout loss for Washington.

The Bruins will try to make it a three game winning streak Thursday night when they come home to face the Carolina Hurricanes.

Scoring Summary:
2. BOS Bochenski (3) (Savard) 5:06
3. WSH Laich (6) (Unassisted) 0:21
3. WSH Fehr (2) (Zednik, Green) 7:48
3. BOS Bergeron (17) (Savard, Chara) (PP) 13:15

Shootout:
BOS Brandon Bochenski- S
BOS Patrice Bergeron- G
BOS Phil Kessel- G

WSH Alexander Semin- G
WSH Alexander Ovechkin- S
WSH Eric Fehr- S

Penalty Summary:
1. BOS Allen- Roughing 2:20
1. WSH Clymer- Roughing (double-minor) 2:20
1. BOS Reich- Fighting 8:49
1. WSH Clymer- Fighting 8:49
1. BOS Tenkrat- Hooking 14:43
2. WSH Semin- High Sticking (double-minor) 8:08
2. BOS Mowers- Holding 17:11
3. BOS Alberts- Elbowing 5:43
3. WSH Eminger- Interference 8:15
3. WSH Ovechkin- Delay of Game (Puck over Glass) 12:16

Goalies:
BOS Tim Thomas (21-16-3): 34 shots, 32 saves
WSH Olaf Kolzig (18-18-5): 24 shots, 22 saves

Shots on Goal:
BOS 2-8-13-1-1=25
WSH 10-10-11-3-0=34

Power Plays:
BOS 1-for-5
WSH 0-for-3

Three Stars of the Game:
1- BOS Marc Savard
2- WSH Brooks Laich
3- BOS Phil Kessel