The Boston Bruins defeated the Washington Capitals 5-2 on Tuesday night to set a new NHL record for points in a home regular-season game. The Bruins won their seventh straight game thanks to goals from Brad Marchand and Tyler Bertuzzi on the power play, raising their point total to 133, one more than the Montreal Canadiens of 1976–1977. The Bruins have 11 additional points from victories that were not possible for the Canadiens when they set the record since they took place in an era without overtime or shootouts when they were playing. A game after setting the NHL victory record with 63 on Sunday, the Bruins broke the mark. Jake DeBrusk, Garnet Hathaway, and Tomas Nosek all contributed goals for Boston. While Linus Ullmark ended the game with 19 saves but departed the game with little over nine minutes remaining due to a "muscle stiffness," David Pastrnak recorded his 50th and 51st assists.
Jim Montgomery, the head coach of the Boston Bruins, noted that although he thought Montreal's 80 victories were a touch more noteworthy, the Bruins still accomplished something big since "they were dominant hockey teams." Marchand highlighted that the regular season record of the Bruins had no influence on the playoffs and that the postseason was a separate story. The Bruins will have home-ice advantage for the duration of the playoffs as they attempt to win the team's first Stanley Cup since 2011.
The Capitals' Nick Jensen and Tom Wilson scored, and Charlie Lindgren made 33 saves, including a one-handed, gloveless save on Pastrnak early in the third period. In the third period, Wilson cut the two-goal deficit to 3-2, but Nosek found Hathaway cutting toward the net for his 13th goal, restoring Boston's two-goal lead. With 12:24 remaining in the second period, Matt Irwin was called for a cross-check on Taylor Hall, giving the Bruins their first power play of the game. Boston took a 1-0 lead less than a minute later. Bertuzzi made it 2-0 when he found himself in an ideal position to rebound a Pastrnak shot.