Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman denies a breakaway bid by Washington’s Garnet Hathaway of Kennebunkport during the first period Thursday night in Washington. Swayman, the former UMaine goalie, made 31 saves in a 4-2 victory. Nick Wass/Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Brad Marchand scored a short-handed goal, Jeremy Swayman made 31 saves to win his second NHL start and the Boston Bruins beat the Washington Capitals 4-2 on Thursday night.

Jeremy Lauzon, Anton Blidh and Craig Smith also scored for Boston, which won back-to-back starts by its rookie fourth-string goaltender in his first professional season.

“My mindset doesn’t change as far as wanting to win and doing whatever I can to help my team win,” said Swayman, who made 40 saves in his NHL debut Tuesday at Philadelphia. “The NHL, that’s everything and it’s a big deal, and this team is obviously as good (a) one to be a part of and I’m just enjoying every second I can while I can.”

Swayman, college hockey’s top goalie last season at the University of Maine, allowed two power-play goals in under 20 seconds to Alex Ovechkin and T.J. Oshie but kept the Bruins ahead when the Capitals tilted the ice toward him in the second period. The Bruins won consecutive games for the first time since mid-March.

“This is a big week for our team,” Marchand said. “This is the time. It’s crunch time. We have to continue to separate from the teams below us and we have to build toward the playoffs, regardless of who’s in or out of the lineup every night.”

Capitals goaltender Ilya Samsonov allowed a leaky goal to Lauzon 33 seconds into the game and was unlucky when defenseman Justin Schultz’s attempt to flick the puck off the glass behind the net instead took a fluky bounce to Blidh for a tap-in later in the first period. The goal was Blidh’s second in the NHL and first since 2016.

Marchand gave the Bruins a 3-0 lead early in the second period when he deked two Washington defenders and lifted a backhander past Samsonov, who finished with 28 saves.

Despite Ovechkin’s five-on-three power-play goal that gave him 20 this season and 726 for his career, and Oshie’s team-leading eighth power-play goal, the Capitals couldn’t tie it, and Smith scored on a power play with 3:05 left.

Washington has lost two in a row and 4 of 6.

“We just have to learn from games like this,” center Nicklas Backstrom said. “We’re playing the top teams in our divisions, too. I think it should be a challenge for us. We should be obviously better, I think. But obviously they are a good team and it’s going to be tough games, but we somehow have to turn this around here.”

Ovechkin’s goal got him to 20 for a 16th consecutive season. It was also his 266th on the power play, breaking a tie with Brett Hull for second on the career list. Ovechkin is eight back of Dave Andreychuk.

THURSDAY NIGHT FIGHT

Tensions always seem to be high between these teams, and this was their first meeting since Capitals winger Tom Wilson injured Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo with a hit that landed Wilson a seven-game suspension. Boston’s Nick Ritchie and Washington’s Garnet Hathaway dropped the gloves late in the first, and there were a combined 13 minor penalties doled out during the game.

LINEUP CHANGES

Boston was without defenseman Charlie McAvoy for a second consecutive game because of an upper-body injury, and forward Trent Frederic wasn’t available because of a non-COVID-19-related illness. Dan Vladar dressed as the backup goaltender, with Tuukka Rask injured and Jaroslav Halak on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list.

Washington’s Daniel Carr saw his first NHL action since Feb. 7, replacing Daniel Sprong. Carr was added to the Capitals’ roster after Richard Panik cleared waivers and was sent to the taxi squad.

STILL NO FANS

Washington is the only team left in the East Division to not allow some fans into its arena, and one of just three remaining in the U.S. without announced plans for a limited capacity to attend games. Owner Ted Leonsis tweeted this week the organization was “disappointed with the city’s failure” to grant a waiver for 10% of capacity at Capital One Arena, which is roughly 1,800 fans.