FILE - In this May 17, 2016 file photo, St. Louis Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock watches during the second period in Game 2 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Western Conference finals against the San Jose Sharks in St. Louis. The Blues have fired Hitchcock. Assistant and coach-in-waiting Mike Yeo replaced him. General manager Doug Armstrong announced the change Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
FILE - In this May 17, 2016 file photo, St. Louis Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock watches during the second period in Game 2 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Western Conference finals against the San Jose Sharks in St. Louis. The Blues have fired Hitchcock. Assistant and coach-in-waiting Mike Yeo replaced him. General manager Doug Armstrong announced the change Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) Credit: Jeff Roberson

Washington — Nicklas Backstrom had three points and Alex Ovechkin continued to climb the NHL’s goal-scoring charts as the Washington Capitals beat the Boston Bruins 5-3 on Wednesday night.

The Bruins’ winning streak ended at three, and they got a scare when center Patrice Bergeron took a slap shot off his right leg. League-leading Washington extended its winning streak against Boston to eight.

Backstrom had a goal and two assists, setting up T.J. Oshie and Ovechkin, who passed Ron Francis for 27th on the all-time list. Brett Connolly and Evgeny Kuznetsov scored for the Capitals, who got 29 saves from Braden Holtby.

Despite allowing two power-play goals to fellow All-Star Brad Marchand and a late goal to David Krejci, Holtby improved to 11-2-0 against the Bruins in the regular season.

Bergeron blocked a shot from Washington’s Matt Niskanen 2:33 into the second period and needed to be helped off the ice and down the tunnel. The alternate captain, who once played a 2013 Stanley Cup Final game with a broken rib and a punctured lung, returned for two shifts before leaving again.

It was that kind of night for the Bruins, who like the Capitals were playing the second half of back-to-back games.

Backstrom, who threaded a pass through two Boston defenders for Oshie’s 19th goal of the season on a breakaway 3:06 in, seems to be at his best versus Boston. Beating goaltender Tuukka Rask with a one-timer and contributing a secondary assist to Ovechkin’s goal, Backstrom now has 34 points in 30 career games against the Bruins.

Marchand, who has been criticized for a recent spate of trips and slew foots, assisted on Krejci’s goal and has nine points in his past four games.

Blues Fire Coach

St. Louis — The Blues abruptly fired coach Ken Hitchcock on Wednesday, cutting short the veteran’s final season in St. Louis and putting coach-in-waiting Mike Yeo in charge of the underperforming team months earlier than planned.

General manager Doug Armstrong announced the change one day after the Blues’ fifth loss in six games.

The 65-year-old Hitchcock was in his sixth season as Blues coach. They went 248-124-41 and made the playoffs in each of his five seasons, reaching the Western Conference final last spring. But St. Louis went just 5-8 in January and at 24-21-5 was mired in eighth place in the Western Conference entering the day.

Hitchcock took the fall for the Blues’ underachieving season, which had a lot to do with goaltending struggles. Goalies Jake Allen, Carter Hutton and Pheonix Copley have combined for an .887 save percentage, which is the worst team mark in the NHL.