While the focus narrows to the Jeremy Swayman negotiations between now and 5 p.m. Monday, when rosters are due to be registered, the Bruins found some solace Saturday in their final preseason game in Washington.

Brandon Bussi showed he might just be able to help Joonas Korpisalo hold down the fort until Swayman and the B’s come to an agreement, assuming this is in fact the endgame.

While the teams incorporated different philosophies into the game, Bussi kept the B’s (outshot 32-17) in the game by stopping 30 of 32 shots in a 2-0 loss to the Capitals in Washington.

For the second time in as many preseason games, the Bruins managed just two shots on net in the first period, but they had a slightly better excuse than in Thursday’s 4-1 loss to the Kings in Quebec City.

The Caps opted to use the final preseason game as more of a dry run for their opener and had many of their regular players in the lineup. The B’s, meanwhile, called up a handful of Providence players, with only a few expected NHLers.

And for the second time in as many games, the B’s coughed up a shorthanded goal, albeit a lackluster one. With a face-off in the B-zone between Morgan Geekie and the Caps’ Aliaksei Protas, the ball bounced off the linesman’s leg and through Geekie. Protas pounced on the loose puck and beat Bussi with a quick shot over the glove.

Furthermore, Bussi was good in the first, stopping nine of ten shots.

Jim Montgomery fielded a promising line in Providence, with Georgii Merkulov centering Fabian Lysell and Brett Harrison. In the waning seconds, the trio made a nice move, but Merkulov couldn’t finish it and slipped the puck under Charlie Lindgren, who went just wide.

The action was a little more even in the second period than the first, with the Caps holding a 9-7 lead, but Bussi was able to keep his team within a goal entering the third period.

Cole Koepke was robbed by Lindgren in the opening minutes of the third period before Bussi made his best save of the match when Andrew Mangiapane broke out on a clean break. Bussi was able to deny the Cap by keeping his right pad firmly against the post.

Harrison, who had scored a pair of goals for Providence on Friday, nearly tied the game when he had a chance from the low slot. Lindgren closed the five-hole, but then needed help from John Carlson, who knocked away the rebound. The rebound from the air seemed to be heading for the net.

But the Caps finally put the game away with 5:38 to go when he beat Bussi with a slick short-side backhander just under the crossbar.

The match did allow B captain Brad Marchand to play a full pre-season, which was forgettable after having to leave his previous outing after just one spell due to illness. He played 15:54 and picked up a minus-2, as did Lysell and Geekie.

The next time we see the Bruins in uniform will be for real when they open the regular season on Tuesday against the Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers. Whether or not Swayman is in a deal by then remains to be seen, but if not, the B’s could remain in net for a while.

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