More overtime heroics from Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak!
Pavel Zacha one-timed a feed from David Pastrnak to complete a comeback win for the Boston Bruins to top the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-3, in overtime Saturday afternoon at the TD Garden.
The game-winner came on the heels moments before on a huge stop by Jeremy Swayman the other end on Joel Farabee.
“The game comes down to winning your share of battles,” Interim Head Coach Joe Sacco said about Zacha’s battle in the corner and Pastrnak staying strong on the puck with pressure on him which led to the goal.
The Bruins rallied to push overtime after a two-goal deficit heading into the third period.
It’s a sign of the team that sticks with it,” Sacco said about the Bruins’ will to not give up in the third period. “There’s going to be times in the games where there’s ups and downs…You just have to stick with your process, stick with the game plan and believe in it. It was a good sign tonight again for us. We’ve had some issues in the third period at home.”
The Bruins feel behind 2-0 after the first as the Flyers capitalized on a power play and a defensive breakdown. Matvei Michkov netted both of the goals.
Trent Frederic cut into the deficit, with a net-front presence on the power play to put the Bruins within one score.
But the Flyers regained a two-goal lead as defensemen Cam York pinched down, unmanned and fired a wrist shot past Swayman.
Frederic scored his second of the night, again, early in the third. Brad Marchand eventually evened the game on a breakaway in the third.
The Bruins would have three power-play chances in the third, two before Marchand’s goal and one after to take the lead, but couldn’t convert on any of the man advantages.
In overtime, Pastrnak and Zacha worked their magic for the second time in three games to give the Bruins their fourth consecutive win.
Here are the highlights!
First period:
Just 11 seconds into their man advantage, Matvei Michkov sends a one-timer past Swayman’s glove and the post at 7:24 of the first period. 1-0 Flyers.
Travis Sanheim fed a pass to Michkov at the back door where he was left alone to put a quick shot past Swayman at 18:24 of the first period with his second tally of the game. 2-0 Flyers.
Second period:
The Bruins got one back on the power play. Mason Lohrei fired a shot toward net. In the slot, Trent Frederic picked up the rebound and put a backhanded shot past Aleksei Kolosov at 5:26 of the second period. 2-1 game.
Travis Sanheim saw Cam York sliding down to the high slot where he went top-shelf over Swayman’s glove with a wrist shot at 15:29 of the second period. 3-1 Flyers.
Third period:
Charlie Coyle sent a pass to the slot which Frederic picked up and put through Kolosov’s five-hole at 5:18 of the third period. 3-2 game.
Justin Brazeau sent a long pass up ice to launch Brad Marchand on a breakaway to beat Kolosov five-hole to tie the game at 14:38 of the third period. 3-3 game.
Overtime:
After Pavel Zacha won a battle in the corner borders, David Pastrnak collected the loose puck, wrapped around the net, and fed a pass to Zacha low inside the right-wing circle for a one-timer past Kolosov’s glove. Final score: 4-3 Bruins.
Game notes
- While the win was far from perfect, it was a good, resilient win and one the Bruins needed before embarking on this road trip. The Bruins found a way to battle back in the third period, which they have been doing more consistently as of late. In the third alone, they outshot the Flyers 12-6. Swayman said he believes the “belief factor” is night and day right now with this team to feel they can come from behind and pull out a win.
- “It was an excellent team win not letting adversity phase us,” Swayman said. Swayman said postgame while it’s been great to get points in this last stretch of games, he knows the team has done it while not playing their best hockey. “We still have more to give,” he said. “It’s good to get results, but we know what we need to do to get more.”
- In the past 11 games, Pastrnak has only registered one goal. But in that time span, he has nine assists, including the two OT assists on Zacha’s goals. Postgame, Sacco said he can see Pastrnak’s determination to make a difference in games, especially in the third period.
- Sacco went back to the original lines during the game. He said he felt the top lines weren’t producing so Brazeau slotted back with Marchand and Elias Lindholm and Pastrnak was back with his line.
- The Coyle, Frederic and Mark Kastelic line really attacked the net this afternoon. Frederic’s great positioning heading to the net front where he was supposed to allowed him to be effective and a difference maker. Sacco talked about how he was tenacious on the puck.
- The Bruins will head into the long road trip 7-2-0 since Sacco took over. The trip begins Tuesday as the B’s will face the Winnepeg Jets at 8 p.m. ET.