Recap: Bruins fall to rallying Wild, 4-3, in OT

Pastrnak nets two goals in the loss.

The Boston Bruins fell to the Minnesota Wild, 4-3, in overtime, as some loose play in the third period gave the Wild momentum to change the game’s course.

After Marcus Johannson got his team on the board in the first, Jakub Lauko fired up the bench — and TD Garden — with a fight.

David Pastrnak scored the next two goals, beating the buzzer to send the Bruins into the locker room up 2-1 after the first period.

The game stayed tight as goaltenders on either end stopped chance after chance in the second period.

But the third period saw the Bruins give up their lead which they had held since the first period ended. The Wild scored two goals in less than two minutes, leaving the B’s playing for the extra point in the final minutes of the game.

Brad Marchand netted the tying tally late to secure one point, but that’s all the Bruins would get tonight. Kaprizov ended things with his second goal of the night on a 3-on-1 in OT.

It was the fourth straight game the Bruins headed to overtime, and third time they dropped a contest in extra minutes.

The Bruins will head out on the road and face the Winnepeg Jets on Friday, Dec. 22 before getting another chance at the Wild on Saturday, Dec. 23.

Here are the highlights:

First period:

The Wild opened the scoring at 7:44 of the first period on the power play.

Marcus Johansson found Frederick Gaudreau’s rebound in the slot for a quick shot past Ullmark. 1-0 Wild.

The Bruins tied the game at 11:29 of the first period.

John Beecher stayed strong on the puck coming down the left boards entering the offensive zone to feed a pass to David Pastrnak near the top of the right-wing circle to beat Marc-Andre Fleury through his five hole. 1-1 game.

The Bruins took the lead at 19:59 of the first period with Pastrnak’s second goal of the night.

Pavel Zacha threw a pass out front which Pastrnak, wrapping around, found the puck at the back door and lifted one past Fleury blocker side. 2-1 Bruins.

Second period:

No goals

Third period:

The Wild tied the game at 13:12 of the third period.

Jake Middleton blasted the puck toward net from the blue line and hit the post. Kirill Kaprizov picked up the rebound and put a wrist shot past Ullmark. 2-2 game.

The Wild took the lead at 15:10 of the third period.

Marco Rossi knocked down a shot in the slot and forwarded the puck toward net. Ryan Hartman in the slot as well, spun around to throw a wrist shot at Ullmark. 3-2 Wild.

The Bruins bounced back to even the game at 18:54 of the third period on the power play.

With all six Bruins on the ice scrambling around the net to get their stick on the puck, Brad Marchand roofed a wrist shot over Fleury. 3-3 game.

Overtime:

The Wild ended the game at 2:54 of overtime.

On a 3-on-1, Joel Eriksson Ek slid a pass over to Kaprizov inside the right-wing circle for a one-timer past Ullmark. Final score: 4-3 Wild.

Game notes:

• There must be something in the water because here we are again with another overtime loss and another third period where the Bruins get too loose and allow their opponents to come back. Jim Montgomery said he feels his team is giving up too many second chances in the slot and allowing their opponents to create plays in that high danger zone especially in the third period.
• But it’s not to say the Bruins stopped trying to get pucks to the net. They outshot the Wild in the final frame 18 to 12 and did push overtime with a wild scrum to even the game.
• While Ullmark gave up two goals in less than two minutes for the Wild to take the lead, both goaltenders had some highlight reel saves and were the reason the game didn’t open up and become a runaway for either side, particularly for the Bruins. Ullmark and Fleury stood on their heads making multiple saves in sequences. The Bruins and Wild both had great looks all night, but the goaltenders read the plays well and kept it a tight game.
• Despite the outcome, there were a few positives out of the game. For one, the fourth line set a tone early on and was one of the most consistent lines out there. Jim Montgomery thought they had their best game tonight.
• Jakub Lauko got the crowd energized by dropping the gloves after the Wild scored their first goal in the first period. He was throwing big hits all over the place. But he really made an impact with his linemates.
• Pastrnak accounted for one-fourth of the Bruins’ shots on net. He led with 11 SOG. Pastrnak was asked postgame if it was frustrated not being able to get some shots past Fleury tonight as he was making big save after big save tonight. “As long as I’m getting chances and looks, I’m not focusing on goalies,” Pastrnak said. He went on to say he felt he had the chances on his stick to end the game a few times, but Fleury made the save on him.
• Montgomery said postgame he didn’t like the shot selection from Jake DeBrusk right before the Wild ended things on the 3-on-1. DeBrusk missed the net and the three guys out there were caught low on the chance in the offensive zone, allowing the Wild to come down the other end and score.