Recap: Marchand’s hat trick propels Bruins past Blue Jackets, 3-1

The captain’s three-goal night extended the Bruins win streak to three games.

Brad Marchand’s natural hat trick — scoring twice on the power play — lifted the Boston Bruins to a 3-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday night at the TD Garden.

After a scoreless first period and giving up a late second-period goal to fall behind, the Bruins came out fast and furious to take the lead and extended it in less than six minutes from scoring their tying goal.

That’s how fast Marchand registered all three goals. By 7:46 of the third period, the Bruins had a two-goal lead over the Blue Jackets.

The captain led the team’s efforts to rally back, along with strong performances from the offense, defensive blocks and a regrouping from the power-play units.

The B’s mixed things up on the power play in the final frame to allow guys to play on their natural forehand and saw the change give the team first the lead and a security goal.

The Bruins held on to the win in the final minutes, blocking shots out front as Columbus pressed with a 5-on-4 after pulling their goalie.

Here are the highlights!

First period:

Scoreless

Second period:

The Blue Jackets opened the scoring at 19:25 of the second period.

Mathieu Olivier slid the puck over to Boone Jenner in the front of the net to get a wrist shot past Jeremy Swayman. 1-0 Blue Jackets.

Third period:

The Bruins tied the game at 1:56 of the third period.

Danton Heinen fed a pass to Brad Marchand inside the right-wing circle where he released a quick snap shot that goes top-shelf over Spencer Martin’s blocker shoulder. 1-1 game.

The Bruins took the lead at 5:37 of the third period on the power play.

Charlie McAvoy found Brad Marchand in the high slot where he let a wrister fly and beat Martin’s glove. 2-1 Bruins.

The Bruins extended their lead when Marchand completed his natural hat trick at 7:46 of the third period – with his second power-play goal of the night.

Pavel Zacha hit Marchand’s tape as he skated to the top of the left-wing circle and threw a wrist shot past Martin. Final score: 3-1 Bruins.

Game notes

• Marchand registered his three goals on five shots tonight. keeping things rolling from his overtime goal on Saturday night. Marchand spoke after the game about the plethora of goals this weekend after going five games before this weekend not registering a point. He said he wasn’t worried. “I felt like I was having three or four really good opportunities every night. That’s how the game goes. Sometimes you have one shot and you get a goal. Sometimes you have ten and you don’t get one. I don’t judge my game based on if i score or not. It’s more about how the details are going and if opportunities are there.”
• Jim Montgomery echoed the same sentiment about Marchand’s game, saying, “He helps you win even if he’s not scoring.”
• Postgame, Montgomery added they knew this was going to be a challenging game not only with the back-to-back, but some travel woes getting into Boston in the early morning hours on Sunday because of the weather. He also acknowledged the challenge they had against Columbus previously and how they can be a hard team to play against.
• While the Bruins had the better chances during the game, Columbus was right in the mix largely due to Martin denying the Bruins. Both Martin and Swayman kept it a tight match. Swayman ended the night with 24 saves.
• As like many times this season, the Bruins recognized they needed to make adjustments in the third period and turn the game around, which even included changes on the power play. Despite being “too cute” with shots, Montgomery felt they stayed with it and saw guys make smart plays and help out on defense to rally back and get the win.
• Charlie McAvoy also played in his 400th game. He had two assists in the win, both on the power play.