Marchand lifts Bruins to thrilling 3-2 victory against Flyers

Via Maddie Meyer, Getty Images nhl.com

The Bruins and Flyers took the Garden ice on Saturday in a game that both teams desperately wanted to win, with both teams on the playoff bubble. It was a classic Bruins/Flyers game right from the start with big hits from both teams, low scoring, and a lot of penalties on both sides. An absolutely amazing comeback by the Bruins in the last minute of the third period and overtime capped an exhilerating game at TD Garden Saturday afternoon, as the Bruins pulled out the 3-2 overtime victory.

Zdeno Chara opened the scoring for the Bruins just 7:07 into the first period on the power play with a wrist shot from the point to give Boston the 1-0 lead.

The Bruins controlled the play with spectacular zone time and cycles behind the Flyers' net throughout the entire first period, which allowed them to go into the first intermission ahead by a goal.

The Bruins came out in the second period on the power play but could not capitalize. Incredible early period-scoring chances from David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand in the slot could not find their way through Steve Mason and the lead remained at one.

Midway through the second frame, Matt Bartkowski drew a tripping penalty during an offensive zone cycle by Philadelphia. The Flyers converted on the ensuing power play at 9:43 of the period when Jakub Voráček snipped one blocker side of Tuukka Rask to tie the game at one.

Towards the end of the second period, the Bruins received another power play when David Pastrnak was interfered with in front of the net. The Bruins generated multiple scoring chances on shots from Torey Krug, Milan Lucic and Zdeno Chara, but the Bruins were unable to convert and the game remained tied at one heading into the second intermission. 

Philadelphia picked up its tempo in the third period, especially the line of Voráček, Giroux and Simmonds. The Flyers generated tremendous zone time and set up camp in the Boston end. 

A bad clear by Gregory Campbell led to an icing call and a face-off in the Boston end. The Flyers won the draw and a shot from the point by Nick Shultz was deflected by Chris VandeVelde, and the puck trickled through Tuukka Rask to give the Flyers the 2-1 lead with just 4:30 remaining

The Bruins went to the power play with 2:03 left in the third period after Wayne Simmonds was assessed a tripping penalty.

The Bruins pulled the goalie for a six on four advantage, and the Bruins were rewarded after a furious power play when Brad Marchand tipped in a Dougie Hamilton shot with just 14.1 seconds left to tie the game. 

In overtime, Tuukka Rask stood on his head. Stopping Pierre-Edourad Bellemare on a 3 on 1 attempt as well as a breakaway by Jakub Voráček. 

At 3:52 of the overtime, a broken play in the neutral zone put the puck on Max Talbot's stick. Talbot fed a sweet saucer pass to Marchand who drove to the net and back handed one off the leg of Flyers' defenseman Michael Del Zotto and into the back of the net for his second goal of the game, and gave the Bruins the overtime victory.

The comeback win by the Bruins now puts them five points ahead of both Philadelphia and Ottawa, and four above the Florida Panthers for the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference.  

Scoring Summary

1st Period:
7:07 (Boston) - Zdeno Chara 6 (Assists: Dougie Hamilton 26, Patrice Bergeron 28)

2nd Period:
9:43 (Philadelphia) - Jakub Voráček 20 (Assists: Mark Streit 34, Claude Giroux 43)

3rd Period: 
15:30 (Philadelphia) - Chris VandeVelde 9 (Assists: Nick Shultz 12, Brayden Schenn 24)
19:45 (Boston) - Brad Marchand 20 (Assists: Dougie Hamilton 27, Loui Eriksson 22)

Overtime:
3:52 (Boston) - Brad Marchand 21 (Assists: Max Talbot 11, Ryan Spooner 4)

stats via nhl.com

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