DETROIT (AP) - In just over two minutes, Brad Marchand stole another victory for the Boston Bruins.
Marchand assisted on the tying goal late in regulation and scored the game-winner 35 seconds into overtime to give the Bruins a 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night. Boston managed only two shots on goal in the first period but twice rallied from a one-goal deficit for its ninth win in 11 games.
“It’s big,” Marchand said. “Just shows the character that we have in the room and that we’re really learning a lot.”
Detroit has dropped 10 of 11, although the Red Wings have earned a point in five of those losses.
David Pastrnak tied it with 1:26 remaining in the third period, extending his point streak to nine games. The Bruins had pulled goalie Tuukka Rask with more than two minutes left, and Marchand’s pinpoint pass from the right side made it through traffic to Pastrnak at the left of the net. His 15th goal of the season sent the game to overtime.
“A lot of times it’s tough to get those through,” Marchand said. “One out of 10 or one out of 20, whatever. But luckily that one made it through and we were able to capitalize.”
In the extra period, Marchand skated in ahead of defenseman Mike Green and stickhandled to the right before backhanding the puck past goalie Jimmy Howard from a sharp angle.
“We’ve played way too many games this season where we played good and came up short,” Detroit’s Tomas Tatar said. “Maybe that’s showing us something. We have to be better somewhere.”
Noel Acciari scored the other goal for Boston. Dylan Larkin and Tatar scored for Detroit.
Tatar opened the scoring on a second-period power play, beating Rask only 13 seconds after Patrice Bergeron received a minor penalty for tripping. Tatar’s wrist shot made it through with teammate Justin Abdelkader standing in front of the net as a screen.
Pastrnak, playing his 200th career game, nearly tied it moments later when he skated in behind the Detroit defense, but Howard stopped him.
“In the end, we got it going eventually. There’s a lot of pride in that room. We knew we needed to be better,” Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. “In fairness, Detroit hasn’t won much lately, but their will to block shots and keep the puck out of their nets was tremendous. You’ve got to give them credit.”
Acciari tied it early in the third after a scramble in front of the net, and Boston went on the power play when Green was whistled for holding. But Larkin scored short-handed on a breakaway to put Detroit up 2-1.
The Red Wings couldn’t hold onto that lead either, giving up the tying goal after the Bruins were able to set up in the Detroit zone.
“I think we got a little bit tired, so we didn’t have enough pressure below the tops of the circles. We don’t want to be that passive,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “I thought we were in the right places, but we didn’t make a play on the puck. Ultimately, the puck went through multiple guys. It’s a good play by Marchand. But we certainly were in the right spots, we’ve just got to make a play on the puck.”
NOTES: The Red Wings ended up with only a 33-32 edge in shots despite a 9-2 advantage in the first. … Marchand has 12 goals and 13 assists this season.
UP NEXT
Bruins: Host the Washington Capitals on Thursday night.
Red Wings: Host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday night.
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