Brad Marchand scored at 3:30 of overtime as the Boston Bruins returned home and snapped a three-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night.
Patrice Bergeron also scored for Boston, and goaltender Jaroslav Halak made 24 saves. The Bruins put together a streak of 19 straight games with a point, the longest in the NHL this season, before going 0-3 on a three-game trip to Pittsburgh, Columbus and Winnipeg.
Matt Duchene scored the lone goal for the Blue Jackets, who had a two-game winning streak snapped as they battle for one of the Eastern Conference's two wild-card playoff berths.
Backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo stopped 31 of 33 shots. Starter Sergei Bobrovsky got the night off after making 46 saves in a 3-0 victory Friday night at Carolina.
Marchand got the winner, his 31st goal of the season, after tracking down a Columbus turnover as the puck slid into the Blue Jackets' end of the ice.
Marchand cut toward the net but was upended by a defender. Bergeron corralled the puck and drove into the slot before making a backhanded pass to Marchand at the bottom of the right faceoff circle.
Marchand was able to beat Koripsalo with a slap shot before the goalie could recover and get across the net.
The game was in stark contrast to the last meeting between the teams, Tuesday in Columbus. The Blue Jackets won 7-4 as Boone Jenner got his first career NHL hat trick, although they nearly blew a four-goal lead.
The Bruins opened the scoring just 5:51 into the first period on a power-play goal by Bergeron. David Krejci was able to pull the puck off the side boards and get it to Marchand, who found Bergeron alone at the top of the slot. Bergeron's backhander beat Korpisalo for his 27th goal of the season.
The Blue Jackets tied it at 16:52 of the first as Duchene drove down the right wing and around a defenseman before cutting toward the net and putting a wrist shot over Halak's shoulder.
Markus Nutivaara and David Savard were credited with assists.
--Field Level Media
Columbus | Boston | |
Matt Duchene 1 | Points | Patrice Bergeron 2 |
Matt Duchene 1 | Goals | Patrice Bergeron 1 |
Markus Nutivaara 1 | Assists | Patrice Bergeron 1 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | Patrice Bergeron 1 |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Joonas Korpisalo .939 | Save Percentage | Jaroslav Halak .960 |
Joonas Korpisalo 31 | Saves | Jaroslav Halak 24 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Columbus | 25 | 1 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 4 | 28 |
Boston | 33 | 2 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 2 | 32 |