Charlie Coyle scored late in regulation and again 5:15 into overtime as the Boston Bruins skated to a 3-2 victory over the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference second-round series.
Coyle deposited a nifty backhanded feed from Marcus Johansson inside the left post to forge a tie at 2 with 4:35 remaining in the third period.
The pair connected again in overtime, as Johansson wired a diagonal pass from the left circle that was shoveled home by Coyle.
Fourth-liner Noel Acciari scored a short-handed goal and Tuukka Rask finished with 20 saves for the Bruins, who host Game 2 on Saturday.
Brandon Dubinsky and Pierre-Luc Dubois scored 13 seconds apart in the third period, and Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside 34 shots for the Blue Jackets, who had been idle since completing a sweep of Presidents' Trophy-winning Tampa Bay on April 16.
Columbus pressed the advantage with Boston nursing a 1-0 lead, leading to the game-tying goal following a double deflection of defenseman Seth Jones' shot from the point. Former Bruins forward Riley Nash and Dubinsky each got their stick on the puck before it sailed past Rask at 7:39 of the third period.
Artemi Panarin's shot seconds later produced another tally, as the puck caromed off Dubois and between the pads of Rask to give the Blue Jackets a 2-1 advantage.
Columbus established a franchise record for the fastest two goals in a playoff game, eclipsing the previous mark of 19 seconds set in Game 4 of their recent first-round game against the Lightning.
After going 5-for-10 on the power play in their first-round series versus Tampa Bay, the Blue Jackets saw their second opportunity with the man advantage go up in smoke midway into the first period. Acciari forced a turnover at the blue line before skating in and wiring a shot that sailed over the extended right pad and under the blocker of Bobrovsky to open the scoring at 10:34.
Boston's fourth line has made its presence felt in back-to-back contests, as the group consisting of Sean Kuraly (one goal, one assist), Joakim Nordstrom (one goal, one assist) and Acciari (assist) totaled five points in Boston's 5-1 win over Toronto in Game 7 of the first-round series.
--Field Level Media
Columbus | Boston | |
Seth Jones 2 | Points | Charlie Coyle 2 |
Brandon Dubinsky 1 | Goals | Charlie Coyle 2 |
Seth Jones 2 | Assists | Marcus Johansson 2 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | N/A |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | Noel Acciari 1 |
Sergei Bobrovsky .919 | Save Percentage | Tuukka Rask .909 |
Sergei Bobrovsky 34 | Saves | Tuukka Rask 20 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Columbus | 22 | 2 | 0-4 | 4-4 | 8 | 30 |
Boston | 37 | 3 | 0-4 | 4-4 | 8 | 32 |