Brad Marchand scored 36 seconds into overtime Wednesday night as the visiting Boston Bruins remained red hot with a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers.
Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy set up the winning goal by intercepting a pass deep in the Boston zone by the Rangers' Pavel Buchnevich. McAvoy's pass off the boards skittered into the middle of the ice, where Marchand caught up to it and broke in alone on Alexandar Georgiev before firing a shot over Georgiev's pads.
Chris Wagner and Anders Bjork also scored for the Bruins, who have won four straight and are 8-0-1 in their past nine games. Goalie Tuukka Rask made 33 saves.
Julien Gauthier and Kevin Rooney scored for the Rangers, who lost their second straight. Georgiev recorded 29 saves.
Gauthier scored his first NHL goal late in the first shortly after the Rangers lost a faceoff deep in the Bruins' zone. Brandon Carlo briefly had the puck behind the Boston net, but Brendan Lemieux stole it and dished a backhand pass that clipped off the stick of Boston's Sean Kuraly and to Gauthier, who went to one knee as he hit the crease and fired a shot over the glove of Rask with 6:10 left.
The Bruins tied the score with a short-handed goal just before the midway point of the second period.
Wagner knocked down an Artemi Panarin pass just beyond center ice, picked up the puck and raced up the ice with Panarin in pursuit. Rangers defenseman Kaapo Kakko poked at Wagner from behind but Wagner maintained control of the puck while shuffling it before he fired a shot past Georgiev's glove and off the post and in.
Jake DeBrusk set up the go-ahead goal with exactly 11 minutes left in regulation when he passed from behind the Rangers' net to a wide-open Bjork, whose shot went under Georgiev's legs.
The Rangers tied the score in frenetic fashion just 2:22 later.
Ryan Lindgren's shot into a gaggle of players in the crease bounced off Lemieux, whose stick was raised to shoulder level as he battled for position with Matt Grzelcyk.
The puck then glanced off Rask's upper body and to Rooney, who tucked home the rebound as Rask motioned for a high-sticking call. The call stood upon review.
--Field Level Media
Boston | NY Rangers | |
Anders Bjork 1 | Points | Brendan Lemieux 2 |
Anders Bjork 1 | Goals | Julien Gauthier 1 |
Patrice Bergeron 1 | Assists | Brendan Lemieux 2 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | N/A |
Chris Wagner 1 | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Tuukka Rask .943 | Save Percentage | Alexandar Georgiev .906 |
Tuukka Rask 33 | Saves | Alexandar Georgiev 29 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Boston | 32 | 3 | 0-2 | 2-2 | 11 | 29 |
NY Rangers | 35 | 2 | 0-2 | 2-2 | 11 | 13 |