Brad Marchand buried a rebound with 2:34 remaining in overtime as the Boston Bruins responded to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ game-tying goal late in regulation, earning a 4-3 Saturday night victory.
The Boston captain whacked at the puck in the left crease and beat Toronto goaltender Anthony Stolarz (30 saves) for his first goal of the season after David Pastrnak took a slap pass from the right circle.
Marchand and Pastrnak each logged a goal and an assist to lead Boston, which was 0-2-1 across its previous three games.
Justin Brazeau and Mark Kastelic scored the game-tying and go-ahead goals within a 36-second span, erasing what was a 2-1 Bruins deficit in the second period.
From there, Boston allowed only two shots on goal in the first 17 minutes of the third and held a 3-2 lead until Auston Matthews (one goal, one assist) got to the net front for a wide-open tip with 1:17 left in regulation.
Jeremy Swayman made 20 saves for the Bruins, who had a 34-23 advantage in shots.
Matthew Knies and Morgan Rielly scored Toronto’s first two goals, and Mitch Marner had three assists.
The Bruins could not take advantage of William Nylander’s double-minor for high-sticking Pastrnak at the 8:24 mark of the second, but the quick-fire goals came just after the four-minute power play expired.
Brazeau made it a 2-2 game at 12:38, roofing a rebound at the right crease after Stolarz made initial back-to-back stops on Matthew Poitras and Trent Frederic.
Boston’s outstanding fourth line then checked in with the second rapid-fire goal for a 3-2 lead, as Jon Beecher fed Kastelic in front for a tap-in at 13:14.
Knies needed only 35 seconds of second-period time to net the game-opening goal, slotting home a rebound after Matthews took the puck right to the front of the net.
The Boston power play passed the puck around with precision and equalized at 2:57. Brad Marchand made a pass from the slot to Pastrnak in the left circle, where he snapped off a shot past Stolarz’s blocker.
A 4-on-4 sequence allowed Rielly to lift the Maple Leafs at 7:44, thanks to a one-time shot from a knee off Mitch Marner’s feed to the slot.
