It wasn’t a perfect night at TD Garden on Thursday, as the Bruins let two different two-goal leads slip away against the Sabres.
However, they managed to recover in time to skate off the ice with a 4-3
win, thanks to Marat Khusnutdinov’s game-winning goal 2:07 into overtime.
The win was the second in a row for the Bruins, who beat the Islanders at TD Garden on Tuesday night.
The B’s got goals from four different skaters in this one, with Khusnutdinov joined by Morgan Geekie, David Pastrnak, and Mark Kastelic.
Joonas Korpisalo made 37 saves in the win.
Geekie got things started for the Bruins at the tail end of a power play midway through the first period, making it 1-0 Bruins.
Pastrnak would do it all by himself to get the Bruins another goal, stealing the puck in his own zone before finishing it at the other end to make it 2-0 Bruins just two minutes after Geekie’s goal.
Rasmus Dahlia got Buffalo on the board with a power play goal late in the second period, a drive through traffic that made it 2-1 Bruins.
Kastelic restored the B’s two-goal lead with a nice second-effort goal with just 21 seconds left in the second period, making it 3-1 Bruins.
Josh Dean cut the lead to one seven minutes into the third period with a great bit of hand-eye coordination, making it 3-2 Bruins.
Seven minutes later, Alex Tuch made it a 3-3 game with nice shot from the slot to beat Korpisalo.
After the B’s failed to cash in on a brief power play to start overtime, Khusnutdinov sent everyone home happy with the OT winner.
Bruins win, 4-3.
Game notes
- The Bruins were outshot by a 13-5 margin in the first period, yet came out of it leading 2-0.
- Pastrnak is rapidly approaching a milestone, as tonight’s goal was the 398th of his NHL career.
- Geekie has now scored in six games in a row, with tonight’s goal being his 9th on the young season. While it’s fair to point out his elevated shooting percentage, it’s also fair look at the quality of goals he’s scored recently (tonight being a prime example) and just tip your cap.
- Marco Sturm challenged Tuch’s game-tying goal for goalie interference, but the NHL deemed it a legal play. The B’s were penalized for the unsuccessful challenge, and ended up with a big PK inside the last five minutes of the third period.
- Elias Lindholm left tonight’s game in the second period after a collision with Jordan Greenway. He received some assistance getting off the ice and didn’t return, with the team calling it a lower-body injury. Per Ty Anderson, the team isn’t fearing a long-term injury at this time.
- Several Bruins took exception to Greenway’s “accidentally on purpose” collision with Lindholm, which pleased Sturm.
- Khusnutdinov’s goal, which came with Fraser Minten on the odd-man rush with him, looked remarkably similar to Minten’s own OT goal against Chicago earlier this season. I’m not drawing any conclusions from that, it just seemed cool to point out.
- While they ultimately lost the game, Sabres fans will likely be pleased with the team’s ability to overcome multiple two-goal deficits. Plus, they got a point, extending their point streak to five games.
- In the “Sometimes Luck Is On Your Side” file: on another night, harkening back to that wacky loss to Florida, it would have been someone on the Bruins blowing a tire in OT. Instead, it was Rasmus Dahlin who lost an edge in the Boston zone and turned the puck over, which rarely goes well in 3-on-3 play.
The Bruins will host the Carolina Hurricanes at TD Garden at 1 PM on Saturday afternoon before heading to Long Island, home of outstanding bagels, to face the Islanders on Tuesday night.
After that, the B’s will play a weird chunk of home-and-homes with the Ontario duo of the Maple Leafs and Senators.
