Matt Duchene scored a double overtime powerplay goal early Sunday morning in a game that started Saturday night, to lead the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins in game two of an Eastern Conference semifinal series at TD Garden in Boston. The best of seven series is now tied 1-1.
Boston opened up the scoring on the powerplay at 7:50 of the first period. Matt Grzelcyk took a pass from Charlie McAvoy and fired a hard slap shot from just inside the left faceoff circle that deflected off the glove of Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and into the net to make it 1-0. It was the first career playoff goal for Grzelcyk.
The Blue Jackets though converted on their first powerplay of the night to start the second, after a late first period penalty to the Bruins Brad Marchand. After Zdeno Chara failed to clear the puck from his own zone, Artemi Panarin took a pass from Seth Jones and one timed a shot from the left faceoff circle past Boston goalie Tuuka Rask stick and short side to tie it 1-1 at 1:03. Just 58 seconds later Charlie Coyle regained a Bruins lead with his sixth goal of the playoffs. Coyle took a drop pass just inside the Columbus zone from David Pastrnak, and then went around the net and wrapped a shot to the left of an out of position Bobrovsky that went in off Pastrnak to make it 2-1. Panarin struck again on a 4 on 4 goal at 8:03 to even it again after a Coyle turnover with a great shot from the right and in close on Rask, beating the goaltender with a quick shot over his shoulder to the far post. The two teams went the next almost 44 minutes scoreless.
In the third both teams had a few chances with Boston having the only powerplay chance, but was bottled up by Columbus and didn’t have a shot on goal. The Blue Jackets best chance came with 20 seconds left in regulation when Nick Foligno moved into the slot on Rask, but the goaltender flashed out the glove for the big save to send the game into overtime.
In the first overtime Foligno had another golden opportunity 1:58 in on an odd man rush, deking into the slot with a backhander on an out of position Rask who had stepped out to try to take away the angle and somehow got a glove on the chance to keep the game going. Almost 4:30 later Grzelyck sent a bouncing puck in on Bobrovsky from center ice that took a tricky bounce that fooled the netminder and nearly went in but was turned away by the glove at the last moment. Patrice Bergeron also had a chance on a bouncing rebound in front of the Blue Jackets goalie four minutes later but couldn’t find the net. Columbus had a powerplay with 9:12 left but could only manage one shot. Bergeron again had another excellent chance with just over two minutes to go, one timing a pass that was stopped and also backhanding the rebound that Bobrovsky also got a piece of, and the teams would skate into a fifth period.
Boone Jenner had a chance just 26 seconds into the second overtime taking a deflected puck on another Boston turnover and finding himself alone in the slot, where his shot was turned away by the left shoulder of Rask. A tripping penalty to Bergeron led to the game winner. At 3:42 Duchene found a rebound after an initial save by Rask, and tucked it under the goalie five hole to end it and tie the series.
Rask ended with 38 saves in the loss, while Bobrovsky made 29 in the win. Boston was 1-4 on the powerplay, while Columbus was 2-4. Panarin led the way with two goals and an assist for the Blue Jackets, while Cam Atkinson and Seth Jones both added two assists. The series shifts to Columbus, Ohio for the next two games beginning with game three on Tuesday night at 7 pm.
