The Boston Bruins have put themselves in some tough two or three goal deficits in several games this season. They did so again on Wednesday, trailing the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1 with 11 minutes to play but then rallying for a 4-3 overtime win at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
It started well for Boston (7-1-2) as David Pastrnak broke in down the left wing with a nice curl drag move scoring just 12 seconds into the first period. Philadelphia (7-2-2) tied it at 15:29 of the second when Kevin Hayes scored his sixth of the season. The Flyers looked as though they had taken over when Jakub Voracek scored at 1:03 of the third, and Joel Farabee made it 3-1 with a goal at 8:41. There was no quit in the Bruins though, as Pastrnak scored his second of the night on the powerplay at 12:05, and then sent the game to overtime by scoring a hat trick powerplay extra attacker goal at 19:45. In overtime, a Pastrnak shot went off Flyers goalie Carter Hart who spit out a rebound and Patrice Bergeron buried the game winning powerplay marker at 31 seconds.
Tuuka Rask made 22 saves in the win, and both Pastrnak and Bergeron had four points a piece (Pastrnak 3 goals, 1 assist/Bergeron 1 goal, 3 assists). Hart made 31 saves in the loss for Philadelphia, and Travis Sanheim was the Flyers only multiple point scorer with two assists. Boston went 3-4 on the powerplay, while the hosts went 0-2. The Bruins have now secured at least one point in seven straight games and move into a first place tie with Philly in the newly aligned East Division. The teams finish off their two game set at Wells Fargo Center on Friday night.