Brad Marchand scored a breakaway goal 36 seconds into overtime Wednesday night, as the Boston Bruins topped the New York Rangers 3-2 at Madison Square Garden.
Julien Gauthier scored his first NHL goal at 13:50 of the first period that gave New York the 1-0 lead. The score stayed the same until Chris Wagner tied it when he stole a puck at his own blue line, and would score on a partial breakaway shorthanded at 9:41 of the second period. Boston (9-1-2) looked as though it had taken the lead early in the third when a Jake Debrusk shot eluded New York goaltender Alexander Georgiev, but after review it was revealed the puck hadn’t crossed the line. Anders Bjork did give the Bruins the lead with his first of the season at the nine minute mark. The hosts had the answer when a shot from the point hit off the back of Matt Grzeclyk and off goalie Tuuka Rask, and Kevin Rooney pounced on a rebound at 11:22 to make it 2-2. Marchand got the chance in overtime after Charlie McAvoy broke up a Rangers 2 on 1 break, and went off the boards with a perfect pass to send a streaking Marchand in alone for the game winner.
Rask made 33 saves, including many big ones in the game in the Boston win. Georgiev made 29 saves in the loss for New York, as the Rangers drop to 4-5-3. Both teams were 0-2 on the powerplay. The Bruins now have a point in nine straight games (8-0-1), and Marchand also has at least a point in nine straight. The two game set finishes up Friday night at MSG.
