Marchand, Rask lead Bruins to shootout win over Devils

BOSTON -- Brad Marchand was asked to describe how he scored the deciding goal Tuesday night in the Boston Bruins' 2-1 shootout win over the New Jersey Devils.

The problem is ... he claimed he didn't know.

In the first shootout attempt of his NHL career, the feisty left wing beat Johan Hedberg between the pads with a sixth-round goal. Boston goalie Tuukka Rask then stopped defenseman Marek Zidlicky at the other end to secure the win.

"I just kinda blacked out. I don't know what happened," Marchand said after the Bruins scored their second late-game win in as many nights and in as many cities.

Asked if he saw the opening between the pads, Marchand said, "No, I'm serious, I blacked out. I don't know what happened. I made a move and shot and looked back and it was in."

He later backed off actually blacking out, saying, "I had that move in my head before I went in. I've done it a few times in practice, so I figured I'd try it, and it worked."

Boston coach Claude Julien said, with a half-smile, "He answered that question for you; I can't comment on what he said. He's very unique, so we'll leave it at that."

The Bruins improved to 5-0-1, the first time since 1970-71 they've opened a season with points in their first six games.

Boston forced overtime when Nathan Horton scored with 4:05 left in regulation before the teams played a scoreless five extra minutes. Both goalies then gave up a goal on the first shootout attempt, and each subsequent shooter failed until Marchand scored.

Boston's Tyler Seguin opened the shootout with a goal he had to score twice. He scored on Hedberg but did so just after an unidentified food object thrown from the stands went across the front of the net. By rule, the shot didn't count (it wouldn't have counted if Hedberg had stopped the shot, either). On the second try, Seguin switched to the backhand.

Ilya Kovalchuk matched his goal; that was it until Marchand's winner.

The Bruins pulled out their late win in Carolina Monday night while the Devils rested in Boston and this game was a defensive battle between two of the four teams that started the night without a regulation loss. They still don't have a regulation loss and the Bruins are 5-0-1, including two home shootout victories.

David Clarkson's power-play tip-in at 8:30 of the second period looked like it would stand up before Horton, who has been outstanding after not playing for a year (second serious concussion/lockout) tied it.

Said Hedberg: "It changed a little. When he released it hit the defenseman's stick and it caught me a little off guard."

And continued the great start for Horton.

"When you look at what he's been through ... he's utilizing all his tools right now and there doesn't seem to be anything holding him back," Julien said of Horton, who has three goals and five points in six games and a four-game points streak. "It's pretty impressive because guys come back sometimes a little tentative and that's not the case with Nathan."

Rask improved to 10-7 in career shootouts (2-0 this season), while Hedberg, playing in a game for the first time since last April, fell to 23-9.

"It makes me angry to lose them. I want to win," said Hedberg, who combined with Brodeur to go 12-4 in shootouts last season.

The Bruins, who haven't allowed a third-period goal this season (7-0), tied the game when Horton took a return pass from David Krejci and slid his third goal in the six games past a partially screened Hedberg.

Hedberg was perfect and not severely tested until Horton ended what would have been New Jersey's first TD Garden shutout since Brodeur pulled it off Dec. 30, 2002.

Brodeur had led the Devils to a 3-0-1 start, but New Jersey has lost its last two games in extra time.

Last year, the Bruins, then the defending Stanley Cup champions, swept the four-game season series from the Devils, who lost to Los Angeles in the Cup finals.

The Bruins had run their season-opening streak of penalty kills to 24 straight (one in this game) when the Devils broke through, as Clarkson scored his fourth goal of the young season. He has a five-game points streak.

The second period ended with New Jersey still unscathed in its five middle periods this season, the Devils outscoring their opponents 5-0 in the period in five games.

NOTES: Krejci earned his 200th career assist on Horton's goal. ... Each team had a player finishing or close to finishing an NHL tryout, but the Bruins announced Monday that defenseman Dougie Hamilton is staying put and will begin his three-year entry level contract; while the Devils were set to return top draft pick Stefan Matteau, who has one game left, to juniors. ... Julien, asked if Hamilton reminds him of anyone, said, "The one guy that has come to mind for me is a little bit of Larry Robinson. Tall, he's not going to run anybody through the boards, but he's solid and he moves the puck well and sees the play well. I think everybody knows Larry was a pretty good player." ... Matt Anderson became a 30-year-old rookie when he debuted for the Devils. ... Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid returned after missing Monday night's win due to the death of his grandmother but didn't dress after a tough night of travel. ... The Bruins host the Sabres and the Devils host the Islanders Thursday night. ... The Bruins felt Carolina's Jeff Skinner "slew-footed" Patrice Bergeron Monday night, leading to Bergeron trying to get at Skinner. "Skinner slew foots all the time and he's always doing that to guys and I think (Bergeron) just had enough of it," said Marchand, fined $2,500 for doing the same thing to Pittsburgh's Matt Niskanen last season. ... Boston's Chris Bourque turned 27 Tuesday.