Marchand nets OT winner as Bruins top Canadiens
Brad Marchand scored the decisive goal with 2:54 left in overtime to give the Boston Bruins a season series sweep of the rival Montreal Canadiens with a come-from-behind 2-1 win Saturday at TD Garden in Boston.
It was the 10th career game-winning OT goal for Marchand, who took the puck and skated around the back of the Canadiens' net, firing his wrist shot from directly in front of the crease past goalie Antti Niemi.
Marchand's goal was his 25th of the season, and Jake DeBrusk (13 goals) also scored for the Bruins. Anton Khudobin made 27 saves to help Boston win its third straight game, coming off an 8-4 triumph against defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh on Thursday.
Brendan Gallagher (23) scored the only goal for the Canadiens, and Niemi had a season-high 48 saves. Montreal had its two-game win streak snapped following a stretch in which it dropped eight of nine games (1-4-4).
Boston won the first two regular-season meetings with Montreal this season during an eight-day stretch from Jan. 13-20, outscoring the Canadiens 12-5.
Khudobin got the start in goal because Boston's starting netminder Tuukka Rask was dealing with what coach Bruce Cassidy called a "very minor" injury. Cassidy said he wanted to give Rask an extra day's rest before their next game Tuesday.
Boston's Charlie McAvoy left the game with an apparent right leg injury just 37 seconds in after falling to the ice during a scrum involving Gallagher. The Bruins later updated his condition as a lower-body injury and deemed him unlikely to return.
The Bruins' rookie defenseman missed four games following a heart procedure earlier this year.
Gallagher's unassisted goal with 10:44 left in the first period put Montreal up 1-0 after he intercepted a cross-ice pass from Kevan Miller and skated to the top of the right circle before firing a wrister past two Bruins defenders to beat Khudobin high stick-side.
Jonathan Drouin's delay of game penalty after sending a puck over the glass with 4:35 remaining put the Bruins on a power play, and DeBrusk capitalized as he scored on a one-timer with 2:45 remaining to tie it and force overtime.
Before the game, the Canadiens announced Max Pacioretty (lower body) and Victor Mete (hand) both returned to Montreal on Saturday afternoon for further evaluation.
Montreal continues its six-game road trip Tuesday versus New Jersey. Boston continues its six-game homestand Tuesday against Detroit.
--Field Level Media
