BOSTON — Brad Marchand worked harder during the offseason to be stronger late in games. The Bruins were sure glad he was out there Saturday.
Marchand scored the tying goal and the winner in a 3-2 overtime victory against the Philadelphia Flyers, helping the Bruins in their fight for the East’s eighth and final playoff berth.
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WHO: Detroit Red Wings at Boston Bruins
WHEN: 12:30 p.m. Sunday
TELEVISION: NBC
Marchand sent it to overtime with 14.1 seconds left in regulation by tipping a shot past goaltender Steve Mason for a power-play goal. He scored the winner with 1:08 to play in OT by firing a backhand shot that caromed in off defenseman Michael Del Zotto’s skate.
“I think a lot of guys tend to strive in that situation and I want to be out there,” Marchand said about the power play in the closing two minutes. “I want that challenge and I think any guy in the NHL wants it. I’m glad they showed that faith in me.”
Zdeno Chara had a power-play goal for Boston and goaltender Tuukka Rask made 29 saves, including two excellent stops in OT.
But the Bruins wouldn’t have been in OT without Marchand.
“He said at the end of the year that he didn’t feel like he had trained properly,” Boston Coach Claude Julien said. “He felt like he was getting tired quickly and trained a little differently this year, and his stamina is a lot better and its made a big difference.”
Chris Vandevelde and Jakub Voracek scored for the Flyers, who fell five points behind Boston for the conference’s final playoff berth.
Mason, who made 34 saves for Philadelphia, said the loss really hurt. “Yeah, you’re 15 seconds away from pulling it out,” he said. “They found a way to win it and we found a way to lose it.”
The Bruins are 4-1-1 in their last six games after losing six straight (0-4-2).
Marchand cut in front and fired a backhand shot that slipped by Mason for the game-winner.
The Flyers had taken a 2-1 lead with 4:30 left in regulation when Nick Schultz shot a wrister toward the net that Vandevelde tipped past Rask.
Boston had a power play and pulled Rask in the final two minutes, keeping the puck in the Flyers’ zone for the entire time, before tying it when Marchand tipped Dougie Hamilton’s shot.
Flyers Coach Craig Berube wasn’t about to call the loss “crushing” when asked to describe it.
“Crushing? Well, we’re winning 2-1, get that kill and we win the game,” he said. “It hurts, but crushing? I don’t know about that. I mean, we’ve got to go play Jersey tomorrow (Sunday), so I’m done with this game.”
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