Marchand stays heroic
Late goal lifts B’s by Flyers
Bruins fans witnessed another remarkable Marchand Moment last night at the Garden
Brad Marchand scored with 22 seconds remaining to lift the Bruins to their fifth straight win, a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. The B’s will close the six-game homestand tomorrow against the Chicago Blackhawks
Marchand scored the game-winning goals in consecutive overtime victories against Montreal on Saturday and Detroit on Tuesday. The All-Star left winger has needed to expand his game with center Patrice Bergeron off the grid with a fractured right foot, and he has done just that.
“He just keeps on ticking,” said B’s coach Bruce Cassidy. “But that’s Brad and he seems like he’s on a bit of a mission with Bergy out that he wants to pick the team up in the offensive side of it. At the end of the day he keeps plugging away and he did a good job for us.”
On the game-winner, Zdeno Chara fired a blast from the left point that was stopped at the crease. David Pastrnak poked the rebound past Flyers goalie Alex Lyon and Marchand swiped it over the goal line for his 29th of the season. Marchand has seven goals and five assists in the last seven games.
“We all have to carry the load a bit and I think we are all feeling that,” said Marchand. “I think we all feel that a bit and we have to step up.”
The Flyers went ahead 1-0 on a nifty collaboration off the opening faceoff of an early power play. Claude Giroux set the play in motion with a slap shot through a screen from the left point. Nolan Patrick got the rebound and made a blind pass between his legs to Jakub Voracek, who beat Tuukka Rask at 1:38 of the first period.
The B’s tied the game at 9:14 on alert plays around the Flyers’ cage by Pastrnak and Riley Nash. Kevan Miller’s shot from the right point rebounded to Pastrnak at the side of the crease. He circled the cage and attempted to wrap the puck inside the post. Lyon made the save but Nash poked the loose puck home for his 13th of the season.
“(Nash) is feeling it right now with the plays he’s making and the way he is banging out there,” Marchand said. “He is playing really well and it’s great to see because he is a great guy and a great teammate and he works very hard. I think he’s a little underrated
the way he plays but he is having a phenomenal year, and we need him big right now.”
The Bruins went up 2-1 on a breakaway goal by Brian Gionta with 25.3 seconds to play in the first. Chara collected a turnover inside the B’s blue line and found Gionta streaking through the neutral zone. Gionta went to the backhand and beat Lyon stick side for his first of the season. The Flyers tied it on a shorthanded goal by Jori Lehtera at 7:21 of the second.