BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Pavel Zacha scored his second overtime game-winning goal in three games to propel the Boston Bruins past the visiting Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 on Saturday afternoon. The game was the first of a day-night, hockey-basketball doubleheader at TD Garden.
After Boston goaltender Jeremy Swayman (23 saves) stopped a Joel Farabee breakaway to extend the extra session, David Pastrnak curled around the net and fed Zacha for the back-door finish to decide the game at the 2:49 mark.
Trent Frederic posted his second multi-goal effort of the season before Brad Marchand’s tying goal for Boston, which has won four straight.
Matvei Michkov gave Philadelphia a 2-0 lead in the first period, becoming the first NHL rookie to reach the double-digit goal plateau this season.
Cam York also scored, Travis Sanheim had two assists and Aleksei Kolosov made 27 stops for Philadelphia, which has lost back-to-back games (0-1-1) following a 4-0-1 run.
Marchand found the tying goal with 5:22 left in regulation, going five-hole on Kolosov after corralling a Justin Brazeau pass down the wall to even the score at 3-3.
The game reached overtime despite Boston earning three power plays in the third period — all after Frederic scored for a second time at the 5:18 mark, netting the deflection of a Charlie Coyle shot in the slot.
The Bruins had a 31-26 advantage in shots.
Michkov buried two of Philadelphia’s first six shots, opening the scoring with a power-play goal at 7:24 of the first. After Emil Andrae had his straight-on try blocked, Sean Couturier directed a loose puck to Michkov for a drive from the right circle.
The Flyers took a 2-0 lead when Sanheim fired a perfect cross-ice pass off the wall and right to Michkov, who charged down the wing and right to the top of the crease to bury the puck into an open side of Swayman’s net.
After Kolosov made a sliding pad save on Morgan Geekie, Boston continued to put pressure on during the power play and got within 2-1 on Frederic’s rebound tally at 5:26 of the middle frame. Mason Lohrei triggered the point shot that led to the goal.
York reestablished Philadelphia’s two-goal lead with 4:31 left in the second, taking Sanheim’s low-to-high feed and beating Swayman with a wrist shot from the top of the right dot.
–Field Level Media