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Bruins Band Together, Battle Back For OT Win Over Flyers

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AP Photo/Jim Davis

BOSTON —  For the second time this week, the Boston Bruins won in overtime, and for the second time this week, the game-winning goal came from Pavel Zacha.

Zacha helped the Bruins take down the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, scoring the OT winner off an assist from David Pastrnak. On Saturday afternoon, the two connected once again.

With his seventh goal of the season at 2:49 of overtime, Zacha completed a 4-3 comeback victory for the Bruins at TD Garden over the Philadelphia Flyers.

“Pasta made a great play again, like he did in the last game,” Zacha said. “I’m happy that we’re able to make it to overtime. We’re happy to win these games.”

Zacha’s game-winner wouldn’t have happened if not for goalie a clutch save by goalie Jeremy Swayman moments earlier.

Joel Farabee had a chance to steal a second point for Philadelphia with a breakaway chance, only for Swayman to deny the attempt with his biggest of 23 saves in the game.

“That’s a massive save,” Charlie McAvoy said. “That, coupled with a special play right after, got us two points. That was awesome.”

Getting the game to overtime in the first place took a monstrous effort from the Bruins, as they twice faced a two-goal deficit.

Matvei Michkov put Philadelphia on the board first at 7:24 of the opening period, as it took just 11 seconds for the Flyers rookie to capitalize on a power play chance.

The goal was a backbreaker for the Bruins, and even more so was Michkov’s second goal of the day, which came with 1:36 left to play before the first intermission and gave the Flyers a 2-0 lead.

Boston came out flat to begin the second period and seemed to lose more energy after each of their near chances was thwarted away by Flyers goalie Aleksei Kolosov.

But just as Kolosov made his best save of the afternoon, spreading out to rob Morgan Geekie’s attempt with his blocker, Boston finally put the puck past him when Frederic tucked a shot through the keeper’s legs for a power-play goal that brought the Bruins back into the fight.

Even after Flyers defenseman Cam York pushed the deficit back to two, Frederic kept punching.

The forward, who has struggled the most of anyone on the Bruins this year to score, found his second goal of the day and fifth of the year by burying a puck that was loose in front of the Flyers’ net, pulling the Bruins back within one at 5:18 of the third period.

“He started to move his feet better as the game went on,” Bruins interim coach Joe Sacco said. “He was direct, and he was attacking the net. I just noticed him around the net front quite a bit, and that’s a good sign for Freddie.”

One player who has had no issue scoring lately for Boston is Brad Marchand.

The Bruins captain had two goals on Wednesday in Chicago and added another to his ledger against the Flyers, scoring off the rush for his 11th of the year to tie the game with 5:22 left in regulation.

The win for the Bruins was their fourth in a row and was one they were seemingly incapable of earlier this season.

Before the start of this week, they had won just one game in which they were trailing at the start of the third period. Suddenly, they now have three, and more importantly, their identity.

“It just shows the sign of a team that sticks with it,” said Sacco. “You’re not going to have your best during the course of 60 minutes. There are going to be times in the games where there are ups and downs and ebbs and flows. You just have to stick with your process, stick with the game plan and believe in it.”

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