B's Stage Another Huge Rally, Beat Flyers 4-3 In OT On Bergy's PPG After A Hat Trick By Pastrnak

 

    It's only 10 games into the season but it feels like the Bruins (7-2-1) have done something remarkable in basically every win so far. Tonight at the Wells Fargo Center, it was another epic comeback as Boston trailed 3-1 more than halfway through the third period yet somehow rallied to tie it up very late then win it in overtime thanks to David Pastrnak's ninth career hat trick, three straight power play goals and captain Patrice Bergeron's (3 assists) overtime game-winner. Philadelphia (7-2-2) fell out of first place in the East Division after its third loss in a row against the B's. The Flyers must be wondering what they have to do to beat them, apparently they didn't catch any of Boston's weekend series in DC where the Black and Gold came back from down three goals in each contest.

    Pasta is a freak since he followed up Monday's two goal effort with a hat trick. He's only played three games this season but he already has piled up seven points (5 goals, 2 assists). His fingerprints were all over this win since he scored 12 seconds into the game, cut it to 3-2 with a power play goal then tied it with goaltender Tuukka Rask (22 saves, 4-1-1) off for an extra skater with 15 seconds left in regulation. If that wasn't enough, he had the primary assist on Bergeron's goal 31 seconds into overtime that sealed another incredible victory for the Bruins. 

    Philly is a good team but they are clearly shook by the B's. Between losing two games in Boston two weekends ago and this evening, they had regained their balance and reeled off four straight wins. Outside of the Bruins, they are 7-1-0 against everyone else thus far in 2021. It's silly to rank losses but I would venture a guess that this was the toughest one to swallow since when you lead 3-1 in the third period at home (even if there are no fans), that has to be a win no matter what. BC's Kevin Hayes continues to play well against his hometown team as he tied it at one with a one-timer at 15:29 of the second period. His sixth goal of the season was assisted by defensemen Travis Sanheim and Philippe Myers. 

    Tied 1-1 going into the third period, the Flyers were by far the better team to start the frame as right wing Jakub Voracek put Philadelphia up 2-1 at 1:03. His third goal of the season was assisted by Sanheim and UNH's James van Riemsdyk (who has also been a Bruins killer for years now). BU's Joel Farabee was coming off his first career NHL hat trick and he gave Philly a two-goal lead with a thunderous one-timer on a two-on-one with center Scott Laughton at 8:41. JVR had the second assist on Farabee's sixth goal of the season. Flyers goaltender Carter Hart (31 saves, 4-2-2) has been in net for each of these losses against the B's but you can't pin this one on him. Blame his stupid teammates who took three penalties in the third period alone which when you are facing one of the top power plays in the league, is simply a recipe for disaster. 

    Pasta's first goal looked like a set play as he took a stretch pass from defenseman Charlie McAvoy then went around Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere and drove to the net before jamming the puck in. Bergeron's had the secondary assist on the second fastest goal in the NHL this season to start a game. His second goal was a thing of beauty as left wing Nick Ritchie did a touch pass to Bergeron in front of the net and Bergy made the unselfish decision to slide it to Pasta who roofed it at 12:05. The hat trick was more about a lucky bounce that enabled the puck to get to him but he still had to have the magic hands to bat it out of the air and into the goal with a bunch of other bodies around him. Left wing Brad Marchand and Bergeron had the assists on the tying tally. The Flyers have nobody but themselves to blame as Laughton was called for interference with less than eight seconds left in the third period.

    These teams meet again on Friday (7, NESN) in Philly and thanks to Buffalo's Covid-19 outbreak (they would have played in Boston on Saturday and Monday), it'll be the Bruins' last game until next Wednesday at the Rangers (3-4-2). The Flyers have lost in a shootout, in a blowout and in overtime vs. the Bruins this season so what's next on their bingo card? Perhaps losing a one-goal game in regulation? We'll see if they have the mental toughness to respond to another brutal loss to their East Division rivals. Goaltender Jaroslav Halak (3-0-1) should get the start for Boston and maybe Philadelphia will see if its backup goalie Brian Elliott (3-0-0) can give them a spark. I'm guessing that Hart could use a day off against the B's but hey, what do I know?

The Bruins Mostly Slept Through The First Two Periods Then Fell 3-2 in a Shootout With the Flyers

When the Bruins got out to such an incredible start to this regular season-an unexpected surprise since they went to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in June-you had to know that they would hit a slide soon enough. Going winless (0-2-1) in three games probably doesn't qualify them for that mode quite yet but it's plain to see that they haven't been nearly the same team in their last few outings. Tonight, they let the Flyers (10-5-2) score twice in the first period then they rallied in the third to send it to overtime and finally a shootout where they eventually lost 3-2. BU one-and-done Joel Farabee (who was a 1st round pick for Philly) scored the lone shootout goal-his first ever in the NHL-to clinch the two points for the Flyers.

It's tough to spot any opponent in the NHL a two-goal lead but especially one like Philadelphia who has been hot lately (7-2-1 in their last 10 games). Did I mention that the Bruins had a grand total of 10 shots on goal through the first two periods combined? Yuck. The positive that they can take out of this up and down performance is that they earned a point and in head coach Bruce Cassidy's words "we found our game in the 3rd which is something to build on."

The Flyers had actually played last night in Toronto-a familiar 3-2 shootout victory for the visitors-so you would have expected them to be the team with skates full of cement and sandbags in their pants. Nope, Boston could only manage five shots on goal in the first period and five in the second before exploding for 17 in the third. Philadelphia's second forward line made it happen in the opening frame as talented right wing Travis Konecny put in a rebound past Jaroslav Halak (27 saves, 4-1-2) at 13:50. Left wing Oskar Lindblom (3 goals and 4 assists in his last 7 games) and center Sean Couturier (3 goals, 5 assists in his last 7 games) had the assists on Konecny's eighth goal of the season which tied him with Lindblom for the team lead. That tally didn't serve as any sort of a wake up call to the B's as defenseman Philippe Myers had way too much space to blast a shot off the post and in at 17:56. His third goal of the season was assisted by Konecny and Couturier.

The Bruins appeared to get on the board early in the second period when Connor Clifton went to the net and Par Lindholm eventually put the loose puck by Flyers goaltender Carter Hart (26 saves, 6:31). Clifton grazed Hart's leg pad as he went plus Lindholm pushed Hart's pad/the puck over the goal line which sadly you can't legally do. It was a bizarre play since there was never a whistle on the ice but everyone (coaches, players, the crowd, etc.) waited for that to happen but it never did. Halak kept his team in contention by stopping Flyers captain Claude Giroux's backhand attempt on a breakaway.

It took way too long but the Black and Gold finally looked like themselves for the first time since Wednesday in Montreal. They completely dominated the third period as Danton Heinen was the unlikely catalyst for the home team (who got booed off the ice after the 1st period). He collected a puck next to Hart, spun around on his forehand and hit the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season. Charlie Coyle and Zdeno Chara had the assists on Heinen's momentum-changing tally. Brad Marchand tied it up with an absolute snipe at 12:22. Matt Grzelcyk had the lone assist on Marchand's 11th goal of the season. Philly was falling apart like you read about as defenseman Ivan Provorov (who played a game-high 27:26) slashed David Pastrnak on a breakaway. Hart would have none of it though as he stopped Pastrnak's second career penalty shot (he made the other).

The Bruins were charged with a too many men on the ice penalty in overtime which is incredibly rare but it occurred with less than 22 seconds left in the extra session so they lived to tell about it. Boston is 0-1 in overtime this season and they dropped to 0-2 shootouts while Philadelphia went to OT for the sixth time this season (1-0 in OT and 3-2 in SO). The Flyers can't get enough of extra hockey since they have needed it in three straight contests and five of their last six games. Coyle, Marchand and Pastrnak were all stopped while Farabee converted on Philly's first shot and Giroux was stopped by Halak. Torey Krug didn't appear in OT or the shootout because he was dealing with an upper-body injury.

Boston's top-ranked power play was never heard from as they only got two chances on the night but nevertheless they couldn't convert on either one of them. On the other end, their penalty kill was flawless (2-for-2). The Bruins still haven't lost in regulation at the Garden (7-0-2) this season while the Flyers moved to .500 on the road (4-4-1). Military Appreciation Night is on Tuesday (7, NESN) as the Panthers (8-4-5) come to town. That is always a fantastic event so hopefully some of those numerous inspirational people that will be honored by the team can also serve as good luck charms as the Bruins try to get back untracked after a frustrating blip on the schedule.

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