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Marchand’s overtime goal allows the Bruins to beat the Flames, 4-3
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Marchand’s overtime goal allows the Bruins to beat the Flames, 4-3

Calgary Flames goalie Dustin Wolf walks away as Bruins players celebrate after scoring in overtime to earn a 4-3 victory Thursday night in Boston. Steven Senne/Associated Press

BOSTON — Brad Marchand lost his goat horns just in time to lift the Boston Bruins to a 4-3 overtime victory over the Calgary Flames at TD Garden on Thursday.

Elias Lindholm stole the puck behind the net and fed Marchand in front. Dustin Wolf made the initial save, but Marchand was able to get his backhand on it and put it back into the net for the game-winner – his second overtime goal of the season.

Marchand took a bad penalty early in the third period, which allowed Calgary to erase a two-goal Bruins lead.

The Bruins started the game with some momentum and took the first lead of the game at just 2:04. Coach Jim Montgomery once again tried the Pavel Zacha-David Pastrnak combination, with Zacha at center and Tyler Johnson at left wing, and it paid off. immediately.

Pastrnak received a pass from Zacha on the right wing, made a tight circle at the top of the right faceoff circle and found Hampus Lindholm cutting in from the left point. Lindholm took the puck with his backhand and beat Calgary goalie Dustin Wolf on a backhand.

Just 19 seconds later, Calgary responded. The Flames earned a draw in the Boston zone against Tyson Barrie at the blue line, and Joonas Korpisalo reacted late to Barrie’s long wrist shot, allowing a backbreaking goal.

The Bruins’ troubling habit of taking penalties continued late in the first period. First, Mason Lohrei was called for a cross-check in the defensive zone. After the Bruins killed that, Nikita Zadorov took his league-leading 11th minor on a trip to the offensive zone.

The Bruins killed most of this one as well, with Marchand ending Calgary’s power play when he forced Wolf to take a tripping penalty behind the Calgary net. On the ensuing power play, Marchand nearly gave the Bruins the lead again when he hit the post with about nine seconds left in the period.

At the start of the second period, in a 4-on-4 situation, Marchand hit the post again on a 2-on-1 on a Charlie Coyle steal.

The Bruins finally regained the lead at 8:25, and once again, it was the new top line that scored. Pastrnak fought off a check from Justin Kirkland along the right boards and was able to get a deflected pass to Zacha. Before the puck even settled, Zacha slotted a one-timer past Wolf for his second goal of the year.

Montgomery tried different combinations, and another new group – Cole Koepke-Coyle-Matt Poitras – increased the lead in the next quarter. Coyle stole the puck in the neutral zone, then worked his way to the net along the right side before heading up the crease to Koepke for a tap-in – his fourth of the year .

But nothing is simple for this Bruins team. Nine seconds into the third period, Marchand began shoving Martin Pospisil, who was ejected from the game in Boston last year for a hit on Marchand. This time, the Bruins captain made the last shot and paid for it with the lone penalty.

On the power play, Yegor Sharangovich redirected a Mackenzie Weegar point shot past Korpisalo to make it a one-goal game 58 seconds into the game.

Then, the Flames tied it at 9:55 on a sloppy play in the offensive zone. The Bruins appeared to have numbers on offense as Coyle carried the puck into the zone, but just before he could make a play, he fell. With Charlie McAvoy supporting Coyle on offense, it allowed the Flames to counter with a 2-on-1, and Nazem Kadri slipped the puck over Korpisalo’s glove to tie the score.