Bruins come from down 2 in third period to beat Blues

The Boston Bruins came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the St. Louis Blues 3-2 on Tuesday night at Enterprise Center, getting back over .500 at 8-7-2 on the season.

David Pastrnak scored the eventual game-winning goal for the Bruins with just 1:47 left in regulation. The Bruins scored three times in the third to both begin and complete the comeback, potting all three goals in a span of 13:20.

The teams battled to a scoreless draw in the first period, with the Bruins out-shooting the Blues 9-5. That included a 15-7 advantage in five-on-five shot attempts, and a 4-1 edge in five-on-five high-danger chances. The B’s did have two power play opportunities, ultimately coming up empty-handed.

Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm exited the game after blocking a shot during the first period (per Jim McBride), then wasn’t spotted on the Bruins bench to start the second. The team later announced that Lindholm would not return to the game due to a lower-body injury.

Despite continuing to extend their lead in shots on goal, the Bruins were not the first team to score. The Blues grabbed a 1-0 lead on a power play, cashing in on a Cole Koepke high-stick in the offensive zone, as Brayden Schenn took advantage of a fluttering puck off Jeremy Swayman for the rebound goal.

The Bruins went right back on the penalty kill shortly after Schenn’s goal, as David Pastrnak committed another high-stick, also in the offensive zone. Once again, the Blues scored from virtually the same spot right by Swayman’s crease, as Brandon Saad fed it across to Oskar Sundqvist for the tap-in one-timer.

Boston had a chance to claw back in the game with a power play of its own, but couldn’t find the back of the net, heading to the second intermission down 2-0.

The B’s finally found the back of the net less than five minutes into the third period, after a Pastrnak takeaway in the neutral zone sparked a 2-on-1 rush. Pastrnak slipped the puck cross-ice to Morgan Geekie, who banged the one-timer past Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington to cut the deficit in half at 2-1.

Defenseman Charlie McAvoy tied the game with a bomb of a shot through Binnington, his third goal of the season and first since Oct. 10 against Montreal. McAvoy got the play started with a stretch pass through the neutral zone, then found open ice in the high slot to take the setup from Brad Marchand.

Pastrnak’s game-winning goal came after the Bruins had created traffic and chaos around the net, as he fired from high in the faceoff circle with just enough power to squeak it through Binnington.

Up Next: The Bruins will look to build momentum off the win in St. Louis on Thursday night in Dallas, when they take on the Stars at American Airlines Center.