Loui Eriksson scored 33 seconds into overtime Tuesday night to give the Boston Bruins a 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The win improved the Bruins to 3-1-0 on their current six-game road trip and allowed them to leap past the Detroit Red Wings and into second place in the Atlantic Division.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Eriksson received a pass from Torey Krug during the opening shift of overtime and fired it past Blue Jackets goalie Joonas Korpisalo. David Krejci was credited with the secondary assist.
Eriksson, who played in his 700th game Tuesday, has scored a goal in all four games of the Bruins’ road trip and in five of his last six games overall. His overtime winner also allowed him to reach the 20-goal plateau for the sixth time in his career.
BERGERON, McQUAID RETURN
Center Patrice Bergeron and defenseman Adam McQuaid were back in the Bruins’ lineup after missing two and 18 games, respectively, with injuries. It took the former less than 15 minutes to ink his name on the scoresheet.
Bergeron intercepted a pass from Columbus defenseman Seth Jones in the offensive zone and fired it past Korpisalo for Boston’s first goal of the night.
The goal was Bergeron’s 22nd of the season and the 228th of his career, tying him with Hall of Famer Dit Clapper for 12th in franchise history. Next up on that list are Milt Schmidt (229 goals) and Donald Marcotte (230).
WENNBERG ONE-ON-ONE
The Blue Jackets did not tally a shot on goal until the 6:31 mark of the first period, but they took the first lead of the game after Alexander Wennberg split Bruins defensemen Zdeno Chara and Zach Trotman and drew a hooking call.
The officials awarded the Blue Jackets center a penalty shot, and Wennberg proceed to flip a backhander past Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask to give the hosts a 1-0 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in the first.
FRIENDLY FIRE
Rask was slow to get up after absorbing a hit from teammate Matt Beleskey during the waning moments of the opening period.
Beleskey attempted to lay a hit on Blue Jackets defenseman David Savard but ricocheted into his own goaltender, appearing to catch Rask in the mask with his left elbow. Rask was down on the ice for several seconds but remained in the game after being examined by Bruins trainer Don DelNegro.
Rask, who was pulled from two of his previous three shots, finished with 28 saves in the win.
MAN DISADVANTAGE
The Bruins’ power play continued to struggle, failing to score on four opportunities and going without a shot on goal in three of them. Boston also came close to allowing two shorthanded goals, but Rask shut down breakaway bids by Brandon Saad and Matt Calvert.
The Bruins have just one goal in their last 34 power-play opportunities and have gone without a power-play goal in 13 of their last 15 games.
MARCHAND SILENCED
Brad Marchand tallied just two shots on goal for the Bruins and finished without a point after racking up 13 goals in his previous 13 games.
LINEUP NOTES
Center Joonas Kemppainen played his third consecutive game for the Bruins following his call-up from the Providence last week. He moved down to the fourth line and replaced Max Talbot, who sat out as a healthy scratch for the first time since Nov. 27.
UP NEXT
The Bruins will play the penultimate contest of their season-long road trip Thursday night in Nashville against the Predators.
Thumbnail photo via Aaron Doster/USA TODAY Sports Images
