BOSTON — The Boston Bruins continue to roll.
The B’s notched their third straight victory Tuesday night with an exciting 4-3 win over the Arizona Coyotes at TD Garden.
Boston’s win streak appeared to be in jeopardy in the early goings when Arizona jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead. But thanks to a flurry of second-period goals, the Black and Gold picked up a hard-fought two points.
It wasn’t Tuukka Rask’s best night in between the pipes — 30 saves on 33 shots — but the veteran goalie hung tough in the third period to earn his eighth win of the season.
With the win, the Bruins improve to 17-10-4, while the Coyotes fall to 13-14-2.
INSULT TO INJURY
The Bruins couldn’t have asked for a worse first period, which concluded with the home team facing more than just a two-goal deficit.
The Coyotes jumped out to an early lead thanks to a bit of puck luck. Clayton Keller zipped a pass across the ice to Nick Schmaltz, who unloaded a one-timer that bounced off the pipe and Rask’s pads before going into the back of the net.
IT'S SCHMALTZMAS SZN IN BOSTON 🎄 https://t.co/DrJpjn4st9
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) December 12, 2018
Arizona doubled its advantage less than a minute later when Nick Cousins’ twisted wrister beat Rask’s short side.
Things went from bad to worse with just over three minutes remaining in the first period when David Backes took a skate to the face. After trying to free himself from Oliver Ekmann-Larsson near the Coyotes’ net, the defenseman’s blade caught the face of Backes, who rushed back to the locker room after being bloodied from the scary sequence.
SECOND-PERIOD SURGE
The Bruins’ offense was non-existent in the opening frame, but that couldn’t have been further from the case in the second.
Boston’s good fortune started right from the second-period puck drop, as Backes was back on the ice after his unsettling incident at the tail end of the first.
The B’s netted their first goal of the game thanks to a pair of youngsters. Just under nine minutes in the stanza, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson slipped a silky backhanded pass to Danton Heinen, who buried his fourth goal of the season.
It effectively took the blink of an eye for Boston to tie things up. Thirty-three seconds after Heinen’s tally, Brad Marchand found a streaking David Pastrnak, who delivered at the doorstep.
The roles were reversed on the Bruins’ third tally of the contest, which saw Pastrnak pick up an apple on Marchand’s ninth goal of the campaign.
Setting up shop in the goalmouth proved effective yet again for Marchand, who followed up his go-ahead goal with another just under two minutes later.
The Coyotes ultimately answered the Bruins’ scoring barrage at the 15:00 mark when Michael Bunting potted the first goal of his NHL career.
FINISHING TOUCHES
The final frame wasn’t nearly as action-packed as the first two periods, but the Bruins turned up their defensive effort to secure the victory.
The Coyotes had a chance to make things interesting with just under six minutes remaining when John Moore was tacked with a tripping penalty. The visitors never truly threatened on the man advantage, though, as the Bruins’ penalty kill stood tall.
Arizona pulled its goaltender with just over a minute remaining but didn’t come close to breaking through the teeth of Boston’s defense.
UP NEXT
The Bruins will hit the road for a tilt with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday. Puck drop from PPG Paints Arena is set for 7 pm ET.
This Bruins Wrap is presented by Plainridge Park Casino.
