Bruins Wrap: Brad Marchand’s OT Goal Lifts Boston Past Avalanche 2-1

BOSTON — Another day, another overtime win for the Bruins.

The B’s went down late in the first period to the Colorado Avalanche, but were able to recover in the following frame. The game remained tied until Brad Marchand sealed the 2-1 overtime victory in the final minute of the 3-on-3 session at TD Garden on Sunday afternoon.

John Moore scored the Bruins’ lone regulation goal, while Nathan MacKinnon had Colorado’s only tally. The Avs now have lost seven straight while Boston has won four of its last five.

Jaroslav Halak stopped 35 of 36 shots, while Semyon Varlamov turned away 34.

With the win, the Bruins improved to 31-17-8, while the Avalanche slipped to 22-22-11.

Here’s how it all went down:

AVS STRIKE FIRST
It looked as if the opening 20 minutes were going to remain scoreless, but MacKinnon changed that with 32 seconds remaining.

Boston successfully killed off a Danton Heinen high-sticking penalty before the B’s went on their own power play when Gabriel Landeskog was sent off for hooking with 3:41 left in the first period. The team had some ample scoring opportunities, but couldn’t beat Varlamov.

The two teams played 4-on-4 when Torey Krug was called for a hooking penalty and Colorado went on the man-advantage for just over a minute. With the clock winding down, MacKinnon unleashed a beautiful snipe to the top corner that Halak had no chance at to give the visitors a 1-0 edge.

Colorado outshot Boston 12-7.

MOORE TIES IT
The Black and Gold responded 3:40 into the second period thanks to Moore.

Charlie McAvoy laid a huge hit on Matt Nieto to begin the play and Moore was able to wrist the puck off the post and into the net to even things at one apiece. A small skirmish broke out after the goal, but the officials broke it up before it could escalate further.

Old friend Carl Soderberg went to the box for interference and Colorado and Boston went 4-on-4 briefly before the B’s went on the power play. Halak made a huge stop on MacKinnon breakaway out of the box to keep the game tied at one.

It looked as if Moore gave his team the lead with 24 seconds remaining, but the refs ruled the goal no good after Moore beat Varlamov from center ice. The puck hit off the curved glass by the Bruins’ bench — making it out of play — before reaching the net.

The Avalanche and Bruins headed into the final 20 minutes tied at one, with Colorado holding a slim shot advantage 24-22.

HARD-FOUGHT THIRD
Boston was forced to kill off two penalties, but just 14 seconds in its second one, the Avs were whistled for holding and the game went to 4-on-4 for 1:46. Neither team would net the go-ahead goal before going back to 5-on-5 action.

Colorado missed a wide open net with just over five minutes to play and the B’s had an ample opportunity to put the game away when they went on the power play with 2:15 remaining in the game.

Despite controlling the puck for a majority of the two minutes, Boston couldn’t seal the deal and would need extra time to decide the winner.

MARCHAND ENDS IT
Marchand lifted the B’s to victory with his overtime goal with 57 seconds remaining in sudden death.

UP NEXT
The Bruins continue their homestand Tuesday night with a tilt against the Chicago Blackhawks in a Winter Classic rematch. Puck drop from TD Garden is set for 7 p.m. ET.

This Bruins Wrap is presented by Plainridge Park Casino.