The Boston Bruins defeated the Dallas Stars in thrilling fashion, 3-2 in ovetime, Tuesday night at American Airlines Arena.
The Bruins improved their league-best record to 40-8-5 while the Stars fell to 30-14-11 on their season.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
The odds were heavily in favor of the Bruins heavily after just one period of play, but it wouldn't be easy for them to get back into the win column.
But it would be thrilling.
Pavel Zacha came through in the clutch and delivered a much-needed spark by leveling the score to give the Bruins new life with 9:48 left in the third period. Following Zacha's heroics, David Pastrnak provided the game-winner in overtime to give Boston its cherry on top in an electric contest against Dallas.
Boston, who last faced Dallas during an Oct. 25 win at TD Garden, wasn't nearly as successful in finding the net during their second go-around. While it appeared the Bruins would get back on track with an early Taylor Hall goal coupled with their 25-0-3 record in games where Boston scores first, the Stars instead delivered a surprise defensive showing against the NHL's top dog.
On power-play opportunities, the Bruins came up empty on three chances and struggled to assemble any sort of momentum to uplift goalie Linus Ullmark, who while not his best, still provided a solid performance. Ullmark kept Boston well within reach throughout the game fresh off his 33-save showing against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The win marks the 100th for Jim Montgomery as an NHL head coach.
STARS OF THE GAME
-- Pastrnak served as the hero of the night for the Bruins, scoring 3:44 into overtime to close the door and seize the victory.
-- Zacha supplied a pivotal game-changing goal for the Bruins, netting a wrist shot to even the game at 2-2 and ultimately send the game into the extra frame.
-- Ullmark was solid and kept the game competitive throughout all three periods, saving 29 shots.
WAGER WATCH
DraftKings Sportsbook set the odds of a Hall being the opening scorer at +1900 before game time. Hall wasted no time with his first-period goal giving the Black and Gold the upper hand quickly over the Stars. A $100 wager placed on Hall would've resulted in a $2,000 total payout.
UP NEXT ON NESN
The Bruins will get an off day Wednesday before facing the Nashville Predators to wrap up their quick road trip Thursday night. Puck drop from Bridgestone Arena is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus a full hour of pregame coverage, live on NESN.
