Bruins Notes: Brad Marchand Admits This After Ending Goalless Drought

BOSTON — Bruins captain Brad Marchand could have tallied his first goal of the season and closed out the Toronto Maple Leafs with an empty-net goal with just over a minute left in regulation.

That didn’t happen, though. Marchand got tied up and was called for offsides before he could fire off a shot.

But when the Maple Leafs forced overtime, Marchand didn’t miss his second chance at putting away Toronto for good.

Marchand got his opportunity following a terrible turnover from the Maple Leafs in their defensive zone and a feed from David Pastrnak. The Bruins captain had his initial shot on the doorstep stopped by Toronto goalie Anthony Stolarz, but Marchand flipped in the loose puck to lift the Bruins to a thrilling 4-3 overtime win over their Original Six rival at TD Garden on Saturday night.

It certainly was quite the way for Marchand to net his long-awaited first goal of the season as he also took sole possession of third place in franchise history for all-time game-winning goals.

“I was hoping it was going to happen on the empty-netter, I got to be honest,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said. “You could tell how happy the bench was when we scored that goal. He’s our leader, he’s someone that embodies what it is to be a Bruin — the right way. The way he carries himself on the ice, off the ice, everything.”

Marchand felt the weight of his goalless drought as each game passed. It was the longest stretch without a goal to start a season since his first full year with the Bruins in 2010-11.

“Yeah it is,” Marchand said when asked if it felt like he got the monkey off his back. “I’ve been through many different stretches in my career good and bad. You got to stay even-keeled. I wasn’t getting too caught up in it. But it is nice to get that one out of the way, for sure.”

The Bruins needed it, too, having entered the contest on a three-game losing streak and letting a late lead go when Auston Matthews scored with 1:17 left in regulation. But Marchand, who moved into a tie with Rick Middleton for fourth-most goals all-time in Bruins history, didn’t sense any panic from the bench after the Maple Leafs notched the equalizer.

And then Marchand made sure to come through for his teammates while also getting into the scoring column himself.

“Perfect timing,” Pastrnak said.

Here are more notes from Saturday’s Bruins-Maple Leafs game:

— Pastrnak has his signature look back, but it has nothing to do with his hair. Pastrnak chipped his teeth against the Maple Leafs when he took a high stick to the face from William Nylander.

“The old look is back,” Pastrnak said. “Can’t wait for another visit to the dentist.”

Pastrnak also opened up the scoring for the Bruins with a power-play goal in the second period. It was Pastrnak’s 30th career goal against the Maple Leafs, his most against any franchise.

— Justin Brazeau wasn’t in the Bruins lineup for two of three games on Boston’s most recent road trip. But his response to being a healthy scratch was excellent. He brought tremendous energy on both sides of the ice against the Maple Leafs and scored his second goal in as many games.

“I think it was just getting back to what I do,” Brazeau said. “Obviously, I don’t think I quite had the start that I wanted. I knew I could play and I knew I could get back and I could help this team.”

— Montgomery admitted he saw something out of his team prior to the game against the Maple Leafs that had been missing as of late.

“The group was loose this morning, which I was happy to see,” Montgomery said. “They hadn’t been loose in a while. You hadn’t seen smile on our faces in the morning skate — we saw that. We had a lot of energy. Positive energy creates good attitudes and good attitudes creates good habits. The motivation comes easily then to play the right way.”

— The Bruins close out their three-game homestand Tuesday against the Philadelphia Flyers, who are in last place in the Eastern Conference. Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. You can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.