When Elias Lindholm joined NESN’s Judd Sirott during the first intermission Tuesday night in Calgary, he called the Bruins’ first period “brutal” and said things “can’t get much worse than this.”
He was wrong about the second part. Despite Boston’s poor start, it was still a 0-0 game after 20 minutes. Less than 90 seconds into the second period, the Flames had taken a 2-0 lead on goals from Matt Coronato and Nazem Kadri just 27 seconds apart. It had gotten worse, and any hope that Saturday’s win in Vancouver had turned around this western road trip seemed to be fading.
But unlike the first two games of this trip in Winnipeg and Seattle, when the Bruins folded in the third period, they dug deep in the final 20 Tuesday night, erasing a two-goal deficit and going on to win 4-3 in overtime on David Pastrnak’s walk-off.
It actually looked like the comeback may have been starting in the second period. Interim head coach Joe Sacco called a timeout right after Calgary’s second goal, and that seemed to settle the Bruins down. He also adjusted his lines, moving Charlie Coyle up to second-line right wing with Brad Marchand and Elias Lindholm while dropping Justin Brazeau down to a new-look third line with Mark Kastelic and Trent Frederic.
The Bruins started playing better after that and cut the lead to 2-1 on a good effort from Lindholm, who blocked a shot at one end and finished at the other for his first goal in 12 games.
The Bruins slipped back into a two-goal hole late in the second period, though, with some lax defense and a fortunate bounce allowing Ryan Lomberg to push Calgary’s lead to 3-1.
That could have been deflating, but the Bruins made sure it wasn’t. They came out flying in the third and started creating some bounces of their own. They cut the lead to one 4:14 into the period, when Mason Lohrei broke his stick on a one-timer, only to have the puck slide perfectly to a pinching Andrew Peeke. His shot then produced a rebound for Morgan Geekie to bury.
Two and a half minutes later, Lindholm set up another goal, taking a hit to make a pass that sent Marchand into the offensive zone. Marchand then fed Marc McLaughlin in the slot, and McLaughlin followed up his first attempt and buried the second to tie the game with his second goal in as many games.
“Marc just crashes the net there and stays with it,” Sacco said. “This is a second-effort league, and it was a good second effort by Marc.”
The Bruins have a decision to make with McLaughlin in the next few days. Right now, they could still send him back to Providence without exposing him to waivers. But if he plays two more games, he would need to clear waivers to go back down, and there’s a chance another team would claim him given his recent play. So, the Bruins either send him down now even though his play hasn’t warranted it, or they’re probably keeping him in Boston for much longer.
The Bruins ultimately outshot the Flames 15-5 in the third period and held a 9-1 advantage in high-danger chances. They carried that momentum into overtime and came away with two big points.
“Just will,” Sacco said of the comeback during his postgame interview on NESN. “I really loved our effort in the third period. There was no quit. The lines that were hopping over the bench, they were eager to get out there. They wanted to make a difference. ... I was really proud of the way we responded in that third period. I loved our energy.”
As improbable as it would have seemed at this time last week, the Bruins are now 2-2-0 on this trip, with a chance to make it a winning trip Thursday in Edmonton. That might be the toughest test yet, though, as the star-studded Oilers have won eight of their last 10 games.