Bruins come back late, Torey Krug wins it in OT against Wild

After a week of blown third period leads and shootout losses, the Bruins ran wild in the final two minutes of regulation on Saturday night.

David Krejci scored twice in the final two minutes to force overtime and give the Bruins three straight wins and points in seven straight games, as Torey Krug scored in overtime to win it 2:19. It was his first game back in two weeks.

The Wild were awarded seven power plays after the Bruins had one man advantage in the first period and scored twice. It’s the most opposing power plays the Bruins have allowed in a game all season.

They made up for it with the final power play, when Krejci tied the game at 4-4 with 1:07 left.

Tuukka Rask was a late insert into the starting lineup after head coach Bruce Cassidy initially named Jaroslav Halak the starter. Rask made 31 saves.

Jason Zucker put the Wild on the board 8:53 into the game, and just six seconds into a power play. He buried a rebound off Tuukka Rask’s pads from a Brad Hunt shot for the 1-0 advantage.

The Bruins didn’t respond until the second period, when Jake DeBrusk netted his fourth goal of the season 4:14 into the frame. Zdeno Chara blasted a shot from the point that hit off the shaft of DeBrusk’s stick to knot things up.

The Wild, though, answered back in two minutes.

Victor Rask scored on his last-name doppleganger, with a puck hitting off his skate with 6:14 gone in the second. It was briefly reviewed for a kick, but the officials determined there was no distinct kicking motion.

Minnesota’s power play did the rest of the damage.

Eric Staal popped in a rebound 14:26 into the period to make it a two-goal lead. Zdeno Chara’s stick caught Zucker up high and drew blood to force the Bruins to play shorthanded for four minutes; Staal’s goal came with 17 seconds left on the first power play, so they stayed on the man advantage for two more minutes.

The Bruins killed that, along with a Brad Marchand cross-checking penalty, as they dealt with six straight Wild power plays after drawing the first penalty of the game.

Marchand made up for the penalty with three seconds left in the second.

Torey Krug, in his first game in two weeks, fired a shot off the end boards that found Marchand at the doorstep and he put in his 16th goal of the season to make it a one-goal game heading into the final frame.

Instead of using that momentum, the Bruins went to the penalty kill for the seventh time early in the third, and while the Wild didn’t score off of it, it prevented the Bruins from taking advantage of any extra adrenaline.

Kevin Fiala extended the Minnesota lead back to two just 5:19 into the third. He tried to pass to Zach Parise in front of the crease but the puck hit off Krug’s stick and past Rask to make it 4-2.

Krejci made it a one-goal game with 1:55 left and Rask pulled. The Bruins had a golden chance with their third power play with 1:31 left from a Luke Kunin tripping call, and they took advantage.

Krejci blasted a shot from the outside of the circle on a pass from Bergeron up high with 1:07 left to tie things up and steal the point.

Instead of going to the shootout, Krug took care of business with 2:19 left in overtime for the win.

The Bruins head to Montreal on Tuesday for a back-to-back in Canada ahead of Thanksgiving.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2D7S89M