Bruins complete late comeback, beat Blackhawks 5-4 in overtime at TD Garden

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

BOSTON — The Boston Bruins scored twice late in the third period and then received the winning goal from Elias Lindholm in overtime to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-4 at TD Garden on Saturday. Boston erased the deficit after going down 4-2 late in the third. Mason Lohrei got the Bruins within one at 13:06, and with the goalie pulled for an extra skater, Morgan Geekie scored on a one-timer with 12 seconds remaining to tie the game 4-4.

In the decisive opening of overtime, Lindholm scored at 2:32 after he fended off two defenders, showed patience, and tucked a forehand past Chicago goaltender Arvid Soderblom to complete the comeback. Boston also got scoring contributions from David Pastrnak, who scored for the Bruins after they had lost two straight. Charlie McAvoy and JJ Peterka each recorded two assists, and Michael DiPietro made 37 saves for Boston. Pastrnak’s goal moved him into sole possession of third on the Bruins’ all-time list with 428 career goals, passing former teammate Patrice Bergeron. Pastrnak was also named Bruins captain on September 27.

Chicago responded with Anton Frondell, who scored twice. The Blackhawks also received a goal and an assist from Connor Bedard, while Soderblom made 27 saves. Chicago entered the game with a recent slide, having lost five of its past six contests, and was 0-5-1 on the road this season. The scoring began with Frondell giving Chicago a 1-0 lead at 6:04 of the first period. He finished with a one-timer from the right circle that beat DiPietro high glove. Pastrnak tied the game 1-1 at 13:05 after Pavel Zacha sent him on a breakaway with a backhand stretch pass; Pastrnak then chipped the puck over Soderblom’s glove.

The Blackhawks took control in the middle of the game. Frondell scored again to make it 2-1 at 3:31 of the second period, redirecting Tyler Bertuzzi’s shot from the left circle over Soderblom’s shoulder. Casey Mittelstadt evened the score 2-2 at 12:34 after a puck takeaway by James Hagens just inside the offensive blue line led to a slot-area wrist shot that beat Soderblom.

Chicago surged again in the third. Ryan Greene put the Blackhawks ahead 3-2 at 9:38, completing a 3-on-1 by beating DiPietro short side. Less than three minutes later, Bedard scored at 12:20 to put Chicago up 4-2, setting up the late Bruins rally that carried the game to overtime.

After Lohrei narrowed the gap and Geekie forced overtime with the tying strike at the final seconds, Lindholm’s winner completed Boston’s turnaround in the extra period. With the victory, the Bruins improved to 10-4-1, while the Blackhawks fell to 4-9-1.