BOSTON — Charlie Coyle scored his second goal of the game 5:15 into overtime on Thursday night to give the Bruins a 3-2 win in Game 2 of their best-of-7 second round playoff series with the Blue Jackets.
Coyle had forced overtime with his first goal of the night, making it 2-2 with 4:35 remaining in regulation.
Game 2 is on Saturday night at the Garden (8 p.m., NBC, WBZ-FM 98.5).
The B’s had a 1-0 lead entering the third period, but [...]
BOSTON — Charlie Coyle scored his second goal of the game 5:15 into overtime on Thursday night to give the Bruins a 3-2 win in Game 2 of their best-of-7 second round playoff series with the Blue Jackets.
Coyle had forced overtime with his first goal of the night, making it 2-2 with 4:35 remaining in regulation.
Game 2 is on Saturday night at the Garden (8 p.m., NBC, WBZ-FM 98.5).
The B’s had a 1-0 lead entering the third period, but the Blue Jackets went ahead with a pair of goals 13 seconds apart. Former Bruin Riley Nash scored the first at 7:39, tipping a Seth Jones shot past Tuukka Rask (20 saves). The Jackets took the lead at 7:52, when Artemi Panarin’s shot from the left circle hit the back of Pierre-Luc Dubois’ leg and skipped through Rask’s pads.
Charlie Coyle forced overtime with 4:35 left in regulation, ramming a pass from Marcus Johansson just inside the near post past Sergei Bobrovsky (34 saves).
The Bruins, despite not completing their seven-game, first-round series against the Leafs until Tuesday night, had by far the most energy in the first period, but couldn’t maintain it. The Blue Jackets, idle for well over a week after engineering their stunning, four-game sweep over the NHL regular-season champion Lightning, gradually found their game pace.
The B’s had a 1-0 lead and 14-4 advantage in shots through 20 minutes. While their 5-on-5 play was strong, they also generated scoring chances — and the only goal of the period — when one of their players was in the penalty box.
That started early. The Bruins, who were awarded a power play when Scott Harrington tripped Sean Kuraly just 3:19 in to the game, lost the last 40 seconds of the man advantage when they were caught with too many men on the ice for the second game in a row. The B’s generated a great scoring chance during the 4-on-4 situation, though, with David Krejci taking Coyle’s handoff in the right circle and send the puck cross-ice to Charlie McAvoy, whose one-timer from the weak side was denied.
Coyle’s hooking penalty at 9:20 turned into the game’s first goal. Noel Acciari scored it at 10:34.
McAvoy made the critical play, stepping up near the Bruins’ blue line to poke the puck away from Dubois, leaving it free along the boards. Acciari won it there from Alexandre Tessier and started a 2-on-1 rush Joakim Nordstrom. His passing option denied, Acciari snapped a shot from the right circle that found pace above Bobrovsky’s right pad and his blocker as he dropped to his knees.
Idle since they completed their sweep of the Lightning on April 26, the Blue Jackets began to find their legs later in the period and began testing Rask. He was very sharp when Zdeno Chara lost a puck he was carrying out of the defensive zone, and Cam Atkinson sent it into the slot for a Ryan Dzingel shot that Rask stopped.
Rask kept it at 1-0 with 2:15 to go. Dzingel got a half-step on Acciari on a rush into the offensive zone and had enough separation to launch a rising backhander, which Rask stopped with his left arm.
The Blue Jackets continued to gain steam in the second period, while the Bruins began to sag. The B’s only managed six shots on Bobrovsky, despite going on the power play three times, while the Jackets put 10 shots on Rask.