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    Joe Pohoryles
    Joe Pohoryles
    Jan 14, 2024, 05:02

    The Boston Bruins snapped a three-game losing streak to wrap up their four-game road trip with five of eight points.

    The Boston Bruins snapped a three-game losing streak to wrap up their four-game road trip with five of eight points.

    Charlie McAvoy, Brad Marchand Lift Bruins to 4-3 Overtime Win Against St. Louis

    For the fourth time in as many games, the Boston Bruins went past regulation. Unlike the previous three, they got the win.

    Charlie McAvoy called his own number on a 2-on-1 with David Pastrnak, firing to the top left corner to defeat the St. Louis Blues 4-3 in overtime at Enterprise Center on Saturday. McAvoy retrieved the puck in the neutral zone after a questionable no-call on David Pastrnak, who appeared to trip Robert Thomas, and the 26-year-old defenseman brought it all the way down for the win at 1:10.

    “Points in every game, that sounds good, but it was kind of disheartening the way we were losing these games, like three overtimes in a row,” McAvoy told reporters after the game. “And you go into overtime again tonight, blow a lead, but it all worked out so it feels good right now, and excited to end the trip with a win.”

    McAvoy and Brad Marchand each scored two goals, with the latter scoring his 900th point on the first goal, and James van Riemsdyk and Pastrnak each had two assists. Jeremy Swayman made 19 saves in the win, which puts Boston at 25-8-9.

    “We started skating, we started winning battles, but most importantly, we started hanging on to pucks,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery told reporters after the game. “It was a race track in the first period up and down, and that’s not Bruins hockey. We like to possess the puck. We like to make people defend and we like to wear people down.”

    With the score tied 2-2 entering the third period, Marchand put the Bruins back ahead 3-2 at 7:43 of the third period on a 5-on-3 power play, with Pastrnak setting him up on a cross-ice pass for the one-timer.

    Boston had 1:42 of a 5-on-4 advantage remaining, but it became a 4-on-4 after just 36 seconds when the Bruins were called for too many men on the ice at 8:19.

    Hampus Lindholm’s interference penalty at 13:17 set up the Blues power play, which capitalized when Oskar Sundqvist tied it 3-3 at 14:47, redirecting Scott Perunovich’s shot from the point out of the air.

    Marchand opened the scoring to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 5:02 of the first period. Marchand’s first shot from the slot was stopped by Blues goalie Jordan Binnington and Jake DeBrusk couldn’t push in the rebound, but Charlie Coyle recovered the puck behind the net and sent it back out to Marchand, who roofed it for the lead.

    Kevin Hayes tied it 1-1 for St. Louis just 1:05 later, when Kasperi Kappanen cycled behind Swayman’s net and found Hayes up the middle.

    Hayes appeared to score again at 9:55, picking up a stretch pass off the wall and beating Swayman from the left circle, but the goal was overturned after Boston successfully challenged for offsides.

    McAvoy put Boston in front 2-1 at 6:26, getting Jesper Boqvist’s pass from his skate blade to his stick just in time to get a shot off in the slot, but Jake Neighbours tied it 2-2 for the Blues at 10:57 with a net-front rebound.

    “I thought we felt good about our game for the most part, even [though] they kind of clawed back,” Marchand said. “I thought we kind of were like, ‘Alright, you know, we dropped the ball a couple times here, but we’re gonna get it tonight.’ So we were confident and felt good about the situation we were in. Obviously overtime can go anyway, but we kind of had that desperation and confidence tonight that allowed us to preserve.”