On Saturday, March 16th, the Bruins held off the Philadelphia Flyers to win 6-5 in the TD Garden. Boston won two straight games following a 5-1 setback to the St. Louis Blues on Monday, giving them their 40th win of the season. Charlie Coyle scored two goals for the Bruins, snapping an eight-game scoring skid. Johnny Beecher scored his first goal for Boston since returning from the Providence Bruins (eight points: six goals, two assists). Joel Farabee tallied two goals for the Flyers.
Flyers lineup vs. Bruins:
Farabee – Laughton – Konecny
Tippett, Frost & Foerster
Deslauries – Couturier – Atkinson
Cates, Poehling, and Hathaway
York – Sanheim
Staal – Attard
Zamula – Johnson
Sandstrom
Ersson
Bruins lineup vs. Flyers:
Marchand – Coyle – Debrusk
van Riemsdyk – Zacha – Pastrnak
Heinen – Geekie – Frederic
Beecher – Boqvist – Brazeau
Grzelcyk – McAvoy
Lindholm – Carlo
Wetherspoon – Peeke
Swayman
Ullmark
Philadelphia grabbed a 1-0 lead at 15:42 of the first period on Ryan Poehling’s eleventh goal of the season. He hit a one-timer past Jeremy Swayman to cap up the odd-man rush. Later in the first 20 minutes, Morgan Geekie knotted it 1-1 at 4:09 for his 16th goal of the season, bringing Boston to the board. Geekie finished a rush with a clapper at the right circle after Swayman halted Travis Konecny’s partial breakaway attempt.
After their power play expired at 7:59 in the middle frame, Joel Farabee redirected an Owen Tippett point shot to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead. Charlie Coyle scored for the Bruins at 4:38 of the second period, tying the game at 2-2.
Charlie Coyle scored his second goal of the game and 23rd of the season at 18:52, putting Boston up early in the final frame. At 16:15, Johnny Beecher scored on a rebound for his sixth goal of the season. At 15:56, Jake DeBrusk switched from forehand to backhand and extended the Bruins’ advantage to 5-2. At 5:48 in the third, Nicolas Deslauries crammed the ball from behind the goal line, cutting the lead to 5-3. Morgan Frost made it 5-4 with a beautiful shot over Jeremy Swayman. At 2:59, Danton Heinen went for a 6-4 lead off the rush, and Joel Farabee scored a wraparound goal on a 6-on-5 to make it 6-5.
Charlie Coyle on the third period, the Bruins’ performance, and the victory: “It was like a roller coaster. We began off strong, extended our lead, and were confident in our abilities despite the fact that they are a formidable opponent. They play hard, hoping to keep their playoff berth and get in. We knew they weren’t going to sit back… there are some things we can clear up and I think our game slipped a little bit there as it went on. We can’t afford to play like that and have that mindset, so it’s up to us to remedy that and work on it. It’s good to have two points and be able to work on both at the same time.”
Notes:
– Jake DeBrusk scored and assisted, and Jeremy Swayman made 24 stops for Boston.
– Charlie Coyle’s opening goal was his 22nd of the season, an NHL career high. In 2015-16, he scored 21 goals for the Minnesota Wild.
– Pavel Zacha added an assist, bringing his point streak to seven games. In seven games, he has five goals and five assists.
– Andrew Peeke’s primary assist on Johnny Beecher’s goal was his first point with the Bruins since being acquired in a trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets on March 8.
– Owen Tippett had three assists and Felix Sandstrom made 24 saves for Philadelphia.
– Joel Farabee’s 21 goals mark an NHL career high. In 2020-21, he scored 20 goals.
