Pastrnak led McAvoy Bruins to thrilling comeback victory vs. Blues originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

After the first two periods Tuesday night in St. Louis, it looked like the Boston Bruins were going to suffer another tough loss in a season full of them.

They trailed the Blues 2-0 for two periods. St. Louis came into the game with the worst power play in the NHL and still scored twice with the man advantage in the second period. Poor penalty killing and mediocre special teams hurt the Bruins again.

But instead of going further, the Bruins produced an inspired effort for the rest of the match, recording their first comeback win in the third period of the campaign with a 3–2 victory.

One of the most encouraging aspects of this win for the Bruins was that they got key contributions from struggling players.

Morgan Geekie has had a very difficult season. He was a healthy scratch several times and entered Tuesday with zero goals in 11 games. He ended that drought by getting the B’s on the board with a goal at 4:53 of the third period.

Charlie McAvoy had scored just one point in his last fourteen games before Tuesday. He delivered one of his best performances of the season with a goal and an assist during the third period. The star defenseman tied the score with a blast from inside the blue line that beat Blues goalie Jordan Binnington at 9:15 of the third period.

The Bruins took their first lead of the night with 1:46 remaining when David Pastrnak ended a seven-game drought — his longest since the 2021-21 season — with his seventh goal of the year.

Pastrnak was the best player on the ice the entire game. He scored the winning goal and got the first assist on Geekie’s score. Pastrnak also recorded a game-high 10 shots on net. The Bruins had a 22-6 edge in shot attempts, a 13-5 edge in shots on net, a 13-0 edge in scoring opportunities and a 2-0 goal difference during Pastrnak’s 17:31 of 5-on -5 ice age. , per natural statistical trick.

Another encouraging sign for the Bruins from this game was their play in the third period. They entered Tuesday with a league-worst minus-11 goal differential in the third period. Boston didn’t score a single shot in the third period of last Saturday’s loss to the Ottawa Senators.

The Bruins were much more dangerous offensively in the third period against the Blues. The B’s not only outscored the Blues 3-0 in the frame, but also earned an 11-8 edge in shots, a 12-9 edge in scoring chances and a 7-5 edge in risky chances at 5-on- 5 in the third period.

This win has the potential to be a season-changing outcome for the Bruins. They desperately needed this kind of play, where they stuck to the game plan, overcame adversity and picked up a much-needed two points.

Of course, a poor performance Thursday against a very good Stars team in Dallas could ruin this momentum, but the Bruins have a real chance here to string together a few good games in a row and get their season back on track .