Matt Kalman – NHL.com Correspondent
BOSTON – Forward Brad Marchand stayed hot by scoring on a penalty shot 2:32 into overtime and goaltender Tuukka Rask made 37 saves to help the Boston Bruins sweep a home-and-home with the Buffalo Sabres by winning 2-1 at TD Garden on Saturday.
The Bruins (28-18-6) defeated the Sabres 3-2 in a shootout on the road Thursday.
Marchand has nine goals in his past nine games and leads the Bruins with 24 goals.
Marchand earned the penalty shot by stealing Rasmus Ristolainen’s pass near the Buffalo blue line and gaining the zone with speed. Ristolainen dropped his stick and grabbed Marchand to prevent a scoring chance.
Loui Eriksson also scored for Boston, which is 7-2-1 in its past 10 games.
Sam Reinhart scored for the second straight game and Robin Lehner made 36 saves for the Sabres (21-26-6), who lost in regulation for the first time in four games (2-1-1).
It took the Bruins until the 7:00 mark to have a shot on goal when Patrice Bergeron tested Lehner with a wrist shot. But Boston scored first when Eriksson buried a slam dunk from the right side of the slot at 12:22. After David Pastrnak pressured Buffalo defenseman Cody Franson into a bad pass, David Krejci intercepted the puck and passed it to Pastrnak in the left circle. Pastrnak’s fake pulled defenseman Mike Weber and Lehner to him and left the other side of the net wide open for Eriksson after a slap pass. It was Eriksson’s first goal in 10 games.
Reinhart tied it 1-1 10:53 into the second period on a rebound of a Jamie McGinn shot from the high slot. After Josh Gorges poke checked Brett Connolly at the Boston blue line and McGinn fed the puck to Ryan O’Reilly down low. O’Reilly eluding Bergeron’s check, set up McGinn for a shot that went off Rask to Reinhart near the right post for the goal.
The Bruins host the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday. The Sabres host the Florida Panthers on Tuesday.
(Reprinted With Permission of the Buffalo Sabres)
