BUFFALO, N.Y. — Left winger Brad Marchand scored 1:20 into overtime, giving the Boston Bruins to a 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres Thursday night.
Marchand ripped a one-timer into the top right corner of the net following a perfect feed from right winger Reilly Smith.
It was Marchand’s second goal of the night. He also tied the game with 5:30 left in the third period.
Defenseman Adam McQuaid also scored for the Bruins (6-6-0). Goalie Niklas Svedberg made 13 saves.
Center Tyler Ennis and right winger Drew Stafford scored for the Sabres (2-8-1). Goalie Jhonas Enroth made 34 saves.
Marchand evened the score at 2-2 after right winger Loui Eriksson’s shot deflected off Marchand’s hands and went into the Buffalo net.
The Sabres opened up a 2-1 lead in the second period with two goals on just three shots.
Stafford opened the scoring on Buffalo’s first power-play goal of the season 5:12 into the period. Ennis looped skated out from behind the Boston net, and he found Stafford in the left circle. The veteran buried his first goal of the season. The Sabres failed to score on n their first 33 power-play attempts in 2014-15.
McQuaid tied the game at 1-1 at 11:36 of the second. Fellow defenseman Carl Soderberg found a wide-open McQuaid in the slot, and McQuaid’s shot deflected off Sabres defenseman Mike Weber and tucked into the net.
Ennis gave Buffalo a 2-1 lead with 3:35 remaining in the second by finishing a two-on-one opportunity following a nice feed from center Torrey Mitchell.
It didn’t take very long for the action to get under way. Just 51 seconds into the game, forwards Chris Stewart and Milan Lucic had a spirited scrap. Stewart hit Lucic with a jab, and the Boston forward responded accordingly with several punches.
NOTES: The Sabres scratched D Andrej Meszaros, D Nikita Zadorov and C Brian Flynn. Tyson Strachan replaced Meszaros in the lineup, Strachan’s second game of the season. … The Bruins scratched RW Matt Fraser and D Matt Bartkowski. Boston also was without injured defensemen Zdeno Chara (left knee ligament), Torey Krug (broken finger) and Kevan Miller (dislocated right shoulder). … This was the second of four meetings between the Sabres and Bruins this season and the 275th game all-time between the two teams. Their next matchup is Dec. 21 in Boston.