BOSTON — Brad Marchand was happy enough to kiss somebody after scoring the tying and winning goals for the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
That’s exactly what he did.
“After he scored, he even kissed me in the visor,” new teammate Maxime Talbot said after his pass sent Marchand on his way to the winner as the Bruins pulled out a 3-2 overtime victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Added Marchand: “Oh, did you see that there?. Yeah, I just said to him, ‘I could kiss you right now.’ His visor was in the way.”
Marchand deflected home a 6-on-4 power play goal with 14.1 seconds left in regulation and then scored the winner with 1:08 remaining in overtime.
It was a true character win that came after the Flyers, desperately trying to stay in the playoff hunt, took a 2-1 lead with 4:30 left.
“I think it was a bit of a quick letdown, but with the leadership we have on our bench, a lot of guys stepped up and were very vocal,” Marchand said. “I think it picked the guys emotions back up and we got guys fired up to go back and get it. It worked out.”
Marchand, who deflected defenseman Dougie Hamilton’s shot to tie the game, beat goaltender Steve Mason on a backhander off a rush — his 21st goal of the season — to give the Bruins the win and leave the Flyers’ playoff chances severely damaged.
Talbot, playing in his second game for the Bruins and a center playing left wing, gave Marchand the pass and then got the kiss.
The win, their third in three games against Philadelphia this season, strengthened Boston’s hold on the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Flyers, who really needed a regulation win, fell five points behind the Bruins, who also have two extra games to play.
Asked if this was a crushing defeat, Flyers coach Craig Berube, whose team suffered its 13th extra-time loss, said: “Crushing? Well, we’re winning 2-1, get that kill and we win the game. It hurts, but crushing? I don’t know about that. I mean, we’ve got to go play (New) Jersey tomorrow, so I’m done with this game.
“We got a point, should have had two but it didn’t happen. So, got to go to Jersey and get two points there.”
Center Chris VandeVelde, who scored what looked like the winner, disagreed with his coach on the crushing question, saying” “That’s exactly what it was.”
But, he added: “It’s a tough defeat. But there’s still time. There’s games, but it’s getting down there. So, we’ve got to start winning games and doing the right things and holding onto wins.”
A questionable tripping call against right winger Wayne Simmonds gave the Bruins the power play with 2:03 left in regulation.
Despite playing 6-on-4 with goaltender Tuukka Rask pulled, Boston couldn’t score and there was a faceoff with 18.6 seconds on the clock.
Right winger Loui Eriksson came in off center Patrice Bergeron’s faceoff battle and got the puck back to Hamilton. His wrist shot from the right point bounced in off Marchand.
Then, after Rask stopped right winger Jakub Voracek on an overtime breakaway, Marchand came through as Mason, who played well, fell to 1-9-5 on the road.
“They found a way to win it and we found a way to lose it,” Mason said.
VandeVelde tipped home defenseman Nick Schultz’s wrist shot from the left point to give Philadelphia the lead. The goal, VandeVelde’s ninth of the season, came after Bruins center Gregory Campbell iced the puck just feet shot of an easy access to the red line.
Campbell then lost the faceoff to VandeVelde, who went to the net for the deflection, which trickled through Rask.
“It was a great battle out there,” Rask said. “Not a lot of room. It’s just one of those games where chances are tough to come by and when they come, they’re pretty dangerous.”
Defenseman Zdeno Chara also scored on the power play for the Bruins, while Voracek had a power-play goal for the Flyers, who haven’t won in Boston since opening night in 2011.
Rask finished with 29 saves and Mason with 34, as the Bruins improved to 10-10 in extra time.
The Bruins came in 1-of-14 on the power play over the last four games, and also allowed at least one power play goal for the seventh time in the last nine games.