Marchand has 2 goals, 1 assist as Bruins beat Coyotes 4-3
BOSTON (AP) — In a span of five minutes, the Boston Bruins turned a two-goal deficit into a two-goal lead.
David Krejci was just happy to be along for the ride.
Moving up to Boston's top line to fill in for the injured Patrice Bergeron, Krejci assisted on three of Boston's four goals during a second-period flurry that put away the Arizona Coyotes 4-3 on Tuesday night.
Brad Marchand scored twice, and David Pastrnak had a goal and two assists for the Bruins — all during the five-minute span midway through the second.
"Those are two world-class players," Krejci said. "They make lots of skilled plays, so they kind of make it easy for you. ... I've just got to be at the right time at the right place, and the puck will find you."
Arizona led 2-0 before Danton Heinen and Pastrnak scored 33 seconds apart. Marchand gave the Bruins the lead two minutes later, and then added another two minutes after that to make it 4-2.
"It was those three minutes. We played a good hockey game for 50," Arizona coach Rick Tocchet said. "Two-nothing, there, we backed off."
Tuukka Rask stopped 30 shots for Boston, which beat the Coyotes for the 14th time in a row. The Bruins have won three in a row after snapping a three-game losing streak.
Coach Bruce Cassidy said the victory over Toronto on Saturday night was key.
"It can go in a hurry," he said. "Three can turn into five or six, and all bets are off and it's panic mode."
Nick Schmaltz and Nick Cousins scored 40 seconds apart for Arizona in the first period, and Darcy Kuemper made 22 saves for the Coyotes. Michael Bunting, who was making his NHL debut, scored an unassisted goal cut the deficit to 4-3 with 5 minutes left in the second.
"The guys bounced back really well," Bunting said. "You can feel bad for yourself and pack it in. We didn't do that."
The 2014 fourth-round draft pick admitted to jitters before the game, and snapped out of it during the national anthem.
"I was like, 'All right, I'm in an NHL game now,'" he said. "It's pretty special. It's something I'm going to remember for the rest of my life."
The Coyotes had a shorthanded breakaway midway through the third period, but the Bruins got back to keep them from getting a shot off. Arizona also pulled the goalie with 75 seconds left but managed just one shot on net, as time expired.
BLOOD ON THE ICE
Bruins forward David Backes rushed himself off the ice after taking a skate blade to the face in the first period. Backes was to the side of the net when he pushed Oliver Ekmann-Larsson aside and the Arizona defenseman went to the ice, kicking up his left skate on the way down.
It caught Backes in the face and he went down before skating on his own quickly to the Bruins bench and out the tunnel. He returned for — and won the opening faceoff to start the second period.
Backes did not speak to reporters after the game, but he told The Boston Globe that he had a cut on the side of his nose that needed a few stitches and some ointment.
NOTES: Bruins F David Krejci played in his 800th career NHL game and Coyotes D Niklas Hjalmarsson played in his 700th career game. ... Clayton Keller, who went to Boston University, had one assist and leads Arizona in scoring with eight goals and 12 assists. ... The Coyotes have not beaten Boston since the teams played in Prague to open the 2010-11 season.
UP NEXT
Coyotes: Visit Buffalo on Thursday.
Bruins: Visit Pittsburgh on Friday.