Bruins rally to defeat Flames for fifth straight win

CALGARY-- The Boston Bruins allowed two goals in the first 2:34 but rallied for a fifth straight win, 4-3 against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Friday.

Brad Marchand scored the game-winner in the second period for the Bruins (39-11-12), who are 11-1-0 in their past 12 games and lead the Atlantic Division. Jaroslav Halak made 18 saves.
"Definitely not the start you want as a team," Boston center Patrice Bergeron said. "I thought we showed some great resilience staying with it and sticking to the program and bouncing back after those early goals. I thought we settled down and played more sound hockey and didn't give up as many quality chances."
WATCH: [All Bruins vs. Flames highlights]
Mikael Backlund scored two goals for the Flames (31-25-6), who have lost two of three and are tied with the Arizona Coyotes for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference having played two fewer games. Cam Talbot made 19 saves.
"We came out well," Backlund said. "But I thought they got a little better in the second half of the first (period) and carried it over into the second. I thought it was an even game. We tried to push in the third. It wasn't enough."

The Bruins trailed 3-1 3:23 into the game. They are the seventh team in NHL history to win after allowing three goals in the first four minutes.
Bergeron scored on David Pastrnak's wide shot off the end boards to make it 3-2 at 6:12, and Charlie Coyle tied it 3-3 with a forehand deke on a breakaway at 12:20.
Marchand deflected Brandon Carlo's shot 52 seconds into the second period to give Boston a 4-3 lead.
"I think our second half of that first period we had the momentum," Coyle said. "We tied it up. Came back. That's what it takes. That's what good teams do. They jump out like that. We just calmed down. You don't panic. You go right back out that next shift and that next line does something good."
Backlund scored 20 seconds into the first period, on a rebound from Rasmus Andersson's shot off the post, to put the Flames up 1-0, and at 2:34 when he one-timed a pass on a 2-on-1 from Tobias Rieder to make it 2-0.

Bergeron scored 24 seconds later to get Boston within 2-1. He has 21 goals in 32 games after returning from a lower-body injury on Dec. 9.
"Playing with those two guys (Marchand and Pastrnak) makes my job real easy," said Bergeron, who has scored in five straight games. "I'm trying to take care of the details of the game and go on the attack, and from there, simplifying our game. We're used to each other. We know where to be. I'm trying to get open for them to find me."
Gaudreau's centering pass deflected off the post and then off Halak to give Calgary a 3-1 lead at 3:23. It set a Flames record for the fastest three goals to start a game, quicker than the 3:29 it took against the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 27, 1986.
"It was 3-1 with, what, 55 minutes left in the game, so it's basically a whole game there," Calgary forward Matthew Tkachuk said. "You can't take it for granted, that lead, even though it was nice to get off to a good start. Then they got three unanswered goals."

They said it

"It seems like they always come out flying like that. A team who's on the cusp … they might be in a playoff spot but there's so many teams right there, so their sense of urgency is going to be up … they came out hot. You just calm down a little bit, take a breather, stay in the house." -- Bruins forward Charlie Coyle
"Things you can learn from a team like that is they're responsible, they don't give up much. They make you earn everything, and that's what makes them such a good team. We play them again on Tuesday night so we know what to expect." -- Flames forward Milan Lucic

Need to know

Bergeron has 10 points (seven goals, three assists) in a seven-game point streak. … Marchand has eight points (one goal, seven assists) in a five-game point streak. ... Boston is 24-1-6 when leading after two periods. … Flames forward Derek Ryan played 11:37 after missing two games because of illness. ... Tkachuk has nine points (three goals, six assists) in an eight-game point streak. ... The Bruins' win after three early goals was the first since April 13, 2008, when the Flames defeated the San Jose Sharks 4-3.

What's next

Bruins: At the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; ESPN+, CBC, SN, SN360, SN1, CITY, NESN, NHL.TV)
Flames: At the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; SN, FS-D+, NHL.TV)