Forbort, Bruins defeat Flyers for third straight win

PHILADELPHIA -- Derek Forbort had his first two-goal NHL game for the Boston Bruins in a 5-2 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday.

"[Coach Bruce Cassidy] does a good job of talking to us about being smart about when to kind of jump in, kind of spacing with the forwards up top," the defenseman said. "When there's time to be aggressive and make a play, they want you to do that up top."
Craig Smith and David Pastrnak each had a goal and an assist, and Jake DeBrusk had two assists for Boston (9-5-0), which has won three games in a row. Linus Ullmark made 29 saves.
Derick Brassard scored two goals for Philadelphia (8-5-3), which lost two straight for the first time this season. Martin Jones made 39 saves.
"They made some real good plays, and we got some great saves by 'Jonesy,'" Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said. "Unfortunately, they got that one at the end of the first and then they got one on the first shift in the second, we got a little bit unfortunate there, went off Braun's stick. But we found a way to tie the second period, made it a game. They scored right away in the beginning of the third coming down the wing. ... When you're down by two goals to the Bruins, that's a tough team to come back, and we weren't able to get the job done."
Smith scored at 1:28 of the third period to give Boston a 4-2 lead. He carried the puck down the right side of Philadelphia zone, got a step on defenseman Travis Sanheim, and beat Jones from the right face-off circle.

The goal was Smith's first in nine games this season and came after he was scratched the previous two games.
"He's been playing through an injury, it was working against him," Cassidy said. "As a result, he wasn't the same player on the ice. Trying to get into practice on a regular basis, find a line. He was with [Charlie] Coyle earlier, today he's with [Erik] Haula and [Jake] DeBrusk. ... He had his usual jump. To go around [Sanheim], that's what he can do, and then finish."
Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy said it was gratifying to see Smith have some success.
"He's able to do a lot of things that we really value," McAvoy said. "You're so happy for him to be back in the lineup, to contribute, and to see that big smile."
Tomas Nosek put the Bruins up 1-0 at 18:25 of the first period.
Forbort made it 2-0 30 seconds into the second period when his shot from the left point deflected off the stick of defenseman Justin Braun.
Brad Marchand had an assist on the goal to extend his point streak to eight games (four goals, nine assists).
Brassard made it 2-1 at 1:22 when he scored from in front.
He tied the game 2-2 with a power-play goal at 9:25. Claude Giroux's pass through the slot tipped off Curtis Lazar's stick and went to Brassard, who scored from the right side.

Forbort gave Boston a 3-2 lead with a shot through a Smith screen with 3:33 left in the second.
His four goals are the most he's scored in his seven NHL seasons.
"The first one is pretty lucky," Forbort said. "The second one was 'Smitty' just making a good play. I kind of had a lot of time to walk in there."
Pastrnak made it 5-2 when he scored at 4-on-4 at 12:47. He has scored 10 points (three goals, seven assists) during a six-game point streak.
"After the first, we know we didn't play our best," Brassard said. "We came back strong, scored two goals to come back in the game. ... They just stuck with it, they scored a big goal at the end of the period. Going into the third period, it's a huge period for our team. We allowed a goal, it's going to happen. Couldn't find a way to get back in the game after."
NOTES: The Bruins' 44 shots on goal matched their season high (Nov. 6 against the Toronto Maple Leafs). ... Giroux had two assists. ... Van Riemsdyk played his 400th game with the Flyers. ... Philadelphia had been 6-0-0 after a loss; they lost 4-3 in the shootout to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.