Brad Marchand's five points help Bruins win opener

COLUMBUS - Brad Marchand picked up where he left off when he helped Team Canada win the World Cup of Hockey last month when he led the tournament with five goals.
This time he had two goals and three assists to tie an NHL career high with five points when the Boston Bruins rallied for a 6-3 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena in their season openers on Thursday.

Tied 3-3, David Backes fed David Pastrnak, who had two goals and an assist, for a breakaway that was stopped by Sergei Bobrovsky, but Marchand put in the rebound at 9:54 of the third period. Marchand made it 5-3 at 15:25 and Pastrnak scored into an empty net with 58 seconds left.
"He played against the best players in the world and played well," Boston coach Claude Julien said of Marchand. "There's no doubt that he gained confidence from that."
Backes scored twice and had an assist in his Bruins debut and goaltender Tuukka Rask made 28 saves.
Alex Wennberg and Seth Jones each had a goal and Nick Foligno had two assists for Columbus. Bobrovsky made 31 saves.

Backes, in his first game since signing as a free agent July 1 following 10 seasons with the St. Louis Blues, rallied the Bruins from a 3-1 deficit with his goals in the second period.
The line of Marchand, Backes and Pastrnak was put together this week because Patrice Bergeron is out with a lower-body injury.

"The big thing tonight is the character we showed," Marchand said.
Columbus led 2-0 after the first period when Wennberg scored at 2:58 on the Blue Jackets first shot and Cam Atkinson scored on the power play at 17:25.
The Bruins drew within 2-1 at 2:36 of the second when Marchand took advantage of a turnover behind the Columbus net and passed to Pastrnak in front.

Columbus regained the two-goal lead when Jones scored at 6:44 of the second on a long rebound of a Brandon Saad shot. Backes made it 3-2 at 13:36 of the second.

Goal of the game

Atkinson scored 17 seconds into the Blue Jackets' first power play to complete a tic-tac-toe play in the first period. Wennberg found Foligno at the right side of the net. Foligno wasted no time in passing the puck through the crease where Atkinson was waiting at the back door for a one-timer from his knee.

Save of the game

Bobrovsky had a rough game but started well when he denied a low shot from the right circle by Colin Miller off the rush 10 minutes into the game. Bobrovsky stuck out his right leg and got enough of the puck to smother it under his pad.

Highlight of the game

Brad Marchand's first of two goals gave the Bruins a 4-3 lead at 9:54 of the third period. Backes set up the goal with a steal at center ice and a pass ahead to David Pastrnak. Bobrovsky made the breakaway save on Pastrnak but Marchand followed for the rebound goal into an open net.

Unsung moment of the game

With the score tied 3-3 early in the third period, Columbus went on the power play but had one shot as the Bruins tightened up after allowing a man-up goal in the first. The kill helped build the momentum for the Bruins and they scored three goals after that.

They said it

"It was one of those games where things were going our way. There were a couple of fortunate bounces but we created our own luck by pressuring them." - Boston forward David Backes
"We started to maybe get a little too cute, trying to jam the play through the neutral zone and that's all they need to feed their transition." - Columbus defenseman Seth Jones
"He's awesome. He's a phenomenal player. I played against him a couple of times but didn't really realize how good he is with the puck and how smart he is. I knew he was hard to play against. I never enjoyed it." - Boston forward Brad Marchand on new linemate Backes
"Sloppy with the puck. Tentative, sloppy. You can use a lot of different words." - Columbus coach John Tortorella on the Blue Jackets' play

Need to know

Boston rookie defenseman Brandon Carlo had an assist in his NHL debut, as did Columbus defenseman Zach Werenski. …Forward Matt Calvert is the longest tenured Blue Jackets player, having played in his 283rd game on Thursday. He made his Blue Jackets debut on Jan. 7, 2011. … The Bruins opened on the road for the first time since an 8-4 win at the Colorado Avalanche on Oct. 9, 2008.

What's next

Bruins: At the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, NESN, NHL.TV).
Blue Jackets: Home against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, CSN-CA).