Bruins score comeback victory over Canucks, 3-2

If there’s one thing you can say about this perplexing Bruins team it is that they take care of business against the lesser teams in the league.

That held true on Sunday at the Garden. But it wasn’t easy.

The B’s got third period power-play goals from Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak to key a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks.

Marchand not only scored the equalizer and set up Pastrnak’s game-winner, he pulled some of his teammates into the battle by the scruff of their necks, delivering five hits, including a couple big ones in the second period when the team appeared lifeless.

“Real good job on his part with the physicality,” said coach Bruce Cassidy. “The second period it started to get away from us in terms if dictating play and March went out and had a couple of solid hits. All of a sudden, (Trent Frederic) is finishing a check and it snowballs a little bit. … He can help you win in a lot of ways. You saw it, offensively, we’ve seen it on the power play and penalty kill for years. The physical part of it was good. And that’s where you hope other guys (get it). Listen, he’s our best player, plays the most minutes of any forward on our team. You hope it rubs off on other guys.”

With the B’s down 2-1, Marchand tied the game at 8:45 of the third period on a power-play goal. With Nick Foligno, who drew the tripping penalty on Nils Hoglander, and Patrice Bergeron banging away at the loose puck after Pastrnak hit the post, it squirted out to some open ice and Marchand, who found the opening through a maze of bodies to beat old friend Jaroslav Halak.

Prior to the tying goal, Cassidy got one of the things he’s been looking for most of the season — a timely save. Linus Ullmark, who had been shaky at times in his return to the lineup on Sunday after eight days off, made a big save on Tyler Motte on a shorthanded breakaway to keep the B’s within a goal.

“It could have been a back-breaker,” said Cassidy. “That was a huge save. If he doesn’t make that save, I don’t know if we win the game.”

The B’s then took their first lead of the game with 3:24 left in the third period on another power play after Oliver Ekman-Larsson boarded Anton Blidh, who scored the B’s first goal. Blidh suffered an injury to the left shoulder/collarbone area and Cassidy said he could miss some time, but would be re-evaluated on Monday.

On the advantage, Marchand gathered a puck down low from Bergeron and somehow found Pastrnak (18 shots, seven on net) through the top of the crease at the left side of the net for what turned out to be the game-winner.

Marchand then set up Bergeron for what looked like a sealing empty-netter with 8.6 seconds left, but it was taken off the board because Bergeron was offside. It didn’t matter. The hard work was already done, most of which was performed by Marchand.

“When things aren’t going your way and you need to create energy, you have to continue to rely on your system. Hits don’t always present themselves, but a few just happened to in (the second) period,” said Marchand. “But we definitely didn’t play the way we can in the second. We haven’t been able to string together too many real good 60-minute efforts. But I think we’ve got to be happy with the way we were resilient in the third. That’s something that’s been a strong suit for our team for a long time and we did a good job of getting back to that and not folding and again being resilient. It was a good win.”

The teams traded questionable goals allowed by their respective tenders in the first six minutes of the first period.

The Canucks took a 1-0 lead at 3:33 at the tail end of what had been a rather uneventful power play when Hoglander threw a puck toward the slot. Brock Boeser reached out for it, but he didn’t appear to get a piece of it. Ullmark appeared to push the loose puck back into the slot where it hit Tanner Pearson. The puck then barely slid across the line, just beating Frederic’s effort to pull it back.

But Halak helped out the B’s cause. Blidh, known for his grit and hustle and not so much his scoring touch, gathered a loose puck along the right half wall in his own zone and galloped up ice. Near the offensive blue line he cut to the left to get on his forehand and, from approximately Sullivan Square, beat Halak with a long wrister to tie it up at 5:51.

The B’s would spend way too much time in their own zone in the second, often chasing Ullmark rebounds, and they would eventually pay for it, though not off a rebound.

Jakub Zboril lost the puck off his stick from the side of the net and it went to Scituate’s own Conor Garland, who had a goal taken off the board earlier because of an offside review, in the left circle. He turned and threw what looked like a nothing shot along the ice that somehow beat Ullmark between the pads for a 2-1 Vancouver lead at 12:31. Ullmark said he just picked it up too late.

Meanwhile, the B’s were chasing the puck for far too much of the period. Cassidy switched up his top six, flipping right wings Pastrnak and Craig Smith. Marchand threw a couple of big hits to light a fire. But through 40 minutes, there appeared to be barely a pulse.

Marchand’s efforts took hold, however. The B’s outshot the Canucks 18-11 in the third and, after Ullmark came up with the timely save, they also got the timely goals for the win.