Bruins rally to defeat Senators in Game 1
OTTAWA -- Brad Marchand scored with 2:33 left in regulation as the Boston Bruins rallied in the third period for a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Wednesday night.
The win gives the Bruins a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven, opening-round series. Game 2 is in Ottawa on Saturday afternoon.
Bobby Ryan scored for the Senators, while Frank Vatrano also scored for the Bruins.
Tuukka Rask made 26 saves in the Boston net while Craig Anderson stopped 23 shots for Ottawa.
The Senators had their defensive system working to perfection in the second period, when they outshot the Bruins 12-0 and scored the game's first goal.
Ryan's goal, at the 10:28 mark of the second, was a spectacular solo effort. The veteran winger burst into the Bruins zone, bumped Adam McQuaid off the puck and drove in front of the crease before firing a sharp angle shot past Rask.
Vatrano tied it up with the Bruins second shot of the third period at the 4:05 mark, firing a shot from the high slot while Dominic Moore provided the screen, and Marchand put the Bruins ahead to stay when he fired a shot into the open side after the Senators missed numerous chances to clear the zone.
NOTES: Bruins C David Krejci, a two-time winner of the NHL playoff scoring race, was a late scratch. ... Other injured Bruins included D Torey Krug and D Brandon Carlo, neither of whom accompanied the team to Ottawa, and C Noel Acciari. ... Other Bruins scratches were RW Jimmy Hayes, C Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and D Joe Morrow ... Senators D Marc Methot took the pre-game warmup but did not play. Methot has been out since having the tip of a finger severed by a Sidney Crosby slash March 23. ... D Fredrik Claesson took Methot's spot in the lineup. ... Other significant Senators scratches were LW Ryan Dzingel, C Chris Kelly, RW Chris Neil, D Ben Harpur and C Colin White.