Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron had two goals apiece for Boston as the Bruins, who hadn’t led by two goals in any of their first four games this season, scored five times in a row to pull away and beat the Philadelphia Flyers 6-1 on Saturday night.
“That’s why he’s one of the best players in the league, and has been for the past 15 years,” Marchand said about Bergeron, who was elevated to captain when Zdeno Chara signed with the Washington Capitals. “He brings it every night.”
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Charlie Coyle and new Bruins teammate Craig Smith each had a goal and an assist in the second period to break open a 1-1 tie. Marchand scored twice in the third, and Bergeron finished it off with his second goal of the night to help Boston earn its second straight victory over Philadelphia.
Jaroslav Halak stopped 16 shots for his first win of the season.
Kevin Hayes scored and Carter Hart made 20 saves for Philadelphia, which played for the fourth time in six days.
“We’ve got to be careful that we don’t put too much into one game,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. “You’ve got to take advantage of teams where they are on the schedule. We wanted to make it hard.”
Two nights after Boston beat the Flyers 5-4 in a shootout, this one was only close until the second period. Smith, who came to the Bruins after nine seasons in Nashville, scored on a feed from Coyle early in the period to break a 1-1 tie and then Smith set Coyle up near the end to make it a two-goal game.
“We knew what to expect with Craig coming, what kind of player he is,” Coyle said, adding that the chemistry with his new linemate is “a work in progress. We’re looking to gain a little more of that.”
Marchand made it 4-1 early in the third when he knocked in a pass from Bergeron, and then he gave the Bruins a 5-1 lead on a power play four minutes later. Bergeron scored his second power-play goal of the game — and Boston’s third in four tries — with about six minutes remaining.
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Before skating off at the end, Hart smashed his stick against the goal several times before throwing the remnants onto the ice. The only other time he has allowed as many as six goals in a game was in a 6-1 loss to San Jose on Dec. 28, 2019.
“We hung him out to dry,” Hayes said.
“It just kind of boiled over,” Hart said. “That was unprofessional of me to do that there at the end, so I apologize to everyone that saw that. Just heat of the moment.”
REVERSAL OF FORTUNE
Bergeron opened the scoring in the first and had a chance to make it 2-0 early in the second but his backhander into an open net just caught the edge of Hart’s pad. The next time down, Hayes deflected Jakub Voracek’s shot into the net to tie it.
But just 1:16 later, Smith backhanded the puck into the slot off linemate Trent Frederic, who was on the ice after being tripped up by Hayes, leaving Coyle open for the goal. It stayed 2-1 until the end of the second, when Coyle reached out with one hand to tip Frederic’s shot into the net.
WHAT’S NEXT
Flyers: Visit the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday and Thursday nights.
Bruins: Host the Penguins on Tuesday and Thursday nights.
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