Ottawa Senators’ Brady Tkachuk (7) jumps to avoid a shot by teammate Thomas Chabot against Boston Bruins’ Tuukka Rask (40) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Boston, Saturday, March 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
BOSTON — The points — and comebacks — keep coming for the Boston Bruins.
David Krejci scored on a tip-in with 44.7 seconds left and the Bruins extended their NHL-best run of 19 straight games with a point by beating the Ottawa Senators 3-2 Saturday night.
“It’s a nice number,” Krejci said. “We know what we’re playing here for, and obviously (tonight was a) good finish from the team.”
This was Boston’s third come-from-behind victory this week. Brad Marchand and Chris Wagner also scored for the Bruins, who improved to 15-0-4 in their last 19 to establish the second-longest points streak in franchise history — the 1940-41 club holds the team mark with 15 wins and eight ties over a 23-game run.
Boston trailed by two in Tuesday’s 4-3 overtime win against Carolina before falling into the same hole in Thursday’s 4-3 win over Florida.
Ottawa led by a goal early in the third before Wagner’s tying goal set up Krejci’s winner.
Danton Heinen skated into the slot and took a wrist shot that Krejci re-directed past Senators goalie Craig Anderson, giving Boston its sixth straight win overall and 10th in a row at home.
“Obviously it would be nice to play with the lead, but at the end of the day two points is two points,” Krejci said. “We’ll take it.”
Tuukka Rask made 17 saves to improve his personal points streak to 19 games (16-0-3).
Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Brady Tkachuk each had goals for Ottawa, which has lost 10 of its last 11 (1-9-1). Anderson is winless in his last 13 appearance dating to a 4-3 overtime victory against Nashville on Dec. 17.
“I thought we probably deserved a better fate,” Anderson said. “We played a pretty good, solid game overall, and attention to details (cost us) near the end.”
The Senators dropped to 1-3-1 since firing coach Guy Boucher last Friday and making associate Marc Crawford the interim.
“In order to win, it’s usually always about a series of habits,” Crawford said. “And on the final goal, we missed two assignments, we had a poor change, and those things can’t happen.”
After a scoreless first, the teams scored 57 seconds apart midway through the second.
Marchand beat Anderson on a power-play with a one-timer from the right circle off Torey Krug’s cross-ice feed to give Boston a 1-0 lead with 9:49 left.
Pageau answered with a wrist shot in the slot to beat Rask nearly a minute later.
Tkachuk swooped in to bury a rebound after Rask stopped Chris Tierney’s initial offering at 2:46 of the third to put the Senators ahead 2-1.
Wagner tied it for the Bruins on a 4-on-4 after winning a battle in the slot and re-directing Krug’s wrist shot past Anderson with 11:13 remaining.
“We’ve got some good players in the room stepping up at the right time,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. “It’s the sign of a good team, and we need it.”
NOTES: The win marked the first time in Bruins’ history that the team scored a game-winning goal in the final minute of consecutive regulation games. Patrice Bergeron scored the winner with 7.2 seconds left against the Panthers. … Marchand extended his points streak to six games (four goals, six assists) and has 34 points (12 goals, 22 assists) in his last 23 games. … Ottawa is 0-7-1 in its last seven meetings with Boston. … Bruins LW Jake DeBrusk was sidelined a second straight game with a lower-body injury and will also sit Sunday against the Penguins. RW David Pastrnak (left thumb surgery), RW Marcus Johannson (lung contusion) and D Kevan Miller (upper body) won’t travel for Boston’s three-game road trip. … Senators LW Anthony Duclair (lower body) played after blocking a shot Thursday against the Islanders and missing Friday’s practice. D Christian Jaros (hamstring) missed his third straight game. … Boston D John Moore played his 500th NHL game. … Bruins RW Lee Stempniak was recalled from Providence of the AHL on an emergency basis. … A fire on the 25th floor of a nearby high-rise building under construction caused delays for fans entering TD Garden.
UP NEXT
Senators: Visit Philadelphia on Monday night.
Bruins: Visit Pittsburgh on Sunday night.
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