The Boston Bruins faced their former 6-foot-9 teammate in Zdeno Chara for the first time on Saturday. They needed a “big” comeback to come away with one point.
Bruce Cassidy’s squad found themselves behind 3-0 behind a first period tally by Nicklas Backstrom and second-period markers from Trevor van Riemsdyk and Richard Panik. Yet, they controlled the pace of play throughout, firing 87 shot attempts with 43 landing on net.
Their resiliency paid off in the final 24 minutes of regulation, beginning with Nick Ritchie’s tip-in past Caps netminder Vitek Vanecek on a second-period power play. They saved their best theatrics for the final 20 with Charlie McAvoy leading the way with a stellar assist on Brad Marchand’s one-timer and his equalizer with 57.