BOSTON – Brad Marchand scored his first goal of the season 2:26 into overtime and the Boston Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 on Saturday night, ending their three-game losing streak.

David Pastrnak scored on the power play, and Justin Brazeau and Mark Kastelic scored for Boston 36 seconds apart in the second period. It was the Bruins' eighth straight regular season loss to Toronto.

Auston Matthews deflected Mitch Marner's shot from the point, tying the score for the Maple Leafs with 1:17 left in regulation. Matthew Knies and Morgan Rielly also scored for Toronto, which has lost three straight.

It was the first meeting between the two teams since Boston eliminated Toronto in Game 7 of the opening round of the playoffs last spring.

Takeaways

Maple Leafs: Their defenders had a few mishaps deep in their own defense, which led to Boston's two quick goals in the second period. For a team that has struggled to score at the start of this season, they cannot afford to miss out on easy opportunities.

Bruins: For the first time in his Boston coaching career, Jim Montgomery entered the game with a losing record during a season. In the 2022-23 season, his first stint as coach, the Bruins started 17-2-0 and last year they started 9-0-1.

Key moment

Matthews made a poor clearing pass, and Pastrnak and Marchand went hard to the net, with Marchand converting a backhander for the winner.

Key statistics

Marchand had not scored in the first eight games of a season for the first time since his second season in the league in 2010/11, when he also scored in the ninth game. He also assisted on Pastrnak's power play goal in the second period.

Next

The Maple Leafs visit Winnipeg on Monday and the Bruins host Philadelphia on Tuesday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl