David Pastrnak scored at 2:30 of overtime and the Boston Bruins defeated the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 Thursday night to close in on the NHL record for wins in a single season.
Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly took a hooking penalty 24 seconds into overtime. Pastrnak scored his 57th goal of the season on a 36-foot shot that was screened just after the penalty expired.
Boston (61-12-5, 127 points) is one victory away from matching the league record of 62 wins in a season. The mark was set by the Detroit Red Wings in 1995-96 and tied by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2018-19.
Boston’s Charlie Coyle scored the game-tying goal in the third period.
Jeremy Swayman stopped 31 shots for the Bruins, who have four games left. Boston also is chasing the mark for most points in a season, 132, set by the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens.
Sam Lafferty scored in the second period and Ilya Samsonov stopped 31 shots for Toronto (46-21-11, 103 points).
Boston had an 11-7 edge in shots on goal after the first period. Toronto twice had a man advantage in the goalless first 20 minutes.
The Maple Leafs survived the Bruins first power play of the game early in the second period. Samsonov was solid during Boston’s flurry near the end of the power play.
Swayman made a good stop on Mitchell Marner at 9:48 of the second period.
After Jake DeBrusk had his shot blocked in the Toronto end, Swayman foiled William Nylander on the counter at 10:28.
Lafferty scored his 12th goal of the season at 11:34 of the second, converting a pass to the front of the net from the left boards by Zach Aston-Reese. Lafferty started the play by intercepting a pass in the neutral zone.
Boston was held without a shot during a power play that started 58 seconds after the goal.
The Maple Leafs withstood a Boston surge in the final seconds of the second and led 22-21 in shots on goal after two periods.
Coyle scored his 14th goal of the season at 11:32 of the third on a shot from the left circle. Brandon Carlo started the play when he stopped a clearing attempt at the blue line.
Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy (upper body) was injured in the second period and did not return.
Ryan O’Reilly returned to the Maple Leafs’ lineup for the first time since he sustained a fractured finger on March 4. He was used on the power play and to kill penalties.
David Krejci (undisclosed) did not play for Boston.
–Field Level Media
