Khusnutdinov, Bruins recover to defeat Sabres in OT

Marat Khusnutdinov scored 2:07 into overtime, giving the Boston Bruins a 4-3 win against the Buffalo Sabres at TD Garden in Boston on Thursday.

Khusnutdinov kept the puck on a 3-on-1 and sent a wrist shot from the right circle to the short side. He described his first goal of the season as a “great moment.”

“An overtime winner is unbelievable for me,” the forward said after his eighth game of the season. “First game with the first line, first goal of the season. It’s great for the team, great for me.”

Morgan Geekie scored to extend his goal streak to six games (seven goals), and David Pastrnak had a goal and an assist for the Bruins (6-7-0), who have won two in a row and three of four. Joonas Korpisalo made a season-high 37 saves in his second consecutive start.

“I’m very happy for these guys, especially [Khusnutdinov and Korpisalo],” Boston coach Marco Sturm said. “‘Korpi’ earned the start and that’s why we went back to him, and he showed it again today, very good. ‘Khuz,’ since he’s been back he’s been really good. Even with Elias (Lindholm) out, I put him back in the middle and he was excellent. He’s really fun to watch right now and that’s why I didn’t hesitate to put him out there on the 3-on-3.”

Korpisalo was coming off making 33 saves in a 5-2 win against the New York Islanders on Tuesday.

Of his performance Thursday, he said, “That was good. Just try to stick with it and do my best out there. ... I feel pretty good. Guys in front of me are playing really well, and most of the shots are coming from the outside and not in front of the net and they’re letting me see the puck.”

Lindholm, the Bruins’ top-line center, left the game at 7:20 of the second period with a lower-body injury after a collision with Sabres forward Jordan Greenway near center ice and did not return. Sturm did not have an update on Lindholm after the game.

“Anytime you have to help him off the ice, it’s usually not a good sign,” Sturm said.

Rasmus Dahlin and Alex Tuch each had a goal and assist for the Sabres (4-4-3), who lost their third straight game, each in overtime, and remain winless on the road (0-2-2) this season. Alex Lyon made 18 saves.

“We missed way too many good opportunities,” Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. “We were making their goalie the First Star of the Game for the first two periods. It was a tough goal at the end of the second, but with the way we’re playing, if we stay with it we’re going to get our opportunities and the opportunities we get we’re going to have to finish. I thought we got around the net, and we got a real good face-off goal, and both goals (in the third period) were around the paint. ... We just have to stop giving away points in overtime.”

Prior to the game-winner, Dahlin had possession in the offensive zone but lost an edge, fell to the ice and allowed Fraser Minten to start the play for Boston going the other way.

“We have a chance to get two points and I [messed] up there,” Dahlin said. “That just can’t happen. We worked so hard to come back in the game. Really good game by the team to come back, just a tough ending.”

Buffalo scored twice within 7:25 in the third to tie the game.

Josh Doan cut it to 3-2 at 7:00. He knocked a rebound out of the air with his glove at the top of the crease and shot past Korpisalo.

Tuch then tied it 3-3 at 14:25. After a Sabres face-off win in the offensive zone, Dahlin fed him for a wrist shot from the left hash marks.

Geekie gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 13:07 of the first period. He received a cross-ice pass from Pastrnak and scored blocker side with a wrist shot from the right circle.

Pastrnak made it 2-0 at 15:07. He stole the puck in the defensive zone, creating a 2-on-1 with Lindholm, and faked a pass before shooting from the left circle to the far side.

Dahlin brought Buffalo to within 2-1 with a power-play goal at 16:01, scoring with a one-timer from the left point that got through traffic and beat a screened Korpisalo. It was Dahlin’s first goal in 11 games this season.

Mark Kastelic gave the Bruins a 3-1 lead at 19:39. He crashed the net during a scramble and stuffed home the rebound of Tanner Jeannot’s shot after Lyon made the initial stop.

“Right place, right time,” said Kastelic, who added that linemates Jeannot and Sean Kuraly did most of the work on the play. “As a line, we’re having success when we just play simple. We’re all on the same page and building a lot of chemistry, and I think there’s more to come, too.”

NOTES: Pastrnak has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in his past seven games and is two goals from reaching 400 for his NHL career. … The Bruins announced Thursday that Jordan Harris will be out two months after having a procedure to repair a right ankle fracture. The defenseman was injured in a 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers on Oct. 21. … Greenway made his season debut after having offseason surgery for a middle-body injury and played his first game since March 23. The forward had three shots on goal and was minus-1 in 15:22.