Marchand scores late to boost Bruins past Flyers

BOSTON -- Brad Marchand scored with 22 seconds left to lift the Boston Bruins to a 3-2 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at TD Garden on Thursday.

After Alex Lyon made the save on a Zdeno Chara slap shot, David Pastrnak took a couple whacks at the rebound before Marchand scored the winner for the third straight game.
\[WATCH: All Flyers vs. Bruins highlights\]
"A little easier," Marchand said of the goal compared to those he scored in overtime in a 6-5 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday and in a 2-1 victory against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. "But I think it's just a product of everybody doing their job the right way and keeping it simple, and when you do that, get pucks to the net, good things happen."
Riley Nash and Brian Gionta scored, Chara and Pastrnak each had two assists, and Tuukka Rask made 31 saves for the Bruins, who matched a season-high with their fifth win in a row.
Boston (42-15-8) trails the Tampa Bay Lightning by six points for first place in the Atlantic Division and leads the Toronto Maple Leafs by seven for second. It has three games in hand on Tampa Bay and Toronto.
The Bruins have played five straight games without center Patrice Bergeron (fractured foot) and the past two without defenseman Charlie McAvoy (sprained MCL). Forward David Backes served the first of a three-game suspension for interference against Red Wings forward Frans Nielsen.
"It shows the depth when you have some big guys out of the lineup," Gionta said. "We're still able to find ways to win, and for sure, we have some big guys, big pieces that are out of the lineup right now."
Jakub Voracek and Jori Lehtera scored, and Lyon made 24 saves for the Flyers, who have lost five in a row (0-4-1).

Philadelphia (34-23-11) is two points behind the Washington Capitals for second place in the Metropolitan Division and three points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for first.
"It's disappointing and it's frustrating," Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov said. "I think we played real hard today, battled for 60 minutes. And we came up short. But it was just one of those games, you've got to put it in the back of your mind and move on."
Voracek gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead at 1:38 of the first period with a power-play goal on their first shot of the game. Nolan Patrick got to the rebound of a Claude Giroux shot and made a between-the-legs backhand pass across the slot to Voracek for a one-timer from the right side of the net.
Nash tied the game 1-1 at 9:14 with a backhand shot from the slot after Pastrnak's wraparound went off the post.

Gionta put the Bruins ahead 2-1 with 26 seconds left in the first when he scored with a backhand on a breakaway after taking a stretch pass from Chara. The puck went to Chara high in the Boston zone after Tommy Wingels hit Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds.
It was Gionta's first goal for the Bruins in four games since signing as a free agent Feb. 25, and his first in the NHL since March 27, 2017, for the Buffalo Sabres.
Lehtera scored shorthanded at 7:21 of the second period to tie it 2-2. He beat Rask five-hole after taking a pass from Valtteri Filppula on a 2-on-1.

Goal of the game

Marchand's goal at 19:38 of the third period.

Save of the game

Rask stopping Provorov at 18:06 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Gionta's goal at 19:34 of the first period.

They said it

"I don't want to say rusty, maybe a little bit of nerves at the beginning. And I kind of just had to maybe make myself believe that I belonged here again. And happy with the way I settled in, in the second [period]."
-- Flyers goaltender Alex Lyon on his first start since Feb. 20
"It was good, I was sharp. I got into the game early, with the power play, a lot of shots there. I felt sharp." -- Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask on his first start in three games after backing up Anton Khudobin the past two because of a lower-body injury

Need to know

Lehtera's was the third shorthanded goal for the Flyers and the seventh allowed by the Bruins.

What's next

Flyers: Host the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday (1 p.m. ET; NBCSP, TSN3, NHL.TV)
Bruins: Host the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday (1 p.m. ET; NHLN, NESN, NBCSCH, NHL.TV)