Brad Marchand scored two second-period goals after avoiding a suspension by the NHL earlier in the day, lifting the Boston Bruins past the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on Thursday night.
Despite multiple past on-ice transgressions, Marchand was fined $10,000 and not ordered by the league to sit out any games for slew-footing Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall on Jan. 24.
Riley Nash and Patrice Bergeron also scored for the Bruins, who won consecutive games for only the third time in their last 36 games.
Justin Schultz and Phil Kessel gave the Penguins a 2-0 after the first period. Schultz’s shot was redirected in by Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo at 7:37, and Kessel scored a power-play goal from Sidney Crosby and Schultz into an open net at 11:26.
Boston stormed back to take a 3-2 lead after two with three unanswered goals while outshooting the Penguins 16-4.
Marchand scored his third short-handed goal of the season at 1:38, and then tied it at 2 when he slammed home the rebound of David Pastrnak’s shot at 6:27.
Nash put the Bruins ahead 3-2 when he tipped a shot past Matt Murray at 10:25.
Tuukka Rask made 19 saves for Boston, which avoided being swept in the season series and is unbeaten in its last six home games against the Penguins.
Bergeron scored a power-play goal 51 seconds into the third period for a 4-2 lead. Hornqvist cut Boston’s lead to 4-3 after sliding the puck past Rask with 9:25 to play, but the Bruins could get no closer.
Murray made 33 saves for the Penguins, who have dropped two straight and are 5-5 in January.
Pastrnak had two assists for Boston.
NOTES: Marchand now has 22 short-handed goals for his career, three short of the franchise record set by Rick Middleton. … Crosby’s first-period assist extended his streak to 63 games of not going back-to-back games without scoring a point. … Evgeni Malkin missed the game with a lower body injury and will be re-evaluated after the All-Star break. … Rask has made nine consecutive starts for Boston. … Schultz has a career-high 35 points. … Carlo left with a lower-body injury in the third period.
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