BOSTON (AP) - Two of Boston's new additions helped the Bruins avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season.
Rick Nash scored in his home debut and Tommy Wingels had a goal and an assist in his first game for the Bruins, who rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 on Charlie McAvoy's goal 1:08 into overtime Tuesday night.
Turn out the lights.#NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/cHxlmqGxN5
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) February 28, 2018
"The first period was rough," said Nash, acquired Sunday in a trade with the New York Rangers. "We stayed with it and we battled back. It was a big two points after being down two."
The Nash trade was the headliner in Boston as the Bruins bolstered their lineup for a postseason run. They also picked up Wingels on Monday in a deadline deal with Chicago that didn't get nearly as much attention, but it added some much-needed depth at center with leading goal-scorer Patrice Bergeron out with a broken foot.
Wingels assisted on Riley Nash's goal with three seconds left in the first period to pull Boston to 3-2, then tied it 5:34 into the second with his first goal as a member of the Bruins.
Not a bad night for @tommywingels57 either. #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/I6fCYDii1w
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) February 28, 2018
"At this point of the season, you don't have time to wade your way into it. You have to be ready to go from the get-go," Wingels said. "If you get traded, this is the kind of place you want to go to. It's a hungry team, a team that's capable of winning it all."
The Bruins, coming off back-to-back losses for just the second time this season, didn't look much like a contender in the first period.
"As the game went on I thought we started to establish ourselves again and put them on their heels and make them defend more and more," said Riley Nash, who helped set up McAvoy's game-winner by beating a pair of Carolina players in a corner battle for the puck.
He got the puck out of the corner and started Brad Marchand and McAvoy on a 2-on-1. McAvoy ended it with a wrist shot past goalie Scott Darling.
"They're where they are in the standings for a reason," said Carolina captain Justin Faulk, who had two assists. "It was tight, obviously, and we just weren't able to get enough."
Brock McGinn, Teuvo Teravainen and Sebastian Aho scored for Carolina in the first. Darling stopped 28 shots for the Hurricanes, who are 0-5-1 in their last six games and have been outscored 24-9 during the skid.
Tuukka Rask made 29 saves for the Bruins.
Rick Nash got his first goal for Boston at 11:41 of the first to tie it 1-all after McGinn's power-play goal 10:01 into the game gave Carolina an early lead.
Rick Nash is pretty good at first impressions. #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/mHUGH25pJG
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) February 28, 2018
Boston fans were still celebrating seven seconds later when David Pastrnak received a double-minor for a high stick to the face of Joakim Nordstrom, who stayed down at center ice for several minutes as the Carolina training staff attended to him.
Pastrnak was still serving the first penalty when Teravainen beat Rask with a wrist shot at 13:09.
Aho put Carolina up 3-1 with 56 seconds left in the first, slipping the puck between Rask's legs off a pass from Teravainen.
"We got one in the last minute, they got one in the last minute," Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said. "It would've been nice to come into the room with a two-goal lead. It's not the way it unfolded."
NOTES: Bergeron is expected to miss two weeks or more. He played Sunday in a 4-1 loss at Buffalo despite the fracture, which occurred Saturday when he blocked a shot in a loss at Toronto. Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said a CT scan showed the fracture that didn't appear on an X-ray when Bergeron's foot was initially examined. Bergeron will be evaluated in two weeks. ... Carolina C Jordan Staal missed his third straight game. Staal's infant daughter, Hannah, died on Saturday. ... McGinn's goal was his first since he scored against Colorado on Feb. 10. ... Faulk snapped a five-game scoreless streak.
"You always want to get that first one out of the way. It always seems like the hardest one to get."
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) February 28, 2018
🎥 Rick Nash reacts after notching his first goal with the Bruins: pic.twitter.com/1HFqUdI6dO
UP NEXT
Hurricanes: At the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night.
Bruins: Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night.
