VANCOUVER — Brad Marchand had a hat trick in the third period, including the winning goal with under eight minutes to go, as the Boston Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks 6-3 on Monday.
David Backes, Zdeno Chara and David Krejci had the other goals for Boston (37-26-6), which got 26 saves from Tuukka Rask. Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak each added two assists.
Marchand, who also had an assist, now has 35 goals on the season to tie Sidney Crosby for tops in the NHL.
Markus Granlund, with two, and Alexander Edler replied for Vancouver (28-32-9), while Henrik and Daniel Sedin each picked up two assists.
Ryan Miller made 37 saves in his 700th career NHL game.
The Bruins, who are 11-3-0 since interim head coach Bruce Cassidy took over for the fired Claude Julien on Feb. 7, are now four points up on the Toronto Maple Leafs for third place in the Atlantic Division after beginning a four-game road trip on a winning note.
The Canucks are 12 points back of St. Louis Blues for the second-wild card spot in the Western Conference.
Vancouver led 3-2 after 40 minutes, but Boston came out flying after the second intermission and tied it 58 seconds into the third on the power play when Pastrnak threw the puck in front to Marchand, who fired his 33rd past a down-and-out Miller.
Granlund, who scored his goals in the first, had a good chance to get his hat trick later in the period, but Rask made a nice pad stop to keep things tied before Marchand struck again.
One of the villains from a Vancouver perspective during the 2011 Stanley Cup final that Boston won in seven games, Marchand stole the puck from Henrik Sedin in the Canucks’ zone before stepping around Edler and beating Miller with 7:57 left on the clock.
Krejci then put it out of reach with his 19th on a slick pass from Pastrnak at 16:46.
Marchand completed the hat trick with 25.5 seconds left on the clock into an empty net for his 35th.
Down 2-1 after the first period, the Bruins tied it at 13:58 of the second when Chara’s point shot somehow leaked through Miller with Jimmy Hayes lurking in front for his seventh goal of the season.
Vancouver had a couple of great chances before the equalizer, with both Jason Megna and Sven Baertschi forcing good saves out of Rask, but the Boston goalie will feel he should have done better on Edler’s go-ahead goal just 21 seconds later.
The Canucks defenceman saw his slapshot off the rush blocked by Tory Krug, but he stayed the play and fired an effort from a tight angle that bounced off Rask’s pad and into the top of the net for his fourth.
Winner of six of their last eight coming into Monday, the Bruins opened the scoring at 6:48 of the first when Bergeron followed up on his initial shot to feed the puck in front to Backes, who saw it go in off his skate for his 14th.
Miller, who was stellar in making 45 saves in Saturday’s 3-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, made a nice stop on Bergeron in the slot on a Boston power play later in the period before robbing Marchand on the rebound.
After missing the Pittsburgh game with food poisoning, Granlund returned to the lineup alongside the Sedins and got his first of the night at 15:47. With Henrik Sedin driving to the net, Daniel Sedin fed Granlund in the slot and he beat a screened Rask stickside for his 18th.
Granlund got his second just 1:18 later after finishing a beautiful tic-tac-toe passing play by sweeping a shot past a helpless Rask.
Now just one goal back of Bo Horvat for the team lead, Granlund nearly completed the natural hat trick moments later, but he couldn’t quite get to a loose puck in the slot.
Drew Shore made his debut for Vancouver just two days after the forward’s season in Switzerland ended. The Canucks signed the 26-year-old on Sunday following a team-high 48-point season (24 goals, 24 assists) with Kloten HC. Shore had nine goals and 15 assists in 80 NHL games over five seasons with the Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames before deciding to go overseas in 2016-17.
Shore picked up an assist on Edler’s goal.
Notes: The Bruins visit Calgary on Wednesday and Edmonton on Thursday before wrapping up their season-long four-game road trip in Toronto next Monday. … The Canucks announced Monday they have signed 20-year-old defenceman Jalen Chatfield of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires to an entry-level contract. … Ten players who took part in the 2011 Stanley Cup final that the Bruins won in seven games remain on the teams’ respective rosters — four from Vancouver and six from Boston. … Christopher Tanev, who like Granlund missed Saturday with food poisoning, also sat out Monday.
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