Pastrnak, Bruins rally past Blues with 3 goals in 3rd

ST. LOUIS — David Pastrnak scored with 1:47 remaining, and the Boston Bruins rallied with three goals in the third period for a 3-2 win against the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center on Tuesday.

Pastrnak scored on a one-timer from the left circle for the Bruins (8-7-2), who were 0-7-0 this season when trailing after two periods (outscored 16-5).

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“What a crazy shift it was,” Pastrnak said. “It was a couple looks we had with [Charlie] McAvoy and Mason [Lohrei] who were doing their thing and kind of buzzing around. [The Blues] kind of collapsed and the puck bounced to Charlie and it kicked to him. It was over to me and I shot it as hard as I could.”

McAvoy also had a goal and an assist, Morgan Geekie scored, and Jeremy Swayman made 20 saves for the Bruins, who are 4-1-1 their past six games.

“We stayed patient, honestly,” Pastrnak said. “I felt good after two. Even though we didn’t score, you could feel that there was the belief, and we were really one bounce away because there was some chances. The goalie [Binnington] played really well on the other end. The mindset going into the third was good.”

Brayden Schenn and Oskar Sundqvist scored, and Binnington made 27 saves for the Blues (7-9-0), have lost three in a row and ended a season-long five-game homestand 2-3-0.

St. Louis was 5-0-0 when leading after two periods.

“We just stopped making plays, stopped putting pucks on the tape and let them come at us, played in our end the whole period,” Schenn said. “Five-on-five just in general, we’re not generating enough to tilt the ice. I’m not saying score goals, just to put them on their heels a little bit. We’ve got to find a way. Special was good tonight, they gave us a chance to win the hockey game. Our goalie was good. We just sat back in the third and quit making some plays. Not plays, just passes on the tape. They came at us, and we’re on our heels the whole third.”

Geekie made it 2-1 at 4:53 of the third period, scoring with a one-timer off a 2-on-1 with Pastrnak after Colton Parayko lost the puck at the offensive blue line.

Geekie had been a healthy scratch the past three games.

“Obviously, it was a big goal in the game,” Geekie said. “I kind of felt like we were all over it tonight and it was nice to see one go in.”

McAvoy tied it 2-2 at 9:15 on a slap slot from the point.

Schenn gave the Blues a 1-0 lead at 9:24 of the second period. It was his first goal in 14 games and St. Louis’ first power-play goal on home ice this season, ending an 0-for-21 drought.

Sundqvist made it 2-0 at 12:12 with another power-play goal from the low slot.

“We were attacking more, talking more about shooting the puck,” Sundqvist said regarding the power play. “I think we’ve been passing up too many opportunities. I think it’s trying to shoot more pucks and be good at recovering them.”

St. Louis pulled Binnington after Pastrnak’s goal but was not able to get any shots on Swayman.

“It was galvanizing; you could tell the energy in our room after the game,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “What I’m happy with is this morning we had a lot of energy. The players were excited to play. I thought we were going to be good. We started the game well. They scored a couple nice power-play goals in the second, we fell behind, but we talked about staying with it for 60 minutes and playing the right way.

“Even though we made a couple mistakes in the third still, because you’re going to make mistakes, we just kept battling. We got to the goal line. We got some greasy goals. I know the last one was a nice goal, but even if you look at McAvoy’s goal, the shot is beautiful. … It’s a second- and third-effort League and that’s what we talked about.”

NOTES: Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm left the game with a lower-body injury after blocking a shot from Justin Faulk at 4:34 of the first period. Montgomery said after the game the team would know more Wednesday. … Pastrnak had 10 shots on goal. He has five points (one goal, four assists) the past three games. … Boston is 6-0-2 in its past eight games in St. Louis. … Blues forward Jordan Kyrou had an assist to extend his point streak to five games (three goals, two assists). … St. Louis has been outscored 15-6 during its losing streak, including 10-1 in the third period.