BOSTON -- Back in the dark days of Dave Lewis in the 2006-07 season, Boston Bruins center Marc Savard's best contribution to the club's shootout fortunes was encouraging his teammates to turn their headgear around as "rally helmets."
Savard made a much bigger impact Saturday night, as he scored his first shootout goal since Jan. 11, 2007 to cap the Bruins' comeback from a 3-0 deficit to a 4-3 win over the New York Islanders at TD Garden.
Savard participated in just three shootouts all of last season and came up empty each time. That didn't stop head coach Claude Julien from calling on his star playmaker third in the shootout lineup Saturday night.
"We had a chat at the beginning of the year," Savard said, "and obviously Phil was a big part of our shootouts," referring to Phil Kessel, who was traded to Toronto. "So [Julien] called me in and was like, 'What is it, are you nervous? You don't like shooting?' I said, 'I love shooting, I've just got to be more patient.'
"[Goaltending coach] Bob Essensa and I have been working on it on video. We looked at some guys around the league that are very successful and that was one of the moves that was successful, coming in that side, either going low-blocker or faking and coming to the backhand. When I saw [Islanders goalie Dwayne Roloson] lock that leg on that side, I knew I had him and I put it in."
That backhander, combined with a Blake Wheeler goal and two Tuukka Rask saves helped the Bruins complete the comeback. Savard got the rally going when he slammed home a loose puck from the right circle 11:59 into the final period.
"I knew if I got it off quick I could beat him back to the net because as it hit [Zdeno Chara's] stick, there was some defenseman that came through on a screen and I was able to see that short side and I had to rip it," Savard said. "Fortunately it went in."
The win gave the Bruins (2-2-0) a chance to finish .500 or better on their season-opening five-game homestand, which ends Monday against Colorado.
"That third period we went out there and we just played hockey and it just felt great," Savard said. "The crowd got into it. We were hearing a lot of boos out there tonight and it doesn't feel good. So we went out there and got the cheers back."
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