Marat Khusnutdinov Makes Marco Sturm’s Bet Pay Off In Bruins’ OT Win

Boston Bruins head coach Marco Sturm made an intriguing lineup decision Thursday in the overtime win over the Sabres.

Boston got out to a 3-1 lead over Buffalo on Thursday, before the Sabres tied it 3-3. In overtime, Bruins forward Marat Khusnutdinov, who has been healthy scratched at points this season, got onto the ice and scored the OT winner.

It was a bet from Sturm to put Khusnutdinov on the top line, and it paid off.

“An overtime winner is unbelievable for me,” Khusnutdinov said, via Bruins.com. “First game with the first line, first goal of the season. It’s great for the team, great for me.”

Khusnutdinov’s first goal of the season came at a great time as it helped Boston win its second straight game.

Sturm had no hesitation in playing Khusnutdinov after he was healthy scratched for a week. He was also thrilled that the 23-year-old Russian took advantage of his opportunity.

“A player has to understand that is it fun when you get scratched? No,” Sturm said. “But the player has to be ready when your opportunity comes up. Any time he was scratched, he worked. He worked really hard in practice, and he just waited for his opportunity, and then he took advantage.”

Khusnutdinov’s OT winner helped Boston improve to 6-7-0 on the year. The Bruins will host the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.