Trailing by two goals early in the second period, the Bruins looked like they might have been in store for one of those nights against an offensively explosive young New Jersey Devils.

But then all of sudden, the B’s 35-year-old captain Brad Marchand did what he has so often done in his career, igniting the team with a high energy shift that led to the B’s first goal. That started a four-goal onslaught in the second and the B’s nailed down the 5-2 win at the Garden.

David Pastrnak and Kevin Shattenkirk each scored a pair of goals in the win.

But after a good victory, the B’s were left holding their collective breath when No. 1 defenseman Charlie McAvoy left the game with 3:43 left the game with what looked like a left leg injury after he crashed into Linus Ullmark in an attempt to break up a shorthanded bid.

Much of the first period was evenly played with little extended zone time for either team. The difference was a New Jersey power-play goal.

Just six seconds after Shattenkirk was whistled for high-sticking, New Jersey captain Nico Hischier put the Devils up by a goal when he finished off a pretty tic-tac-toe play with Jack Hughes and Tyler Toffoli at 6:03. Hischier took Toffoli’s pass and ripped it over Ullmark’s glove shoulder for the 1-0 advantage.

The B’s started to apply pressure late in the period, at one point pinning the Devils in their own zone while goalie Vitek Vanecek was playing without his stick. The Devils, however, weathered that storm and were able to breathe a little easier when David Pastrnak was called for an offensive zone tripping with 1:31 left in the period.

The penalty was killed off, but the Devils made it 2-0 at 1:11 of the second on what looked like a nothing play. Rookie defenseman Luke Hughes withstood a double hit at the end boards in the Devils’ zone by Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha after moving the puck, then followed the play. He took a feed from Toffoli near the Bruin blue line and then beat Ullmark with a long distance wrister, one of the very few soft goals either Bruin goalie has allowed this season.

His teammates would not let him stew over it.

The B’s got on the board at 5:35 when Marchand came out for his shift with his hair on fire. When Vanecek tried to play the puck behind his net, Marchand stole it from him and tried to feed someone — anyone – out front but there was no Bruin there. It didn’t matter. Marchand chased the puck down himself and fed Jake DeBrusk on the left wing. DeBrusk took it to the net and beat Vanecek with a backhander that electrified the building. The goal was DeBrusk’s fifth of the season, snapping an 11-game goal-less streak.

The B’s tied it up at 12:51. From his off side, Brandon Carlo sent a diagonal pass down low toward Pastrnak. It rattled around off of Vanecek but Pastrnak was able to put it over the line with a one-handed sweep.

After Marchand drew a holding call on Kevin Bahl, the B’s took their first lead of the game at 15:39. Off a quick counter rush, DeBrusk fed Pastrnak, who was just able to drag his back skate to stay on side. Pastrnak had a head of steam going and Vanecek had little chance as the Bruin star zoomed by him and tucked home a backhander, his 22nd of the year.

Shattenkirk then gave the B’s a 4-2 lead at 17:14 when his shot from the right circle eluded Vanecek, givng the B’s a two-goal cushion going into the third period facing the comeback specialists in the Devils.

After playing some good shut-down defense much of the third period and after McAvoy left the game, Shattenkirk added his second of the game off a Marchand feed to finish of the Devils.

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