Blackhawks earn much-needed victory against Bruins despite late meltdown

BOSTON — The Blackhawks desperately needed two points Thursday.

The road to those points could have been far prettier and smoother than it turned out to be, but considering the necessity and difficulty of the result — a 4-3 overtime victory against the Bruins — it didn’t much matter.

‘‘We played hard, we battled hard, we did a lot of good things,’’ coach Jeremy Colliton said. ‘‘[The Bruins are] an excellent team, and to come in here and get two points is big for our group.’’

The Hawks led 2-0 after two periods and 3-0 seconds into the third.

But the Bruins rallied to tie the score 3-3 late, avoiding what would have been their first regulation loss in 17 home games this season, before Jonathan Toews stripped David Pastrnak of the puck and ended the night on an overtime breakaway.

‘‘We had the start we needed tonight and carried it through 60 [minutes], for the most part,’’ Toews said. ‘‘It’s got to be a confidence-builder when you beat a team like Boston in their own building.’’

All four of the Hawks’ goals were notable in their own way.

Ryan Carpenter, a steady presence on the fourth line all season, finally was rewarded with his first goal with the Hawks. Dylan Strome, returning from a concussion, scored. Alex DeBrincat found the back of the net for the first time in his last 13 games and 37 shots on goal. And Toews gave the Hawks a much-needed victory to stop a 1-5-1 slide.

‘‘We haven’t played up to par for a long period of time,’’ said goalie Robin Lehner, who made 37 saves. ‘‘We know we have to change the tide, and this was a great opportunity to do so.’’

The postgame mood was nearly a lot different. The Bruins overcame a 1.4 percent win probability to force overtime, and the Hawks’ patchwork defense — lacking Duncan Keith and Olli Maatta — showed its cracks late.

In contrast to the bleakness of the last couple of weeks, however, 45 minutes of solid hockey and a victory heading into a game Friday against the Devils in New Jersey warranted turning a blind eye toward those warts.

‘‘There’s lessons to learn from the first two periods,’’ Colliton said. ‘‘This is a good recipe for us to win, especially on the road. And then the third, we’ve got to keep playing, being aggressive and assertive and playing in their half of the rink.’’