After Wednesday's 3-1 Bruins' win over the Panthers (recap), a couple of things seem to be happening more than one would expect this season: the B's are falling behind and overcoming it, and Brad Marchand is scoring shorthanded goals. 

Wednesday night marked the second time this season that the Bruins have trailed in the third period and left with a 'W,' as well as the second time an opposing goaltender thought he would be getting a power-play goal to protect him, only to fall victim to the undersized but always energized Marchand. 

Yet as much as Marchand's contributions have helped this team (two of his three career goals have come on the penalty kill), he isn't the story here. In fact, even Mark Recchi's two goals, the second of which made him the 13th player in NHL history to rack up 1,500 points, take a backseat to the fact that the Bruins once again fell behind but didn't pay the price most do. Trailing, 1-0, after two periods, the Bruins got all three of their goals in the third period. It was a win, but a risky one at that.

"You hate always being in that kind of position," Claude Julien told reporters following the game when asked about trailing in the third period. 

The B's seem to have a way of waking up in the third this season. If that can be said for this team, which of course it can, then it can also be said that the Bruins seem to have a way of, well, snoozing through the first two periods at times.

The way in which the Bruins have been able to get into gear in the third period is quite remarkable, as they are a plus-16 in the third period, the best such differential in the league. The next closest team to the Bruins in that category is the Capitals, at plus-11. Then again, the Captitals likely don't find themselves with their backs to the wall in the third period as often as the Bruins do. 

Of their 20 games this season, the Bruins have entered the third period trailing in nine of them. They've come back to tie five of those contests, and have picked up victories in two of them, the most recent of which came on Wednesday night. Factoring in a pair of shootout losses, they have gotten six points out of the games in which they've trailed late. 

Here's how the Bruins have fared upon falling behind entering the third period (games the B's tied in the third period are bolded):

- 10/9 vs. Coyotes (Prague)

Score after two: 4-0

Result: L, 5-3

- 10/23 vs. Rangers

Score after two: 3-2

Result: L, 3-2

- 11/5 at Capitals

Score after two: 3-0

Result: L, 5-3 

- 11/6 vs. Blues

Score after two: 1-0

Result: L, 2-1 (shootout)

- 11/10 at Penguins

Score after two: 4-2

Result: W, 7-4

- 11/13 vs. Senators 

Score after two: 1-0

Result: L, 2-0

- 11/20 vs. Kings

Score after two: 3-2

Result: L, 4-3 (shootout) 

- 11/22 at Lightning

Score after two: 3-0 

Result: L, 3-1

- 11/24 at Panthers

Score after two: 1-0

Result: W, 3-1 

How can the Bruins remedy their struggles through the first two periods? After all, they've trailed in the third in three consecutive games (1-1-1). It's become fairly apparent in the opening minutes of games whether the Bruins "have it" or whether they might once again be facing another one of these uphill climbs that they've made seem so doable. 

"I guess we're just going to have to start pretending it's always the third period," Tim Thomas said following the game.

Hey, whatever works. The numbers show that if they do try to channel their inner third-period warriors, they'll be better off. The Bruins have scored 58 goals this season. Fourteen have come in the first period and 18 have come in the second. That leaves 26 goals that the Bruins have scored in the third period. Only the Capitals, Flyers and Canucks have scored more goals in the third period than the Bruins, and all three teams have played more games than the B's. 

Only five teams have had their highest total of goals come in the third period, and two of those clubs (the Avalanche and the Kings) had just as many in another period. 

The Bruins can take two things from whatever habit they've formed this season. For starters, opposing teams simply can't feel that a lead is safe against the Bruins. That is certainly a reputation a team would want, but the B's are undoubtedly trying to achieve it without also being known as a 20-minute team.