BOSTON -- The NHL allowed Brad Marchand to play Thursday night and the Pittsburgh Penguins paid the price.

"Lucky we had him tonight," Boston coach Claude Julien said after Marchand, fined and not suspended by the league for his "dangerous trip" Tuesday night, scored two goals to key a Bruins comeback that carried them to a 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the final game before the All-Star break for both teams.

After a phone hearing with the Player Safety department, Marchand was fined $10,000 but did not receive his fifth NHL suspension. He could have been suspended for Thursday night's game and perhaps even for his trip to the All-Star game, but dodged the bullet.

So did the Bruins.

"He played like he was $10,000 lighter," joked teammate David Backes, who played a strong physical game that earned him a third star without registering a point.

Marchand, who expressed relief before the game at the decision, scored his 20th and 21st goals of the season and his third and fourth in the last two games to erase a 2-0 deficit in the second period -- the first goal short-handed.

"It was good to kind of let it go and kind of put it behind me," Marchand said. "You know, you can't change anything after it all goes down, so it was great to come out here and play the game, have some fun and be part of a big win, so it was a good night."

Marchand was also part of a power-play scramble that resulted in Patrice Bergeron's insurance goal 51 seconds into the third period, although he didn't get an assist.

That goal became big when Penguins winger Patric Hornqvist scored with 9:25 left. The Bruins also had to kill two late penalties.

Marchand also scored twice in Tuesday's victory over the Detroit Red Wings and has 12 goals and 22 points in the last 18 games. His four goals helped the Bruins (25-21-6) hit the break with two wins and ease some of the pressure on Julien. The wins also evened Boston's home record at 12-12.

"The speculation is driven by the media," Marchand said. "They don't have the sources that they may claim. You know, that's not going to happen if they do their jobs. Claude isn't the issue. You fire the coach, what do you do? It's not going to change anything.

"Claude's one of the best coaches of the game, and that's not the answer for this group."

Bergeron, Marchand's center, also had an assist, while David Pastrnak, who scored Tuesday's overtime winner, had two, giving him five points in the last three games.

After defenseman Justin Schultz and winger Phil Kessel put Pittsburgh (30-13-5) ahead in the first -- Schultz scoring off Boston defenseman Brandon Carlo -- Marchand struck twice and Riley Nash once to give the home side a 3-2 advantage heading into the third. The Bruins outshot the visitors 16-4 in the period.

The four goals went past Matt Murray, who lost for the first time in three games against Boston. He made 33 saves.

"I think they outplayed us," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "They played hard in the second. They won puck battles and they controlled territory."

Tuukka Rask made 19 saves in his ninth straight start and 15th in the last 16 games.

Carlo had a tough game, first directing Schultz's centering pass with what looked like a shot into the empty net with Rask well off to the side. The rookie then took a cross-checking penalty later in the period. He did have an assist on the second Marchand goal but left the game early in the third period with an apparent right leg injury.

Bergeron's cross-ice pass off the boards sprung Marchand for his first goal, his third and the team's sixth short-handed goal of the season, 1:38 into the second. Marchand then tied the game with a rebound of a Pastrnak shot 6:27 into the period.

Nash scored his third of the year, his second since Nov. 7 by tipping a Torey Krug shot up and over Murray for a 3-2 Bruins lead.

"I thought we made a push, obviously it wasn't our best game tonight but you know you got to keep going," said Kessel.

NOTES: Bruins LW Brad Marchand avoided what would have been the fifth suspension but was nailed with a $10,000 fine, his second, totaling $12,500. ... RW Patric Hornqvist, questionable after missing practice Thursday, played and scored his 12th goal of the season for Pittsburgh, which was missing All-Star C Evgeni Malkin, D Kris Letang and C Matt Cullen. ... Bruins RW David Pastrnak had two assists, giving him a goal and 11 helpers in the last 12 games. ... The Penguins recalled C Carter Rowney from Wilkes-Barre and returned D Steve Oleksy to the AHL team, but Rowney did not dress. ... Pittsburgh RW Bryan Rust played in his 100th NHL game.