Bruins Take 3-0 Series Lead On Penguins Thanks To A 2-1 Victory In 2OT

Games like tonight are a wonderful reminder of why the NHL playoffs are second to none. Where else can you say an incredible performance (53 saves by Tuukka Rask), a guy finish a shift on a broken leg (Gregory Campbell) then to top it all off in double overtime, an exquisite goal? The Bruins beat the Penguins 2-1 at TD Garden on Patrice Bergeron's fifth goal of the postseason (2nd OT winner) at 15:19. Boston is one win away from the Stanley Cup Finals as they take a 3-0 lead over Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Brad Marchand had the primary assist but Jaromir Jagr was credited with the second assist and he created the play by losing the puck to Evgeni Malkin then taking it back and starting the rush. For the first three periods, you could say that Rask basically stole the game for the B's since he stood on his head on the way to a career-high in saves. He has clearly psyched out the Penguins (they hit the post four times). In three games (almost 11 full periods with the overtimes), mighty Pittsburgh has scored two goals. Think about that.

David Krejci scored his NHL-best ninth goal of the playoffs just 1:42 into regulation as Pittsburgh somehow lost him at the side of their net and he banked it in off Matt Niskanen's skate. Milan Lucic had the assist on Krejci's fourth goal in three games.

The Penguins blitzed Rask and he couldn't stop every shot although he nearly completed that impossible task once again. Chris Kunitz scored on a one-timer from Paul Martin and Pascal Dupuis at 8:51 in the second period. Keep in mind that Pittsburgh still hasn't led in this series. Tomas Vokoun (38 saves) proved that Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma made the right decision by sticking with him, he was very solid.

Both teams had to kill a pair of penalties in overtime: Pittsburgh's penalty kill came through twice in the first overtime while Boston's had one in each frame to make things extra nerve-wracking (if that's possible).

I can't imagine how the Penguins feel after this loss, they couldn't have done much more but they still came up short. The Bruins are clicking in so many ways which is why they've won eight of their last nine games overall. They'll go for their first sweep of the postseason in Game 4 on Friday (8 p.m., NBCSN). It took Boston three times to put away Toronto. Boston wasn't able to close out the Rangers in four games but they got the job done in Game 5. Maybe now they can do it on the first try.

UPDATE 6/7: Kaspars Daugavins will take Campbell's place but he is expected to skate on the third line. Chris Kelly should center the fourth line with Daniel Paille and Shawn Thornton.

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Bruins Puke On Their Skates In 3rd Period, Cough Up 2-0 Lead To Penguins

Playing in the second night of a back-to-back on the road against the NHL's hottest team-the Pittsburgh Penguins-proved to be too much for the Bruins tonight at the Consol Energy Center. Boston (17-4-3) actually led 2-0 in the first period but the Penguins (19-8-0) rallied for a pair of goals in the third period before Brandon Sutter won it with the game-winner at 17:57. Pittsburgh captured its sixth game in a row but on the bright side at least the B's didn't have to go to overtime or another shootout again.

Zdeno Chara's power play goal (his 5th goal of the season) at 4:45, from Dennis Seidenberg and Rich Peverley, was a bomb from the point followed by Tyler Seguin's goal (his 9th of the season) which gave the Bruins a shocking 2-0 lead at 13:30. Seguin's was the result of tic-tac-toe passing between his linemates Brad Marchand (who won the puck along the end boards) and Patrice Bergeron. He roofed it by Marc-Andre Fleury (14 saves).

Anton Khudobin (4-2-0) got the start and he deserved a better result since he made 31 saves. After they scored their goals, Boston went into a deep slumber the likes of which their team logo is best known for. Khudobin kept them afloat for as long as he could that is until two crappy turnovers and one sublime finish proved to be a deadly combination.

Chris Kunitz got Pittsburgh on the board with his 18th goal of the season at 13:42, a laser of a one-timer over Khudobin's shoulder that was assisted by Kris Letang and Deryk Engelland. Sutter was the unlikely hero thanks to the gifts from Boston's leaky defensemen who couldn't help but hand him the puck in prime locations. He tied it at 14:33 from James Neal and Beau Bennett. His game-winner was fittingly unassisted although it would have been Dennis Seidenberg's best assist of the season if only they were on the same team.

Now officially halfway through this lockout-shortened season, Boston survived this three games in four days (2-1-0) segment and for their troubles they get to return to TD Garden to begin another three games in four days stretch. The worst team in the NHL-the Florida Panthers (7-14-6)-visit on Thursday night (7 p.m., NESN) in a game that the B's need to have before they start playing other legitimate NHL teams later in the week.

UPDATE 3/13: Chris Kelly is out indefinitely with a broken left tibia, suffered Monday in Ottawa. Ugh, this is the first major injury for the Bruins this season so get used to seeing Jay Pandolfo in the lineup every game for a while.

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Boston Bruins can't close out a great week with another win over Pittsburgh Penguins, oh well

After coming back to beat the Penguins on Monday, blowing out the Senators on Wednesday and taking an epic meeting with the Flyers on Thursday, the Bruins were due for a letdown at some point.

They actually played decent as they hosted Pittsburgh (28-14-4) yesterday afternoon at the TD Garden but they fell 3-2 as the Bs (24-13-7) couldn't find the net in the third period despite putting 20 shots on Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (44 saves).

Sidney Crosby was out again (his fifth straight game) with the lingering effects of a concussion and it doesn't take a genius to figure out that the best player in the NHL elevates his team from pretty good to Stanley Cup contender.

Chris Kunitz (from Jordan Staal and Matt Cooke) gave Pittsburgh an early 1-0 lead at 10:57 of the first period.

Gregory Campbell and Craig Adams fought a few minutes later in a solid lightweight bout.

Pascal Dupuis made it 2-0 41 seconds into the second period from Zbynek Michalek and Evgeni Malkin. It's funny to see the Penguins up close after having gotten to know them much more deeply in the excellent HBO series 24/7 featuring them and the Washington Capitals.

Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask (33 saves) had another uneven start; he played well in stretches and Boston didn't lose because of him but when it was over he accumulated yet another loss.

Rookie defenseman Steven Kampfer had his nose broken by either a Dupuis or Zdeno Chara high stick so his day was over early in the second period. That was a factor as the Bruins' defensemen are already short-handed with Marc Stuart and Andrew Ference out.

Boston's power play is atrocious and not surprisingly, they went 0-for-4 and generated few real opportunities. I can't put my finger on why it's so bad since they can score plenty during even-strength. Strange.

Dennis Seidenberg got Boston on the board at 11:28 of the second period with a screened shot that found it's way past Fleury. Shawn Thornton and Campbell assisted. 13 seconds later Michael Ryder tied it up with an absolute snipe that went top shelf, from Marc Savard and Seidenberg.

Staal was the unlikely hero as he scored at 3:25 of the third period, giving the Penguins the game-winning goal with help from Cooke and Tyler Kennedy. Like the other two Pittsburgh goals, it wasn't a thing of beauty but rather hustle and effort from a team that can be scrappy when it has to be.

Boston dominated the third period with a million great chances that did everything but go in. The loss was disappointing but with 46 shots (that weren't all blasts from the point), I can't complain.

The Bs host the Carolina Hurricanes tomorrow afternoon in a Martin Luther King Day matinee. I guarantee that Tim Thomas will be in net so Boston needs to take care of a team that's not particularly good but always seems to give them problems.