The Bruins & Penguins Did Their Part To Help Viewers Across The U.S. Fall Asleep This Afternoon

 

    It's rare that you would ever confuse a hockey game for a bad soccer game but this afternoon's 1-0 victory by the Penguins (32-14-3 overall, 20-3-2 home) over Boston (27-14-6 overall, 13-8-3 away) at PPG Paints Arena was about as dull as it gets for an NHL late regular season contest between two quality teams. Left wing Jake Guentzel provided the only goal with a perfect one-timer from captain Sidney Crosby and BC's Brian Dumoulin at 4:03 of the third period. His 21st goal of the season stood up as all it would take to beat the Bruins on this day. Pittsburgh goaltender Tristan Jarry's (30 saves, 20-8-3) first shutout of the season helped his team vault into first-place in the East Division thanks to their fourth straight win, one point ahead of idle Washington (31-13-4). 

    B's rookie goaltender Jeremy Swayman (28 saves, 5-2-0) deserved a better fate than what it probably feels like in baseball when you pitch a great outing but the opposing pitcher is only slightly better and earns the win. It was a strange tilt, proven by the fact that the only penalty of the night came from a high-sticking call on Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron late in the third period when Swayman was pulled for an extra attacker. With the loss, Boston fell to 4-3 vs. Pittsburgh this season meaning they only have one matchup left-on Tuesday (7, NESN)-also in the Steel City. I'm thinking that Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask will get the start for that one possibly facing the Penguins backup goalie UNH's Casey DeSmith but who knows? Needless to say, finishing 5-3 against the Penguins would look and feel way better than going 4-4 vs. them especially after Boston had put themselves in great position to take the season series coming into these final two encounters. 

The Bruins Beat The Penguins 7-5 In Easily The Most Entertaining Game Of The Season For Boston

 

    The Bruins (19-10-5) and Penguins (24-12-2) staged an instant classic of a game this afternoon at the TD Garden. The Penguins scored first and led 1-0 after the first period but then the Bruins erupted for five goals in the second period and they held on for a 7-5 victory that snapped Pittsburgh's five-game win streak and also improved Boston's record vs. them in 2021 to 4-2 with two matchups remaining in the regular season. Left wing Brad Marchand scored his fourth career hat trick and added an assist while right wing David Pastrnak handled his "demotion" to the second line well enough by scoring two goals and adding an assist of his own. The only people who probably didn't enjoy this scintillating tilt were the goaltenders: neither Boston's Jaroslav Halak (23 saves, 9-5-3) nor Pittsburgh's Casey DeSmith (21 saves, 9-4-0) were exactly bombarded by pucks but neither guy got pulled as all their season statistics slowly went down the drain. 

    PC's Mark Jankowski tipped in a shot from BC's Mike Matheson for his third goal of the season and a very early (3:24) 1-0 advantage for the Penguins in the first period. We should have known that the second period was going to be bonkers when Boston put in a pair of goals less than a minute into the middle frame. Center Patrice Bergeron bagged an unassisted goal 11 seconds in-fittingly his 11th goal of the season-then Pasta gave Boston its first lead (2-1) 34 seconds after that. Left wing Nick Ritchie and center David Krejci had the assists on Pastrnak's 15th goal of the season. The Pens answered with a pair of goals that helped them regain the lead at 3-2. Left wing Jake Guentzel put in his team-leading 16th goal of the season at 2:45 from center Sidney Crosby and BC's Brian Dumoulin. Center Jared McCann grabbed a power play goal at 5:11 that put Pittsburgh back in front. Guentzel and Crosby notched the assists on his ninth goal of the season. 

    Boston exploded in the final five minutes of the second period as Marchand tied it at three at 14:56: his 15th goal of the season was mostly a result of a great pass by BU's Matt Grzelcyk who patiently wheeled around the net then found his teammate. Right wing Craig Smith (who got to be on the 1st line for the day) was credited with the second assist. From there, the B's used a power play goal of its own to regain the lead for good. Krejci redirected a brilliant look from Marchand at 18:29 for his second goal of the season. Pastrnak got the second assist on his fellow countryman's tally. Marchand was heating up in a hurry as he made it 5-3 at 19:40. Smith and defenseman Charlie McAvoy recorded the helpers on a goal that gave the home team a two-goal spread heading into the final stanza. 

    Pittsburgh never gave up as defenseman Cody Ceci fired in a tricky shot at 4:38 of the third period. Jankowski and center Sam Lafferty had the assists on his third goal of the season that cut it to 5-4 Bruins. After Richie made a great play to knock Matheson off of the puck then he sauced it over to Pastrnak for the one-timer that restored that two-goal lead (6-4 at 13:28). That still didn't deter the Penguins as Crosby scored a shorthanded goal at 18:45 that trimmed Boston's slim lead to 6-5. Guentzel had the only assist on Pittsburgh's captain's 15h goal of the season. Before we could worry for too long that the Bruins were going to blow it, Marchand slid in his third goal of the afternoon at 18:59 into an empty net. BU's Charlie Coyle set up Marchand for the last marker of a truly wild and unforgettable meeting. 

    On paper, next week looks like the toughest one of the season for the Black and Gold: they have five games in seven days including three dates with the Flyers who in case you forgot, they have owned this season to the tune of 5-0-0. Still, the B's are only up four points on them for the all-important fourth spot in the East Division (granted they have 2 games in hand). The Bruins host Philly (17-14-5) on Monday (7, NESN) then they go to the Wells Fargo Center the next night (7, NESN). On Thursday (7, NESN) they travel to the Verizon Center to play the first-place Capitals (24-9-4). After that, the Bruins head back to Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon (2, NESN)-seriously they do-before finally returning to the Garden for another back-to-back when they take on the Caps on Sunday night (7, NESN). I'm exhausted just writing and reading about that insane stretch so I can't imagine actually taking part in it. Just like I would tell the Bruins, rest up and enjoy your Easter, I'll see you all on Monday. 

Unless They Make Some Moves By The Trade Deadline, B's Aren't Going Anywhere This Season

 

    It's not quite as dire for the Bruins (18-10-5) this season as the Celtics but make no mistake, they have major issues of their own that need to be addressed or else they'll be fortunate to make the playoffs in 2021 where they would be promptly knocked out rather quickly. Tonight at the TD Garden, they hosted the Penguins (24-11-2) in the start of a two-game series. The Penguins easily took round one by a score of 4-1 for their fifth win in a row (and their first here since 2015!) as Pittsburgh cut the season series to 3-2 in favor of the B's. Boston never led in this listless performance as the Pens scored twice in the second period to take a 2-0 lead. The Bruins cut it to 2-1 midway through the third period but Pittsburgh answered right back then put in an empty-net goal to clinch it. 

    With the way that Boston's offense is struggling right now it doesn't take opposing goaltenders much to shut them down. Pittsburgh's goalie Casey DeSmith (30 saves, 9-3-0)-a NH native & UNH product-was solid all night as he won his third straight start. The Bruins have a rough mix right now of young guys who either aren't ready to contribute much yet at this level or maybe they're just not that good to begin with. Adding that to all the overrated and/or floating veterans and you can see why Boston is pretty much locked into the fourth seed in the East Division should they reach the postseason.

        After a scoreless first period, the B's got some bad news that defenseman Brandon Carlo (playing in his 2nd game in almost a month after sustaining a concussion) suffered an upper-body injury and wouldn't return to action this evening. The Penguins must have as many college hockey alums on their roster as any other current team in the NHL. Hockey East had a big second period for them as Northeastern's Zach Aston-Reese and BC's Mike Matheson each scored a goal that staked Pittsburgh to a 2-0 lead which against Boston might as well be 5-0. Aston-Reese took a great feed from PC's Brandon Tanev to redirect it in at 2:01. Center Frederick Gaudreau (any relation to Johnny?) had the other assist on Aston-Reese's eighth goal of the season. Matheson's was more of an outstanding individual play as he used his speed to get around the Bruins defense and beat rookie goaltender Dan Vladar (19 saves, 2-1-0) for the 2-0 lead. Center Anthony Angello and defenseman Cody Ceci provided the helpers on his third goal of the season that came at 13:02. 

    Left wing Brad Marchand has been one of the only Bruins forwards lately that has had any consistent jump in his game. That's why it figured that he would score their only goal. He roofed a wrist shot by DeSmith for his 14th goal of the season (tied with David Pastrnak for the team lead) at 11:14 of the third period. Center Patrice Bergeron and defenseman Jakub Zboril notched the assists on that lone highlight of the game for the Bruins. Less than two minutes later after a weak turnover by Pasta in the neutral zone, left wing Jason Zucker finished a beautiful pass from BU's Evan Rodrigues and defenseman Marcus Pettersson. His fifth goal of the season was at 13:07 and it served as a kind of backbreaker to the home team. Left wing Jake Guentzel padded his stats with an empty-netter-his 15th goal of the season at 17:51 for a 4-1 margin. Some guys named Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby happened to have the assists on that final tally. 

    These same teams will practice tomorrow in the city: the Bruins will be at Warrior Ice Arena and the Penguins who knows, maybe at BU (where their head coach Mike Sullivan used to coach) before they play again on Saturday afternoon (1, NESN). If Tuukka Rask is still unavailable, it'll be Jaroslav Halak in net for the B's. Through injuries, illnesses and slumps, Boston head coach Bruce Cassidy has had to constantly shuffle his lineup and I don't expect the matinee to be any different in that regard. Center Sean Kuraly and left wing Jake DeBrusk were skating at practice the last few days so perhaps they can finally return from their bouts with Covid-19. The Bruins are 2-2-1 on this seven-game homestand that feels pretty pivotal in their season. 

Injuries & Inconsistency From Many Of Their Top Players Has Caught Up With The Bruins Right Now

 

    Unless you've been paying close attention lately, you might not realize that the Bruins (14-8-4) are a bit of a mess at the moment. Tonight, they began a back-to-back set at the PPG Paints Arena with a 4-1 loss to the red-hot Penguins (18-9-1). Unlike Saturday's lifeless 4-0 shutout loss to the Rangers (11-12-4) at the TD Garden, scoring chances weren't the main issue this evening as the B's outshot the Pens 43-26 but Pittsburgh's goaltender Tristan Jarry (42 saves, 12-7-1) was really tough to beat. Boston actually had more shots on goal in the first period alone (20) than they did all of Saturday (18) but that hardly seems to matter since it once again ended in a loss. The Bruins dropped to 3-5-2 in their last 10 games while the Penguins jumped to five points ahead of them courtesy of their sixth straight win-they are also 8-2-0 in their last 10. 

    The lone goal for the Bruins came on the power play but not from who you'd expect: defenseman Matt Grzelcyk used a screen from left wing Nick Ritchie to score on a wrist shot from the point for his first goal of the season at 6:47 of the first period. Left wing Brad Marchand and right wing David Pastrnak provided the assists that gave Boston an all too brief lead. Matt's former BU teammate center Evan Rodrigues tied it with a true knuckle puck that Bruins goalie Jaroslav Halak (23 saves, 6-4-2) couldn't glove cleanly before it trickled over the goal line. Right wing Kasperi Kapanen and center Evgeni Malkin had the assists on baby-faced Rodrigues' second goal of the season. Halak allowed another goal that I'm sure he'd like back when Pittsburgh's superstar center Sidney Crosby one-timed a low shot from a tough angle that Jaroslav couldn't contain for some reason. Left wing Jake Guentzel and BC defenseman Brian Dumoulin had the helpers on Crosby's 11th goal of the season at 18:34. 

    Down only 2-1 after the first period, Boston was still in it until Malkin scored a power play goal at 11:40 of the second period. His one-timer from the slot was his eighth goal of the season and it was assisted by Crosby and defenseman Kris Letang. A troubling trend for the Bruins is their lack of scoring punch in March as they've managed one goal or less in five of those seven contests. Yeesh. Guentzel's empty-net goal (his 11th goal of the season) at 19:44 of the third period wrapped it up for the Penguins who improved to a very impressive 12-2-0 at home. 

    Tomorrow's game (7, NESN) brings more uncertainty for the B's because Halak understandably won't start on back-to-back nights (and 3 times in the last 4 days) so it'll either be rookie Dan Vladar making his NHL debut or Providence's Jeremy Swayman-a rookie that went to the University of Maine-who has begun his pro career 7-0-0 in the AHL. For this reason, it's easy to predict that the Penguins will be a heavy favorite in the rematch. Even a pity point (losing in overtime or a shootout) would be a fine result for the Bruins since it feels like they are teetering on the verge of a major slump.

B's Win Season-High 4th In A Row As Khudobin Extends Career-Best Point Streak To 9 (7-0-2)

Tuukka Rask might still be the third highest paid goaltender in the NHL but for the time being, he's lost his starting job to a career backup: Anton Khudobin (7-0-2). Boston (10-7-4) beat Pittsburgh (11-10-3) 4-3 this afternoon at TD Garden on Black Friday as the B's have improbably turned their season around with four straight wins. Khudobin entered today owning the best save percentage in the league (.938 save%) and he was third in goals against average (2.13) so while those numbers went down a bit, he is still riding the best point streak of his career and he even admitted in Boston's dressing room after the game that this was the best run he's had in the NHL, even better than with that vaunted Carolina team in 2014.

It's a little early to be projecting a playoff matchup this spring (and keep in mind that they meet twice more in the regular season with another game in Boston) but you have to admit that it would be fun to see the Bruins and Penguins meet in the postseason since Boston improved to 9-1-2 in their last 12 contests vs. the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions. For whatever unknown reason, they have given the Penguins more problems than any other opponent over these last few years. Pittsburgh star Evgeni Malkin (7 goals, 14 assists) missed today's action with an upper-body injury but Brad Marchand (8 goals, 7 assists) was also out for Boston so that's basically an even trade-off.

Besides Khudobin (who only had to make 17 saves), the key to Boston's resurgence lately has been the fact that they've consistently gotten off to better starts. It's no surprise that hockey (just like any other team sport) is easier to play with a lead versus playing from behind all the time. The B's were up 2-0 less than 11 minutes into the proceedings as David Krejci (2nd goal of the season) finished a one-timer from Jake DeBrusk and Peter Cehlarik at 6:13 followed by Sean Kuraly's (3rd goal of the season) similar one-timer at 10:51 from fellow rookie Charlie McAvoy. Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan (a South Shore resident and another BU connection) used his timeout after that and truthfully, he probably needed it more late in the game when the B's were hanging on but that's neither here nor there.

Pittsburgh trailed 2-0 after the first period but the Penguins cut it to 2-1 with a power-play goal by Jake Guentzel at 1:02 of the second, his team-leading ninth of the season. Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby-ever heard of them?-had the helpers as Pittsburgh cashed in on a cheap hooking penalty on Krejci (granted it was Boston's only infraction). It's tough to beat rookie defenseman Matt Grzelcyk's story just to get here: Charlestown native, BU alum and his dad works on the bull gang (the group that changes the ice, court and concert stages) at the Garden. He added another chapter to his hometown hero legacy with his first NHL goal at 10:31. Krejci and DeBrusk (2 goals and 4 assists in 5 games since he was a healthy scratch) had the helpers as Grzelcyk took his head coach Bruce Cassidy's sage advice and pinched up on the play before beating Penguins goaltender Matt Murray (29 saves) down low.

The Penguins are banged up but they (cliche alert!) still have the heart of a (2-time) champion as they rallied for two goals before that frame was over. Former Bruins great Phil Kessel showed off what is still one of the best shots in the league as he sniped the puck past Khudobin at 14:07 to make it 3-2 Boston. Riley Sheahan and Justin Schultz had the assists on Kessel's ninth goal of the season. Crosby tied it up with a bizarre tally: he knocked the puck off of Khudobin's chest (it was just lying there) and it stood up for his seventh goal of the season after a lengthy review and subsequent reach of a coach's challenge by Cassidy. Patric Hornqvist and another former Bruin-Matt Hunwick-had the assists on a goal that showed off some of Crosby's numerous elite skills (hand-eye coordination, instinct, relentlessness, etc) that have all added up to make him an all-time great player.

Coming off an 11-round shootout in New Jersey on Wednesday (won 3-2 by the Bruins), not to mention it being the afternoon following the biggest eating day of the year (sorry Ramadan), the Bruins wanted no part of overtime or God forbid another shootout. They got all the remaining offense that they would need to put it in the win column as David Pastrnak finished off a breakaway from Riley Nash and Ryan Spooner at 5:06 of the third period. Pastrnak's team-leading 11th goal of the season was helped by Nash's long feed but then it was all Pasta's brilliance since he went backhand to forehand before flipping the puck over Murray's glove hand.

Boston will try to keep the good vibes going as they host the reeling Oilers (8-12-2) on Sunday (5, NESN) before the best team in hockey-Tampa Bay (16-3-2) comes to town on Wednesday (7:30, NBC Sports Network). Cassidy said they're taking the goaltender situation "day-to-day" so I have no idea if it'll be Khudobin or Rask vs. Edmonton. You can see it from both sides: when he has enough breaks in between games, why sit Khudobin before he loses in regulation but Rask will also have to start again at some point or you risk really losing him mentally this season. Wear your old Milan Lucic Bruins jersey on Sunday and silently cheer on Looch after you watch the Patriots (8-2) destroy the Dolphins (4-6) at Gillette Stadium (1, CBS).

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