Bruins Head Into Their Extended Break (8 days!) After A Satisfying 3-2 Victory vs. Golden Knights

Thanks to the NHL's scheduling Gods, the Bruins (29-10-12) get an extra long vacation. Not only are they off for the All-Star break (the festivities and game is this weekend in St. Louis if you care) but they had the good fortune to also have their mandatory five-day rest period tacked onto the end of that. Long story short, they won't be back on the ice as a team until next Thursday for practice before traveling to Winnipeg (25-21-4) for next Friday's (8, NESN) meeting with the Jets. That looming layoff heightened the importance of their matchup with the Golden Knights (25-20-7) this evening at TD Garden. Boston's 3-2 win meant that the players and coaches could go into their time off with a clear mind since after all, they have the second most points in the league trailing only Washington (33-11-5).

It wasn't easy for the B's (who were coming off a brutal 4-3 loss in Pittsburgh on Sunday afternoon where they blew a 3-0 lead) as Vegas scored on their first shot on goal and also were up 2-1 in the second period before the Black and Gold closed with a pair of tallies in the third period. No need for overtime or a shootout since they all have planes to catch to warmer locations, well at least the guys that aren't tied down with wives and young children in school. This is only the third year of existence for the Golden Knights and so far they have had spectacular success for an expansion team but not at the expense of the Bruins. Nope, Boston improved to 5-2 all-time against them including 3-0 at the Garden while also sweeping the brief two-game season series after they won 4-3 way back on October 8 in Sin City.

Vegas is a bit of a mess at the moment since they unexpectedly fired their head coach Gerard Gallant last Wednesday and appointed former Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer (canned earlier this season by San Jose) in his place. They are clinging to the second Wild Card in the Western Conference but then again, they have just as many points (57) as the Coyotes (26-20-5) who are the top Wild Card club. Oh and in the Pacific Division, they have the same amount of points as Edmonton (26-18-5) and Calgary (26-19-5) with only one less than first-place Vancouver (27-18-4). Insanity. Stone-the former Senators star that they traded for last season-beat Jaroslav Halak (27 saves, 12-6-6) with a weak backhander that seemed to handcuff him just 1:24 into the contest. Nate Schmidt provided the lone assist on Stone's 18th goal of the season which gave him 22 points (7 goals, 15 assists) in his last 20 games.

Called up earlier in the day and appearing in only his second NHL game of the season, Jeremy Lauzon naturally scored the tying goal at 11:40 as his shot from the point found its way past Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (34 saves, 19-12-4). Hat tip to Danton Heinen for the fine screen as well with David Krejci (back after missing 2 games with an upper-body injury) and rookie Karson Kuhlman notching the assists on Lauzon's second career goal (oddly enough the other was also against Vegas, last season). It was tied at one after one period but it felt like Boston should have been ahead because they outshot Vegas 14-8.

The Bruins' third-ranked power play in the NHL could never get going (0-for-5) in this one and the Golden Knights took advantage of one of their only two power plays in the entire game when rookie defenseman Nicolas Hague blasted in a one-timer at 10:59 of the second period. It was his first career NHL goal, assisted by Schmidt and former Panther Jonathan Marchessault. It started to feel like it wasn't meant to be for Boston since David Pastrnak missed a wide open net with a backhander earlier in the frame (something which never happens, especially this season for the NHL's top goal-scorer) and then Charlie McAvoy took a header into the boards thanks to a push from Chandler Stephenson. That was the final power play of the game for the Bruins and when they trailed 2-1 after two periods, you could feel the nerves and frustration building throughout the crowd.

Instead, the home team responded with two unanswered goals in the third period that involved both skill and determination. The tying goal was an absolute snipe by Jake DeBrusk over Fleury's glove hand at 4:26. His 15th goal of the season (4 goals, 5 assists in his last 8 games) was assisted by Charlie Coyle and Halak. It also served as some personal redemption for DeBrusk after Fleury stopped his breakaway attempt late in the first period. Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk left with an arm/wrist injury after getting tangled up with Cody Eakin and he never returned to action. His status will be something to keep an eye on during the break. Krejci bagged the game-winning goal by first deflecting a shot from Brandon Carlo and then following up for the rebound while Flower was out of position. Krejci's 12th goal of the season was also assisted by Heinen. The Golden Knights called a timeout late and pulled Fleury for an extra skater but the Bruins held on for a valuable two points.

Pastrnak and head coach Bruce Cassidy-by virtue of Boston leading the Atlantic Division-will head to St. Louis while other deserving Bruins like Patrice Bergeron (lost in the fan vote) and Brad Marchand (hated by seemingly everyone around the league) more importantly get to rest up for what should be an intense last few months of the regular season. Of Boston's remaining 31 games, only 13 of them will be at the Garden as they have plenty of road trips left to go on. The pieces are still there for another run to the Stanley Cup run, I truly believe that the Capitals are the only team in the Eastern Conference that they could not beat in a series and if they should somehow find themselves back in the Final, we'll reassess the situation at that juncture. The NHL trade deadline is a little over a month away (Feb. 24) and as always, Bruins GM Don Sweeney should be a busy man working the phone lines. BC alum and Topsfield native Chris Kreider-Rangers right winger and All-Star replacement for teammate Artemi Panarin-is rumored to be on the top of Sweeney's wish list but we shall see since that price figures to be going up. Boston is at Minnesota (22-21-6) on February 1 (8, NESN) against the Wild and their next home game is exactly two weeks away on February 4 vs. Vancouver.

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Bruins Use Strong 3rd Period (3-0) to Demolish the Penguins 5-1 & Sweep the 3-Game Season Series

One of the major storylines for the Bruins this season has been the stunted development of second-year right wing David Pastrnak. After getting injured early in the season, going to the World Junior Championships again with Czech Republic and rehabbing in Providence, he finally seems to be settling in. Tonight, he scored two goals as Boston (33-22-6) beat Pittsburgh (30-21-8) 5-1 at TD Garden. Thanks to the win, the B's swept the season series (3-0) with the Pens and outscored them 14-3.

It was the Pasta Show early on as he was awarded a penalty shot with four minutes left in the first period and used a stop and start move to throw off Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (24 saves). Boston led 1-0 after the first period and Landon Ferraro dropped the gloves with UMass-Lowell alum Scott Wilson 1:42 into the second period. Shortly after that, Pastrnak doubled the Bruins' advantage after Pittsburgh defenseman Olli Maata pulled a Kevan Miller and handed the puck right to him in front of the Penguins' net. Pastrnak waited until Fleury went down and put the puck around him for his eighth goal of the season at 3:12. He has four points (2 goals, 2 assists) in his last four games and it was his third career two-goal game.

Tuukka Rask (41 saves; 23-17-5) probably deserved a shutout as the only "shot" that beat him came off the skate of Penguins winger Tom Kuhnhackl. Rask kicked out a big rebound of rookie Oskar Sundqvist's shot and Kuhnhackl made a hockey stop directly into the puck at 4:07 of the second period. It was reviewed but the call stood since the referees felt like it didn't constitute a distinct kicking motion. Boston's buzzard's luck when it comes to reviews and coach's challenges this season has been unbelievably poor. Kuhnhackl's second goal of the season was also assisted by Trevor Daley.

With Boston up 2-1 after two periods, it appeared to be another white-knuckle finish at the Garden (where they improved to 13-15-3 this season) until the Bruins finished with a flourish of three goals in 4:53. Jimmy Hayes tapped-in a pretty feed from Ryan Spooner at 10:34. The former BC star's 13th goal of the season was also assisted by Adam McQuaid (game-high 4 blocked shots). For once, Boston made the other team crumble in crunch time as Ferraro scored on a breakaway at 14:26 from Dennis Seidenberg. His fourth goal of the season was his first point in 26 games (an assist vs. Pittsburgh on Dec. 18). Finally, Brad Marchand knocked in a rebound 1:01 after Ferraro's goal for his team-leading 31st goal of the season. Amazingly enough, he's tied with former Bruin Tyler Seguin for the fourth most goals in the NHL. Torey Krug and Patrice Bergeron had the last helpers.

The Bruins dads were in the locker room after the game as they will head to Carolina (28-23-10) along with their sons for Friday's contest (7, NESN). It's a cool little perk for the team during an arduous season and surely something that the fathers look forward to every year. The B's are 20-7-3 on the road but the Hurricanes have been surprisingly decent in 2015-16 so that is no gimmee although Carolina is at Toronto on Thursday so they'll be in the second leg of a back-to-back. Two more points there would be nice for the Black and Gold who return home for a rare Sunday night (6:30, NBCSN) meeting with Tampa Bay (34-22-4) who is currently tied with Boston (although they own the tiebreaker with a game in hand).

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Bruins Celebrate Being Halfway Done w/Reg. Season by Winning 3-2 in OT at Penguins

We are living in the movie Groundhog Day: for the fourth straight game, the Bruins went to overtime. The key difference tonight at CONSOL Energy Center is that unlike the previous three contests, where they fell in either overtime or a shootout, Boston (20-15-6) decided to get the two points as Patrice Bergeron tipped in Milan Lucic's shot at 2:43 for a thrilling 3-2 win over the Penguins. What's more, that victory put the Bruins in eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

Even though they seem to usually match up well with them, the Penguins (24-10-6) are one of the top teams in the East. That's what made this Boston's best win of 2014-15 (this was Game 41 of 82). You can't logically argue against the fact that Pittsburgh deserved better as they outshot Boston 39-24 (although B's owned overtime, 5-2) and saw Beau Bennett hit the post earlier in the extra session.

Bergeron's 10th goal of the season (and 2nd of the game) took a while to review since at first glance he appeared to tip the puck with a high stick. However, it was called a goal on the ice and thankfully it remained that way with Torey Krug picking up the second assist.

The alarming trend continued for the B's of poor starts that lack any kind of emotion. Bennett scored 3:37 into the game as he put in a sneaky pass from Evgeni Malkin that caught everyone including Tuukka Rask (37 saves) by surprise and out of position. Simon Despres had the other assist on Bennett's second goal of the season.

Bruins captain Zdeno Chara has been playing like he is in quicksand (apparently he's human too) but he still managed to tie it at 17:57 of the first period with a blast from the point that beat Marc-Andre Fleury (21 saves). It was the captain's third goal of the season with assists to Reilly Smith and David Krejci.

It was a good sign that in such an important game, Boston's best players stepped it up a notch. Bergeron made it 2-1 at 15:37 of the second period with a snipe that went over Fleury's shoulder. Daniel Paille and Lucic had the assists. Boston kept the lead after two periods but Malkin quickly erased it with a laser that whizzed by Rask 14 seconds into the third. That was Geno's 18th goal of the season, assisted by Christian Ehrhoff.

The B's are 1-5-1 in the second legs of back-to-backs so far this season but they'll have as good a chance as ever to change that tomorrow night (7, NESN) as they host the Devils at TD Garden. New Jersey (15-20-7) was off tonight but they are bad and going nowhere this season so if Boston wants to make the playoffs, they need to win against that type of overmatched opposition. If all else fails, they should kidnap Jaromir Jagr while he's in the building and get him back on the Bruins.

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Penguins Beat Bruins 3-2 In Overtime On Malkin's 2nd Goal of the Game

It is a cold reality but I guess we should be somewhat content that the shorthanded B's were able to take a point against the juggernaut Penguins tonight at TD Garden. Playing with what feels like half a team that rightfully belongs in Providence, Pittsburgh (14-4-2) beat Boston (13-9-1) 3-2 in overtime at TD Garden on Evgeni Malkin's goal just 32 seconds in.

Brad Marchand returned after missing three games with an undisclosed injury but David Krejci and Chris Kelly remained out. Boston made the curious decision to send Seth Griffith back to Providence this afternoon while Matt Fraser was a healthy scratch. That meant that their first-round pick from this past draft, David Pastrnak, made his NHL debut at the ripe old age of 18 (he's the youngest player to appear in the NHL this season). He only ended up playing 7:53 so his contributions were understandably limited. Furthermore, it's hard to say what they wanted out of Jordan Caron (3:35) and Alex Khokhlachev (2:53) when they each played five total shifts in the entire contest.

You can only keep Sidney Crosby and Malkin in check for so long, even in the best of times, which made it utterly predictable that Crosby opened the scoring at 3:33 with a backhander on a rebound from Tuukka Rask (30 saves). Harvard's Craig Adams and Kris Letang had the assists on Crosby's ninth goal of the season.

Pittsburgh led 1-0 after the first period but Boston tied it early in the second on Milan Lucic's tap-in from Loui Eriksson and Carl Soderberg at 1:43. Lucic has been lost without Krejci so it was nice to see him pick up his fourth goal of the season on Eriksson's slick pass. The Bruins took the lead only 28 seconds later as rookie Joe Morrow scored his first career NHL goal. Marc-Andre Fleury (27 saves) was screened while Dougie Hamilton and Simon Gagne were credited with the assists on Morrow's wrister from the point.

The B's had not one but two possible goals called off upon replay this evening. In the first period, Patrice Bergeron hit the puck in with what was determined to be a high stick. That seemed like the right call but the second one was much more shaky. In the following frame, the puck deflected in off Soderberg's body before Lucic knocked the net off of its mooring. The refs ruled that Soderberg used his glove which was not obvious at all.

Malkin and Crosby took over even further as Malkin tied it at two. His low but hard shot beat Rask to the nearside at 9:42 of the second period on the power play for his ninth goal of the season. Letang and Crosby had the assists on that tally. After the scoreless third period, where the Penguins outshot the Bruins 12-4, all Pittsburgh needed was one rush in overtime to end it. Crosby went blazing up the left wing before firing a one-timer over to Malkin who caught Rask in scramble mode going side-to-side (who could blame him?).

Boston is now off until Friday (7, NESN) when they host Winnipeg (10-9-3). The trend for the Bruins so far this season has been to beat the bad and average teams and then to lose against the good ones. However, it's tough to see them topping many teams in their current state of disarray with all the injuries and underachieving individuals. The scary part is that after that they go to the West Coast for four games in six days including the dreaded California trio of Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Jose.

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Could Anything Else Have Happened in Boston's Thrilling 3-2 Over Pittsburgh?

Can we just fast forward to another Eastern Conference Finals between the Bruins and Penguins? You know it's going to come down to that again, right? Oh well, I guess we'll have to let tonight's chock-filled game tide us over until then since it was the third and final installment of the regular season meetings (B's won 2 of 3). Boston (19-8-2) beat Pittsburgh (20-10-1) 3-2 thanks to two goals in the final 1:29 but all anyone could talk about was Shawn Thornton knocking out Brooks Orpik.

It all started in the first period when Orpik went high on Loui Eriksson, a hit that wasn't deemed penalty worthy yet resulted a second concussion this season for the Swede. Later in the frame, Brad Marchand was tripped by Sidney Crosby and scummy James Neal happened to skate by him and knee Marchand in the head. Don't worry though, Neal said after the game that it was an accident. The next part was especially ugly as Thornton went after Orpik and punched him when he was on the ice and thus couldn't really defend himself. Orpik was knocked out cold and had to be carted off on a stretcher. The good news there is that he's flying back to Pittsburgh with his teammates after a trip to the hospital.

Thornton will be suspended, possibly for six games or more since he has an in-person (never a good sign) meeting with NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan. Neal has a phone meeting which means he could get a game or two (keep in mind he's a repeat offender while Thornton has never actually been suspended).

Oh yes, there was a hockey game too. Chris Kunitz was credited with a power play goal (it is the giving season) which was actually an intended pass that bounced in the net off Zdeno Chara's skate at 6:33 of the first period. Reilly Smith answered at 10:13 with his sixth goal of the season as Patrice Bergeron stole the puck and fed him for a slap shot that Marc-Andre Fleury (18 saves) had no chance to stop.

Speaking of that dirtbag Neal, he can certainly score goals on top of all his bush league tactics. He got another fluky power play goal when he popped out of the penalty box and found a hole in Tuukka Rask's (28 saves) pads at 13:13.

Boston looked out of it but then that's when they usually respond, especially at the Garden. David Krejci tied it at two at 18:31 of the third period with his fifth goal of the season after Rask had been pulled for an extra skater. Zdeno Chara was screening Rask while Milan Lucic and Jarome Iginla had the assists. 1:16 later (with 13 seconds left in regulation) captain Zdeno Chara took a pretty pass from Smith and put a snap shot in the corner. Marchand had the second assist on Chara's seventh goal of the season.

With all this craziness, the B's had to hop on a flight for Toronto since they are playing the Maple Leafs (16-11-3) tomorrow night (7, NESN). I think Rask will sit although maybe with Eriksson, Thornton and Chris Kelly (lower body injury that nobody saw) all out, Bruins head coach Claude Julien elects to go with his stability. We shall see, everyone get some sleep.

12/8: The hits keep coming, Kelly has a broken right fibula from Pascal Dupuis' slash. He was placed on long-term IR and is expected to be out for 4-6 weeks (this happened last season too). Adam McQuaid also went on IR so forwards Matt Fraser and Ryan Spooner were called up from Providence and will be in the lineup tonight in Toronto. Keep in mind Boychuk is out indefinitely, the Bruins say a week but I'll believe it when I see it with his back injury that looked pretty serious.

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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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For The First Time In Nearly Two Months, The Bruins Have Lost Two In A Row

Call it whatever you want-a funk, a tough stretch, a post All-Star break snooze-the Boston Bruins are currently struggling as much as they have since October concluded.

The B's (32-16-2) fell 2-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins (30-18-4) this afternoon at TD Garden. It was Boston's sixth loss in its last 10 games.

The NHL trade deadline is three weeks from Monday. A few weeks ago, I would have thought it was silly to even discuss a possible move in depth since the Bruins were on cruise control but now, with a few more sub par efforts, I think GM Peter Chiarelli and Co. will need to think long and hard about making a trade. They don't need a blockbuster but like last season, they could use an infusion of new blood that they can slot into the lineup.

Today's contest was further proof that even without Sidney Crosby, I feel that the Pens are the biggest obstacle between the Bruins and another Eastern Conference championship. They're deep, have plenty of talent, a great goaltender, they're tough and they have an outstanding coach. Pittsburgh seems like one of the only squads that isn't intimidated by Boston's physical play. In fact, they beat up the B's in this one.

I made a promise to myself after last season that I would never again partake in attending 1 p.m. games on Saturdays. I don't have the numbers to back it up but I feel like Boston always sleepwalks through those, can't score goals and usually lose.

The NHL's leading scorer Evgeni Malkin (28th goal of the season) gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal with nine seconds left in the first period. Chris Kunitz and James Neal had the assists but Malkin did the hard work as he fought for the rebound and beat Tim Thomas (26 saves; 22-10-0).

That killer goal gave Pittsburgh energy and public enemy No. 1 in Boston Matt Cooke (9th goal of the season) made it 2-0 at 1:53 of the third period. Dustin Jeffrey and Pascal Dupuis had the assists but once again, Thomas was the victim of a rebound he left basically on the doorstep of the crease.

Marc Andre-Fleury's (28 saves) shutout bid was broken at 6:45 by Joe Corvo. The defenseman, who's been playing awful the last month or so, scored his third of the season thanks to a nice screen by Brad Marchand. Corvo's harmless wrist shot from the point found its way past Fleury. Marchand and Patrice Bergeron had the assists.

Boston pressed for another goal but they never found it. The lack of goal-scoring the past two games (1 total) isn't just because of Nathan Horton's absence but I think it's obvious that as much as we love Rich Peverley, he's not first line material.

The Penguins will play the Bruins twice more in the regular season: March 11 in Pittsburgh and April 3 in Boston.

The Bruins have a tough back-to-back as they travel to Washington D.C. to face the Capitals tomorrow afternoon (12:30 p.m.). In the last game before the All-Star break, the B's lost 5-3 to the Caps on January 24. Before I settle in for Super Bowl 46, it would ease my mind a bit if the B's can get two points.

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All good things must come to an end, Bruins style

As much as I might dream about it, the Boston Bruins were bound to lose a game at some point after they had won seven straight entering last night vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The fact that they lost 3-2 to the scrappy Penguins (38-21-8) wasn't surprising in the least bit. However, it's the Bruins (38-19-8) so they have to remind you that they do losing like nobody else.

With goaltender Tim Thomas (36 saves; 29-8-7) pulled for an extra attacker, David Krejci tied it up with 33 seconds left in regulation to send it to overtime. It was Krejci's 10th of the season and it was the result of beautiful triangular passing from Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton.

All that joy was quickly curtailed as Boston defenseman Dennis Seidenberg had an unforgivable giveaway in his own zone that led to Dustin Jeffrey's second goal of the game, unassisted and 1:52 into overtime.

The Bruins still got a point out of the game but they didn't really deserve it. With the Flyers loss yesterday, Boston had a chance to pull within one point of Philly.

Yet there seemed to be no urgency from the Black and Gold as they were continually pushed around by the Penguins who are without Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. The best way to describe Pittsburgh is that they're annoying to play against. They win all the one-on-one battles, they play with an edge and they seem content to do whatever it takes to win since they know they're missing their top-end talent at the moment.

Zdeno Chara gave the Bs a 1-0 lead in the second period, assists to Krejci and Lucic on the captain's 11th of the season. It came at 7:26 as he took a nifty backhand feed from Krejci, stepped into a soft part of the Pens' defense and snapped a shot over Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury's (29 saves) shoulder.

The Penguins quickly responded as Jordan Staal tied it up at 10:09 with assists from Tyler Kennedy and Matt Cooke. The play started since Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk got caught too far up ice when he tried to keep the puck in Pittsburgh's zone.

Jeffrey made it 2-1 at 11:19 of the second period when his quick release got under Thomas' leg pads. Maxime Talbot and Zbynek Michalek had the assists.

Patrice Bergeron was home in Canada dealing with some family issues and his two-way game was missed although Rich Peverley looked solid in his spot. Steve Kampfer is expected out at least for the next week as he gets over his mild concussion and Andrew Ference is still shelved with a lower body injury. Matt Bartkowski got his third call up of the season, ironically all against his hometown Penguins. Haven't seen enough of him yet to form much of an opinion.

The Bruins will need to regroup ahead of what's always an emotional game: at Montreal on Tuesday. Last time those teams met, it was the 8-6 bonkers win for Boston. Who knows what will happen next with the ancient rivals?

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.