Bruins Take Extra Point in OT Against Penguins

(Photo: Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire)

The Boston Bruins are playing host the Pittsburgh Penguins this week, with the first of two games taking place Tuesday night. Matt Grzelcyk is still out with his lower-body injury and David Pastrnak, though in a regular practice jersey, was not expected to play in either of Tuesday’s or Thursday’s games. He is however traveling with the team this coming weekend.

The opening frame saw both teams spend a little time feeling each other out. Just like Saturday night’s game though, the line of Trent Frederic, Charlie Coyle and Craig Smith were determined to pick up where they left off. Smith notched three shots on goal during the first period which saw the Bruins with a total of 11 shots. Boston also found themselves in the box twice in the opening twenty. Connor Clifton  was whistled at 7:18 for a cross-check, and Brad Marchand added to his shorthanded goal count 23 seconds later. Meanwhile the Bruins kept the Penguins from making a single shot during their man-advantage. The second penalty saw Chris Wagner sitting with 1:57 remaining in the period. This was a critical penalty kill for the Bruins to ensure they went into the first intermission leading 1–0. The clock ran out but there were still three seconds on Wagner’s penalty to carry over into the second period.

The second period saw the Bruins spending more time in the box as Patrice Bergeron was whistled for hooking less than three minutes into the middle frame. The Bruins managed to kill it off. Boston got their first chance on the man-advantage when Chad Ruhwedel was sent off for hooking. And then 37 seconds later his teammate Brandon Taney joined him, having been called for tripping. While on the five-on-three, Marchand was able to dish the puck to Nick Ritchie who was about two feet from the right side of the crease. He neatly popped the puck in giving the Bruins their second goal of the game.

For Ritchie, that was his sixth point in six games (3 goals, 3 assists), showing more of his talent as this season continues. Meanwhile Charlie McAvoy added a second assist to his stats for the night—having assisted on Marchand’s shorthander in the first.

The Bruins saw Smith head off on a slashing penalty at 12:00 of the second period. And then Jakub Zboril took a seat at 17:45 for tripping, making the fifth penalty called on the Bruins. Kris Letang soon found himself also in the box at 18:52, also for tripping. The teams played 53 seconds of four-on-four before the Bruins had a brief power play before the horn signaled the end of the second period.

During the second the Boston Bruins organization announced that Jake DeBrusk would not return to the game, suffering a lower-body injury. Of course nothing else was said about this, but it could be a very good thing that Pastrnak is close to returning to that top line. 

The final period – which has been a strong one for the Penguins this season—saw the Bruins and the Penguins both doing their best. And once again the Bruins found themselves in the penalty box. Their sixth penalty of the game, Ritchie was sent off for a tripping call. Boston managed to kill the penalty, but eight seconds later Jason Zucker finally got a puck past Tuukka Rask, who had been exceptional throughout the game, and the Penguins had a goal and had cut the Bruins’ lead in half.

Six penalties and the loss of DeBrusk up front was taking its toll on Boston as the third period progressed. It was getting harder to get the Penguins out of the Bruins’ defensive zone, and there were a couple of breakaways that required Rask to stand tall; which he did. However, it was also clear that the ice was a bit tilted in favor of the Penguins and as the clock ticked down it became a question of if Boston could hold on to finish the game in regulation.

The answer to that question would be no. Kasperi Kapanen managed to tie the game with 3:16 remaining in regulation. At that point it became important that the Bruins force the game to overtime so that they would have at least a point out of this first game.

Despite their fatigue the Bruins did push the game to an extra inning. And during that overtime period there were a couple of odd-man rushes on Rask that somehow didn’t manage to result in a goal. The most surprising was a three on-zero opportunity for the Penguins that saw them with an incomplete  pass right on the Rask’s doorstep. With less than 15 seconds remaining and it looking like the game would go to the shootout, David Krejci and Smith found themselves on a two-on-zero rush in which Krejci made a solid pass to Smith who, with his seventh shot on net of the game, put the puck in the net giving the Bruins the extra point.

There are questions now in regard to the lineup. Grzelcyk was still out on Tuesday. Pastrnak may not be called upon to suit up on Thursday. And there was no news on DeBrusk after the game. Bruins Head Coach Bruce Cassidy suggested they may pull up someone from the taxi squad for Thursday’s rematch against the Penguins.