Bruins bounce back with 3-1 win over Penguins
After they were held off the board in a flat and downright boring 1-0 loss on Sunday, the Bruins bounced back in dominant fashion in a Tuesday night rematch with the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena to the tune of a 3-1 victory.
Boston’s victory was powered by their best, too, with goals from David Krejci, Brad Marchand, and Taylor Hall, while Tuukka Rask (25 saves) held the Penguins at bay until Jeff Carter’s goal with just 2:21 remaining in the game.
“There’s a lot to like from everybody tonight, to be honest,” Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said after the win. “Our top guys did the finishing tonight and our bottom guys did the grunt work, the physicality. It’s a good formula for us.”
But the Bruins certainly had to work to break through on the Penguins’ Tristan Jarry, and it wasn’t until an end-to-end push from Krejci (and with help from Rask and Charlie McAvoy) opened Jarry up for a tally at the 18:10 mark of the second period.
Up by one through 40 minutes of action,Marchand extended the Boston edge and potted a rebound goal 9:11 into the third period for his 26th goal of the season, but it was Hall’s goal just 3:07 later that stole the show for the B’s in this one.
(I mean, that’ll be the case anytime you walk Sidney Crosby en route to a game-sealing snipe.)
Taylor Hall appears to be fitting in well in Boston... pic.twitter.com/afWEFGM9Nx
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) April 28, 2021
And while Carter’s late-game tally created a slight sweat for the Bruins as time expired, this was about as complete an effort as the Bruins could have hoped for after back-to-back defeats.
In 24:55 of five-on-five action with their top two lines on the ice, the Bruins held a 20-5 shot advantage, and out-chanced the Penguins 18-4, and finished with a 7-1 advantage in high-danger chances. Beyond the analytics, the Bruins doubled the Penguins up in hits, 50 to 25, and tripled them in blocks, with 21 blocked shots compared to Pittsburgh’s seven.
It’s the kind of effort that’s going to bring the Bruins more wins than losses down the stretch, and one that the Bruins are going to have to get used to playing, especially against teams like the Penguins.
“We have to be comfortable playing these type of games,” Rask noted.
Trent Frederic made his return to the Boston lineup after missing the last 11 games due to both an illness and then a numbers game, and finished with five hits and a blocked shot in 10:47 of time on ice. With Frederic in action, struggling winger Jake DeBrusk sat as a healthy scratch for the Bruins.
The Bruins will return home for a two-game series with the Sabres.
Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter: @_TyAnderson.
