Bruins blow three-goal lead on way to overtime loss to Penguins
RECAP: The Bruins wrapped up a weekend back-to-back with a trip to Pittsburgh for a Sunday showdown with the Penguins.
Mar 8, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Tommy Novak (18) scores the game winning goal against Boston Bruins goaltender Joonas Korpisalo (70) in overtime at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
The Bruins held a 3-0 lead at one point Sunday in Pittsburgh, and even got a hat trick out of Pavel Zacha, but still couldn't close the deal on two important points in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.
Tommy Novak sealed the deal on the Pittsburgh comeback at the 17-second mark of the overtime, though the lead-up to the goal saw the Penguins' Erik Karlsson take David Pastrnak out with a clear-as-day pick in the attacking zone.
Of course, the pick in overtime doesn't matter if the Bruins don't put themselves in that spot by blowing a three-goal lead in the first place.
Clinging to a two-goal lead through 40 minutes of play, the Bruins saw their lead sliced in half with a Connor Dewar backhander that beat Joonas Korpisalo. Anthony Mantha tied things up at 3-3 with a breakaway tuck under Korpisalo just 32 seconds later. And while Zacha scored his third goal of the afternoon to give the B's a 4-3 lead just 1:59 after Mantha's tally, Mantha struck again (this time at the 11:18 mark of the third period) to knot things up once more.
It was a third period letdown that saw Korpisalo tagged for three goals on 14 shots before allowing the Novak goal on his first shot of the overtime. Overall, Korpisalo allowed five goals on 39 shots, and has now allowed five goals in back-to-back starts for the first time this season.
In addition to the Zacha hat trick, the Bruins got a goal from Pastrnak, which put an end to a nine-game goalless drought for their top sniper.
Elsewhere on the roster, the Bruins plugged Mikey Eyssimont back in the lineup after giving him a one-game breather on Saturday. With Eyssimont back in, Alex Steeves returned to the press box as a healthy scratch for the B's.
The Bruins will get back to work Tuesday night when the Los Angeles Kings come to town. And barring a surprise 2026 Cup Final between the Bruins vs. Kings, this will be Kings legend Anze Kopitar's final trip to Boston as an NHLer.
Kopitar, who will retire at the end of the season, has totaled 21 points in 30 career games against the Bruins dating back to 2007.
