Skip to Search Skip to Live Player Skip to Content Skip to Footer

Boston Bruins

Boston Bruins

Boston Bruins

3 Stars: Bruins chase too much in loss to Pens

By Ty Anderson
Jan 4, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) celebrates his goal with his teammates during the third period against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

There’s something to be said for the Bruins overcoming a three-goal deficit and bringing things back even at 5-5, even in what finished as a 6-5 loss for the Black and Gold to the visiting Penguins on Thursday night at TD Garden.

But there’s also the fact that it never should’ve gotten to that point for Jim Montgomery’s squad.

“I don’t like our ice management [and] I don’t like the odd-man rushes we gave up, whether it’s on the power play or five-on-five,” Montgomery said following the loss. “We’re not making sound decisions. We’re forcing stuff when we don’t need to. We were getting plenty of offense. We didn’t have to force offense.”

To Montgomery’s point, it was an odd-man rush that led to the Charlie McAvoy penalty that opened the door for Pittsburgh’s sixth and final goal of the game. And the Bruins nearly pissed it away long before that, with a first-period power-play chance that somehow led to a Pittsburgh breakaway and a Pittsburgh 2-on-0 in a span of about 12 seconds. Not to mention the second-period breakaway that would’ve made it 6-2 for Pittsburgh had it not been for a kind post bailing Jeremy Swayman out of trouble.

“Our game management cost us the game,” Montgomery concluded.

  • With the loss, the Bruins saw their four-game win streak come to an end, and it was the most goals they’ve surrendered in a home loss to Pittsburgh since a 9-6 loss back in Nov. 1995.

    Here are the 98.5 The Sports Hub (dot com) 3 Stars from a loss to the Penguins…

  • No. 3 Star: David Pastrnak

    Jan 4, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) celebrates his goal with center Pavel Zacha (18) defenseman Hampus Lindholm (27) and defenseman Brandon Carlo (25) during the first period against the Pittsburgh Penguins at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

    Jan 4, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) celebrates his goal during the first period against the Pittsburgh Penguins at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)

  • Bruins superstar David Pastrnak had his fingerprints all over this one — and in the best way possible — for the Bruins, with a goal and two assists in the failed comeback on Boston ice.

    And ‘responses’ were a big part of No. 88’s night.

    After coming through with the primary helper on Boston’s first goal of the evening, scored 41 seconds into the game, Pastrnak came through a dazzler for Boston’s second goal of the night, scored just 22 seconds after the Penguins took a 2-1 lead. And then Pastrnak came through with a beauty of a helper on the Morgan Geekie snipe that brought the B’s back within two in the second period of play.

    And in addition to the three points, Pastrnak also finished with a plus-3 rating (tops among all Boston skaters). On a night where the Bruins surrendered six goals, too!

    In fact, the Bruins by all means dominated the puck with Pastrnak out there, as attempts favored Boston by a 16-9 mark with Pastrnak out there at five-on-five play, and with shots (11-5) and goals (3-0) also favoring the B’s during that 17:10 sample.

    For as much talk as there’s been about Boston’s goalies (and rightfully so), it’s equally scary to think where this team would be without Pastrnak this season. They’re just always on the attack when he’s out there, and you always feel like he’s a twirl away from lighting the lamp. Just an absurd talent.

  • No. 2 Star: Brad Marchand

    Jan 4, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) reacts after scoring a shorthanded goal during the third period against the Pittsburgh Penguins at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

    Jan 4, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) reacts after scoring a shorthanded goal during the third period against the Pittsburgh Penguins at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)

  • From the classic ‘body check to gain possession and score’ play he ran in the opening 41 seconds of this contest to the game-tying shorthanded goal in the third period, you could not question the effort of Bruins captain Brad Marchand to will his team to victory in this contest.

    “Unbelievable effort,” Montgomery said of the goal, which featured a little bit of everything from Marchand’s bag of tricks and his ‘bulldog’ intensity, from puck-protection to know-how and beyond. “It’s one of those second-effort plays where it motivates and inspires his teammates.”

    With the shorthanded goal, Marchand moved into a tie with Marian Hossa, Pavel Bure, and Derek Sanderson for 11th place on the league’s all-time shorthanded goals leaderboard, with 34. It was also Marchand’s 55th shorthanded point since the start of the 2010-11 season.

  • No. 1 Star: Sidney Crosby

    Jan 4, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) gets set for a face off during the second period against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

    Jan 4, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) gets set for a face off during the second period against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)

  • Even at 36, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has shown no signs of slowing down.

    In fact, you could argue that Crosby looks as good as he ever has at any point in the 2020s, with Thursday’s three-point outing the latest work of art in a season that’s been full of them so far.

    And it was Crosby’s third point that proved to be the most devastating for the Bruins, as he cleanly won the faceoff and then ripped home the game-winning power-play goal for the Penguins. That was one of Crosby’s 16 faceoff wins in a night that saw him lose just six of ’em, good for a 72.7 percent success rate at the dot.

    This was Crosby’s first three-point night against the Bruins since Apr. 2021.

Click here for 98.5 The Sports Hub’s complete coverage of the Bruins. 

Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. He has been covering the Bruins since 2010, and has been a member of the Boston chapter of the PHWA since 2013. Yell at him on Twitter/X: @_TyAnderson.

Sign me up for the 98.5 The Sports Hub email newsletter!

Get the latest Boston sports news and analysis, plus exclusive on-demand content and special giveaways from Boston's Home for Sports, 98.5 The Sports Hub.

*
*
By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.
Tags
,,,,