Coming off a six-goal explosion against the Islanders on Wednesday night, the Bruins appeared set to truly dig in on some leftovers with Friday’s head-to-head with the Penguins.
Not only were the Bruins back at TD Garden, but they were set to go against a Penguins team that entered Friday averaging the third-most shots against per game (32.5), and surrendering a league-worst 3.96 goals against per game. Oh, the goalie who has largely been the face of that second ghastly number, Tristan Jarry, was getting the call in net for the Penguins. With his .868 save percentage and 4.34 goals against average and all.
Third Star: Erik Karlsson
Nov 29, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson (65) tries to hold off Boston Bruins center Morgan Geekie (39) from getting to the puck during the third period at TD Garden. (Winslow Townson-Imagn Images)
The fit between Erik Karlsson and the Penguins has always been a bit of a weird one, I gotta say. But if Friday night was the first time you’ve seen Karlsson in a Pens uniform, you’d think that Pittsburgh made one hell of a trade, with the veteran turning in a straight-up vintage performance on the way to a win.
Deployed for 20:37, Karlsson finished this contest with an assist, was on the ice for both Pittsburgh goals, and landed three shots on goal. But Karlsson’s greatest impact in this game came in his own zone, as he provided a late-game block on what was a wide-open look for Morgan Geekie. Karlsson even denied what could’ve been a second-chance look for Geekie was holding firm and being strong on Geekie’s stick.
The Penguins also dominated the puck with Karlsson on the ice, with a 20-6 edge in on-ice shots with No. 65 out there in 17:49 of five-on-five time on ice. To put that in perspective, the Penguins were outshot 19-13 in the 31 minutes and change of five-on-five play with Karlsson on the bench.
Like I said, vintage night from Karlsson.
Second Star: Jeremy Swayman
Nov 29, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) makes a save against the post against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period at TD Garden. (Winslow Townson-Imagn Images)
For Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman, the 2024-25 season has been a mixed bag. There were some ugly games early and often out of the gate, but following a recent (and impromptu) ‘mini training camp’ between himself and B’s goalie coach Bob Essensa, the 26-year-old Swayman feels closer to himself.
And the play is starting to show as much, even if the goal support hasn’t been there.
Peppered for 36 shots in this contest, Swayman turned aside 34, and has now stopped 66 of 70 shots over his last three starts, which is good for a .943 save percentage.
Swayman himself will quibble with the goals against — he overcommitted to deny Sidney Crosby a wraparound goal on Pittsburgh’s first goal and was probably caught hand-fighting with Drew O’Connor a little too much on the Penguins’ second and final goal of the evening — but on the list of the Bruins’ problems in the losing effort, there’s no doubt that Swayman was dead last.
Which is how it needs to be for this goal-starved team most nights, for better or worse.
First Star: Tristan Jarry
Nov 29, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry (35) is congratulated by center Philip Tomasino (53) after their 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. (Winslow Townson/Imagn Images)
On a night where the Penguins’ Philip Tomasino scored his first goal since January, the Bruins also allowed Pittsburgh netminder Tristan Jarry to feel good about himself for the first time in a long-ass time. In fact, not only was Friday’s 31-of-32 performance from Jarry his first time surrendering fewer than three goals in an outing this season, but it was also the first time he’s allowed fewer than two goals in a start since Feb. 22 of last season.
And for the Penguins, what had to be the most encouraging part of Jarry’s night was the fact that he found himself beat on the second shot of the game (and not even a minute and a half into the game), but that he turned aside the next 30 shots he faced and kept the Bruins off the board for the 58:36 that followed.
There’s no doubt that the Bruins could’ve and should’ve made it harder on Jarry, but in a season that’s been (to this point) defined by his struggles and inability to make saves on anything even resembling a somewhat consistent basis, Jarry delivered and left 18,000-plus booing Bostonians downright furious with their team.
