B’s wild night ends badly
Pens rally to snare OT win
PITTSBURGH — NHL shooters often talk about how difficult it is to score, because every goaltender they face is so darned good. Well, not every night. And a big part of the wildly twisting story here last night was bad goals going in at both ends — though there was nothing to fault on Evgeni Malkin’s overtime score that brought this entertaining affair to an end, as the Penguins skated away with a 6-5 victory over the Bruins.
“Ebbs and flows,” said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy, to sum up the roller-coaster ride. “It seemed like we had pockets of really good hockey, and we had pockets where we just lost focus.
“We didn’t look like the team I’m used to seeing every night in terms of how we played — respected the game, managed the puck, (made) decisions on line changes. At the end of the day we get a point out of it, so you look at the positive, against a good hockey team. But it looked like we were going to get more.”
Actually, it didn’t look like the Bruins would get anything out of this. They jumped to a quick 1-0 lead on Ryan Spooner’s goal just 1:51 in, but then gave up three successive goals to trail 3-1 at the first intermission.
But as easily as the Pens took command in Period 1, the B’s turned it around to dominate Period 2. They scored the next four goals, from Brad Marchand, Noel Acciari, David Pastrnak and David Backes. At the very least, the goals by Pastrnak and Backes were true stinkers against Pittsburgh rookie goalie Tristan Jarry, who left after 37:08 after allowing five goals on 19 shots.
The B’s eruption had them leading 5-3. But with 3.6 seconds left in the period, all four members of the B’s penalty kill moved toward the left corner, which left Malkin alone in front. Sidney Crosby (three assists) slipped a pass and Malkin, who beat Rask to make it 5-4.
“That’s not a goal you want to give up, but we still had the lead,” said Cassidy.
But not after ex-Red Wing Riley Sheehan, skating down left wing 1-on-1 on Matt Grzelcyk, slipped a shot past Rask on the shortside to tie the game at 2:54 of the third. It was probably the second Pens goal that a less-than-sharp Rask allowed.
So it stayed through the final period, though there was one last piece of major drama: When Marchand was awarded a penalty shot with 1:01 left. The B’s best goal-scorer had a chance to win the game, but couldn’t put his backhander through the 5-hole of replacement goalie Matt Murray.
Into overtime the teams went, and as good as the B’s can be in the 3-on-3, the Penguins are awesome — with Crosby, Malkin, Phil Kessel, defenseman Kris Letang and more.
Kessel and Malkin worked a sweet down-low give-andgo, and Malkin had an easy score from left of the cage.
Overall, it was a night of great pushback by the B’s. They had plenty in Period 2 as they quickly erased the home team’s two-goal lead.
At 7:19, Patrice Bergeron beat Sheehan in the left circle, drawing the puck back to Marchand atop the circle. The winger snapped a lightning-quick wrister past a frozen Jarry on the shortside to cut the deficit to 3-2.
The B’s tied it one minute later, when Brandon Carlo’s shot from the high slot hit Acciari in the chest and caromed past Jarry.
At 12:14, Pastrnak flew down the right side, faked a shot from the circle and then circled the net — coming out on the left side to snap a forehander over Jarry high on the shortside.
Jarry’s very forgettable night was over with 2:52 left in the second as Backes just flung a puck from the right wing boards that somehow snuck behind the Penguins goalie shortside. Even he didn’t seem to know what happened. It was that kind of night for the goalies.