Cup contenders look the part after the 1st
Capitalize in 2nd while building 3-0 advantage
BOSTON — Hey, at least it looked like they were actually trying this time out.
Coming off arguably their worst loss of the season and an emotional NHL trade deadline, the Penguins put up a fight early Saturday against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. But three second-period goals from the home team torpedoed their chances. The 5-1 loss was their second in a row and fifth in six games.
It feels strange to say this given what some of the guys on the Pittsburgh roster have accomplished in this league, but this is the type of result you expect when a team ticketed for the draft lottery runs into a possible Stanley Cup contender.
Still, their coach felt the final score was a little misleading and was satisfied with their effort, even if the diligence and situational awareness were still lacking.
“We competed hard. I thought we had better energy. We had more compete in our game. ... There were parts of the game we really liked,” Mike Sullivan said. “But there were other instances where we shoot ourselves in the foot a little bit.”
Saturday’s game was their first since the Penguins traded away Jake Guentzel and Chad Ruhwedel, two popular players in their dressing room, plus thirdstring goalie Magnus Hellberg. In three separate deals, they netted prospects, draft picks and winger Michael Bunting. He skated on the top line Saturday.
It was also their first game since a loss that was so embarrassing Evgeni Malkin apologized to their fans. Washington whooped them 6-0 at home Thursday.
“[Our effort level] could only get better from last game,” Lars Eller conceded.
The Penguins had life early on Saturday, getting off to their best start in seven days. Both goalies battled to keep the game scoreless after one period.
Two of the best chances went to Bunting, who showed flashes in his first game in black and gold. On his first shift, he walked off the wall and fired from the slot, but Linus Ullmark punched it out with his blocker. Bunting got a breakaway his next time out. Ullmark got him again, this time snaring his shot with the glove.
“That breakaway is probably going to haunt me for a little bit,” the new guy said.
The Penguins fell apart in the second, that Boston goal horn blaring three times.
The Bruins grabbed a 1-0 lead 2:26 into the period. David Pastrnak got leveled by John Ludvig in Boston territory. But the star sniper got back onto his skates, followed the play up the ice then knuckled a one-timer past Alex Nedeljkovic.
Boston pushed its lead to two with a power-play tally 10 minutes later. Eller came close to tying the score when he rang the crossbar while shorthanded. Moments later, Pavel Zacha chipped in a sneaky slap pass by Morgan Geekie.
That proved to be the game’s turning point. Pittsburgh couldn’t claw back.
“That would have been a timely goal to make it 1-1,” Eller said. “And after that, everything kind of goes in for them, right? They capitalize on their chances and we didn’t capitalize on ours. ... I felt like it was maybe pretty even [in chances].”
The Bruins made it 3-0 late in the second, catching the Penguins amidst another ill-timed change. Erik Karlsson casually flipped the puck into the neutral zone, allowing the Bruins to quickly grab it and go. They got an odd-man rush as Eller and fellow forwards Jesse Puljujarvi and Emil Bemstrom glided to the bench.
Brad Marchand got behind the defense and roofed a backhand on Nedeljkovic.
Kris Letang ended Ullmark’s shutout bid 2:51 into the final frame. He clapped a shot from the point past the goalie, following a clean Sidney Crosby faceoff win.
But Jake DeBrusk and the Bruins capitalized on a Marcus Pettersson giveaway to kill off any hope the Penguins might have had. Zacha scored their fifth goal.
“At the end of the day, the details of our game are not right there now, whether it’s changing, playing the system, not turning [over the puck],” Letang lamented.
Saturday was another tough outing for Nedeljkovic, who has allowed five goals or more in three consecutive starts. Meanwhile, Ullmark was outstanding after he reportedly nixed a trade to Los Angeles one day earlier.
Ice chips
• Sullivan was encouraged by what he saw from
Bunting, who in his Penguins debut had three shots on goal. “You can see the type of game that he brings,” Sullivan said. “He’s a north-south guy. He’s good in the battle areas. He goes to the net front. He’s got a good shot.”
• Pastrnak always seems to score against the Penguins. The Bruins winger has now netted seven goals in their past six meetings and 12 in the past 15 games.
• Ludvig finally returned to the lineup following the Ruhwedel trade. It was his first appearance since Feb. 18.
• Jonathan Gruden was officially recalled Saturday and he skated on the fourth line.
• The Penguins were without Drew O’Connor, who sat out due to a concussion.
Stat n’ at
112:58 – the length of the Penguins’ scoring drought priorto that Letang goal.
They said it
“We know it’s a lot of work to get there, but we’ve got to find a way to just go a game at a time,” Crosby said of their fading playoff hopes. “You can’t get grab all those points at once. And we’re playing some good teams. So we’ve got to be ready to compete ... and find a way to get the next oneand build off that.”
Coming up
The Penguins are right back at it Sunday, when they host the Edmonton Oilers at PPGPaints Arena.