Krejci stays hot, Rask cools off Penguins
PITTSBURGH — Round 1, make that Game 1, to the Boston Bruins.
David Krejci scored two more goals during his torrid postseason and the Bruins shut down the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0 in the opening game of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday night.
Nathan Horton added an insurance goal in the third period, and Tuukka Rask stopped 29 shots for the Bruins, who silenced Sidney Crosby and the rest of the NHL’s top-scoring team.
Pittsburgh came in averaging a league-high 4.27 goals in the playoffs but couldn’t solve Rask.
The Penguins hit the post six times and seemed a little bit off following an eight-day break between rounds.
The Bruins were coming off a similar layoff but had no such issues. Krejci scored early, and the Bruins handed Pittsburgh its worst loss of the playoffs.
“They were a little bit frustrated and we just wanted to put the pressure on them. Good things happen when we do that,” Horton said. Game 2 is Monday night. Tomas Vokoun stopped 27 shots but surrendered a soft goal to Krejci, and Pittsburgh’s sizzling power play cooled off. The Penguins came in leading all playoff teams with the man advantage, scoring on 28 percent of their chances, but they went 0 for 4 in the opener.
The lengthy buildup to the matchup of two of hockey’s premier franchises certainly gave both teams fresh legs, and the Penguins came out flying.
Crosby hit the post in the opening minutes, and Pittsburgh put the kind of pressure on Rask that Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said would be necessary if they wanted to advance.
Rask, playing this deep in the postseason for the first time, proved equal to the challenge. He stuffed Crosby from point-blank range on the power play, then added an acrobatic save on Evgeni Boston 1 0 2— 3 Pittsburgh 0 0 0— 0 First period — 1, Boston, Krejci 6 (Horton, Ference), 8:23. Penalties — Krejci, Bos (tripping), 3:54; Crosby, Pit (interference), 9:22; Bergeron, Bos (hooking), 12:24; Orpik, Pit (interference), 16:57. Second period — None. Penalties — Kelly, Bos (roughing), 1:32; Cooke, Pit, served by Kennedy, major-game misconduct (check from behind),1:32; Horton, Bos (slashing),11:04; Marchand, Bos (boarding), 19:30; Peverley, Bos (unsportsmanlike conduct), 19:55; Kunitz, Pit (unsportsmanlike conduct), 19:55; Bergeron, Bos, major (fighting), 20:00; Malkin, Pit, major (fighting), 20:00. Third period — 2, Boston, Krejci 7 (Horton), 4:04. 3, Boston, Horton 6 (Lucic, Campbell), 7:51. Penalties — Crosby, Pit (slashing), 18:10. Shots on goal — Boston 7-10-13 — 30. Pittsburgh 12-10-7 — 29. Power-play opportunities — Boston 0 of 4; Pittsburgh 0 of 4. Goalies — Boston, Rask 9-4-0 (29 shots-29 saves). Pittsburgh, Vokoun 6-2-0 (30-27). A— 18,628. T— 2:25. Referees — Brad Watson, Chris Rooney. Linesmen — Jay Sharrers, Pierre Racicot. Malkin in the final moments of the period when Malkin attempted to bang home a pass off the end boards.
“It’s a great start but it’s just one game,” Rask said. “They keep doing that, they’re going to score some goals.”