Penguins rally past the Bruins
Pittsburgh — Almost since the drop of the puck on the 2019-20 season, the general feeling was that the Bruins would eventually need to add a right wing to bolster their attack.
Recent developments, however, suggest help on the blue line might be pressing as well.
For the second time in a week, the Bruins blew a three-goal lead and, this time, they didn't even have the loser point to show for their efforts. After taking a 3-0 lead in the first period, the B's allowed four straight goals to the Pittsburgh Penguins and lost 4-3 at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday.
The B's blew a three-goal lead last Monday in Philadelphia and lost in the shootout. But this issue has cropped up a few times this year. On November 4 at the Garden, they also lost a three-goal lead to the Pens but came back to win it in regulation. They weren't so fortunate eight days later, when they coughed up a four-goal lead to the Florida Panthers at the Garden and lost in the shootout.
Jaroslav Halak did not give up the soft kind of goals he allowed in the Flyers games but he had at least a fighting chance on the last couple of Pittsburgh goals and didn't come up with the save.
These things don't happen that often to championship teams, and coach Bruce Cassidy — calling the goals against "gifts" from his skaters — sounded rightly concerned after the latest ugly loss.
"We saw some poor defending and poor goaltending in Philly and (today) I thought it was more of the same to be honest with you," said Cassidy. "Not so much on the goalie, they were good goals but we got beat off the wall on the first one and the last one I can't tell you what happened to be honest with you. It's a rim puck that the goalie needs to get out on and stop and the D need to communicate. You need to make a play. You can't turn the puck over there.
Hurricanes 2, Islanders 1
Justin Williams returned to the lineup and scored in the shootout to lift Carolina over the New York Islanders 2-1 Sunday. James Reimer stopped six shots in the tiebreaker for Carolina, the last against Anders Lee to lock up the win. Andrei Svechnikov and Teuvo Teravainen also scored in the shootout for the Hurricanes. Svechnikov had a goal in the first period. The Hurricanes ended a three-game skid thanks to Williams, the 38-yearold who took an extended break after leading Carolina to last year's Eastern Conference final. He scored in the eighth round of the shootout. Lee scored in regulation, and Mathew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier connected in the shootout for New York, but the Islanders lost their third straight. Reimer made 26 saves, none bigger than denying Barzal on a breakaway with 2:51 left in the third period. Thomas Greiss turned away 31 shots for New York and was particularly sharp in the third period. He stopped Carolina's Ryan Dzingel midway through the period on a close-range shot and then saved Joel Edmundson's try with 1:59 left. Lee had two prime chances in the second period but was denied by Reimer.
Blue Jackets 2, Rangers 1
Oliver Bjorkstrand scored his second goal of the game with 26.5 seconds left to Columbus over the New York Rangers for its fifth straight win. Bjorkstrand was playing for the first time after 13 games with an oblique injury. He tied it 6:08 into the third period, then put the winner past goalie Igor Shesterkin for his 14th goal of the season. Columbus rookie Matiss Kivlenieks made his first NHL start and stopped 31 shots. The surging Blue Jackets are 15-2-4 since Dec. 9. They are also 8-1-3 in their last 12 road games. Rangers defenseman Brady Skjei opened the scoring at 18:28 of the first period, eight seconds after his high-sticking penalty expired. A long pass from fellow defenseman Jacob Trouba went past Skjei's outstretched stick, but he managed to scoop up the ricochet off the boards and beat Kivlenieks for his seventh goal. Trouba had the only assist.
“There's too much of that going on. Too much of guys that have offensive ability need to start playing to their strength a little bit more on our back end or we have to seriously consider what type of D corps do we want.? We're suppose to be mobile, we're suppose to be able to move pucks, break pucks out, add to our offense. And right now that's a challenge for us."
On the game-winner at 12:35 of the first period, The Pens dumped the puck in along the wall and Halak went out to play it and presumably leave it for Zdeno Chara but couldn't stop it. That should not have been disaster because Charlie McAvoy was right there.
He could have played it in front of him to defense partner Chara but tried to reverse it to Sean Kuraly. Instead, Evegeni Malkin put the body on him, stole the puck and fed for Bryan Rust for the Pens' fourth straight goal and first lead of the game. Unlike the B's, they would not relinquish it.
There are good players in this league. They made a good play and I've got o be stronger on the puck," said McAvoy.
A great start
The day started with such promise for the B's, who took a 2-0 lead 2:02 into the game. Patrice Bergeron (21) beat Matt Murray (34 saves) 11 seconds in and then Anders Bjork (8) double it up with a snipe off a 3-on-2. When David Pastrnak's 37th of the year went off Jack Johnson at 15:07 of the first, it appeared as though the B's would sweep the season series with the Pens.
Nope. The Pens climbed back into it, thanks to a couple of world class plays by Sidney Crosby. The Pens got on the board late in the first when he lost John Moore by stopping short behind he B's net. Both Halak and defenseman Matt Grzelcyk were expecting the puck to be coming out on the left side, but Crosby dished it back to Dominik Simon, who had a huge hole on the shortside to score on a tough angle shot. The comeback had begun.
"We just have to bear down," said
Bergeron. "You can't have a good effort (as they did in Thursday's win over Pittsburgh at home) and come back the next game and play for half a game or whatever it was. We all have to take responsibility and be accountable for how we're able to play in this locker room.
“It's one of those games where we're playing a good team. They're going to give you a push but then you can't let that go by. It's a 3-0 lead and there's a lot of game left so you have to play the right way and keep pushing to increase that lead."
Crosby got his team to within a goal on a pretty between-the-legs backhand pass to a wide open Teddy Blueger to make it 3-2 just 33 seconds into the second period. Then Johnson atoned for his earlier mistake, jumping up into the attack on a shorthanded 3-on-2 and blasting slapper past Halak (18 saves) at 1:41 of the third to tie it.
Right then you had the feeling that this was going to end badly for the B's. Did it ever. And know the B's have to figure out what to do about these recurring nightmares.