Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
The Penguins came out hard the second the puck was dropped. Less than 30 seconds into the game and the Bruins lost another player to injury when Pittsburgh Defenseman Brooks Orpik leveled Eriksson, sending Loui to the dressing room. Chara decided to exact some revenge, garnering a penalty in the process. The B’s managed to kill the penalty but couldn’t get their game in gear.
After the penalty was killed, Bruins Forward Shawn Thornton tried to initiate a fight with Orpik but he would not oblige. The incident resulted in a 2 minute Instigator penalty on Thornton. Unfortunately this penalty would not be killed as Chris Kunitz bounced a shot off of Chara and into the net.
With frustration boiling over for the B’s, it’s no wonder a fight broke out. Lucic and Pittsburgh Defenseman Deryk Engelland turned what should’ve been a good fight, into an ice-dancing lesson.
After having a couple of good shifts in the offensive zone, the B’s finally applied enough pressure to score a goal. Reilly Smith (6) shot a laser into the top of the net, tying the game at one. In the first 10 minutes of the game, the Bruins didn’t have a shot on net.
Injuries continued to mount, this time for both teams when Marchand was “kneed” in the head by James Neal. Then Orpik was jumped by Thornton in the middle of a scrum, he was taken off on a stretcher. After Neal served his penalty, he jumped out of the box and promptly scored what would be considered a soft goal by Rask.
At the end of 1 period; 2-1 Pens Shots: 13-5 Pens
The 2nd period was a lot like the first, filled with penalty after penalty but no scoring. The Save of the game didn’t go to a Netminder but to Dennis Seidenberg when he made a beautiful kick save while Rask was out of his net.
At the end of 2 periods; 2-1 Pens Shots: 8-6 Boston
In the 3rd period both teams looked tired at first from the previous two battle filled periods. Reilly Smith had the best opportunity (early) for another goal but missed the wide open net on the Power play.
The Bruins, with Rask pulled, managed to tie the game when Chara provided a sizeable screen in front of Marc-Andre Fluery, allowing the David Krejci (5) shot in.
With 13 seconds remaining, B’s Zdeno Chara (7) beat Fluery with a great wrist shot.
Bruins 3-2 Win. Shots: 11-8 Pens
Go B’s!