Apr 1, 2021; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettrsson (28) celebrates with teammates after Zach Aston-Reese (12) scored a goal against the Boston Bruins in the second period at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Kathryn Riley-USA TODAY Sports
All good things must come to an end and that was the case for the Boston Bruins Thursday night at the TD Garden against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Boston entered their third home game of the season against the Penguins as winners of their last 10 at home against Pittsburgh, including the first two meetings back in January. Once again, the Bruins scoring woes reared their ugly head against Pens goalie Casey DeSmith, who made 30 saves in Pittsburgh’s 4-1 victory. The last time Pittsburgh won in Boston before Thursday was on Nov. 24, 2014.
The loss was extra hard on the Black and Gold when Brandon Carlo, playing just his second game from a concussion he received on March 5 against the Washington Capitals, left the game after just seven minutes of ice time with an upper-body injury.
UPDATE: Brandon Carlo (upper body) will not return to tonight's game.
Already down one defenseman, Jeremy Lauzon was not on the bench to start the second period, but he made his way back to the bench and onto the ice shortly after the period began. As has been the theme with the blue line this season, Charlie McAvoy took a big hit at the end of the second period behind the Penguins net and was slow getting off the ice. Luckily, he returned for the third period.
In the third period, Matt Grzelcyk left eight minutes into the third period after taking a deflected puck to the head. He also returned a couple of shifts later.
Trailing 2-0 entering the third, the Bruins cut the deficit to 2-1 with 8:21 left in the game, but a Jason Zucker goal 1:54 later off a Bruins turnover at center ice regained the two-goal for the Penguins and ultimately sealed the win.
The seven-game homestand continues Saturday afternoon with a 1 p.m. matinee against the same Penguins, who are one of the hottest teams in the league going 12-2-1 in their last 15 games and winners of five straight. After losing for the second time in the last three games, it’s quickly back to the drawing board Boston both offensively and defensively.
Apr 1, 2021; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Casey DeSmith (1) in action against the Boston Bruins during the first period at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Kathryn Riley-USA TODAY Sports /
Takeaways
Once again, it was not a good first period for the Bruins. They got to the end of the period scoreless, but they had only two shots on the net, with their first not coming until seven and a half minutes were gone in the period.
Rookie goalie Dan Vladar did all he could to keep the Bruins in the game, especially early in the second period. In the first minute, he stopped not one, but two Penguins breakaways to keep the game scoreless. Pittsburgh finally got two pucks by him, doubling their total from March 16 when they only scored one in a 2-1 loss. Zach Aston-Reese redirected a pass for the first goal, before defensemen Mike Matheson went around Lauzon and stuffed home a shot for a 2-0 lead.
Things could have been a whole lot worse for the Bruins after two periods. With the final seconds of the period winding down, Cody Ceci was alone in front of the net, only to be robbed point-blank by Vladar keeping it a two-goal deficit for Boston.
Has there been a better goalie as of late in the NHL than DeSmith? He entered Thursday night 4-1 in his last five starts with a 0.80 goals-against average. After stopping both Bruins shots in the first period, he stopped all 13 attempts in the second period. DeSmith, who played three years at the University of New Hampshire, allowed Marchand’s goal in the final period, but stopped the other 15 shots.
Related Story. Other Bruins Need to Follow Marchand's Lead. light
Earlier in the season, the Bruins were stealing games with a third-period rally, and sooner or later that is going to catch up with you and it has now. Chasing goals in the NHL is never what you want to be doing and Pittsburgh is a team that usually wins when they have a lead. The Pens are 13-3-1 when scoring first this season.
However you want to paint it, the Pittsburgh Penguins were the better team from start to finish. Right now, the Bruins are a team stuck in neutral going nowhere fast.
