After dropping two consecutive games, the Boston Bruins got back in the win column Tuesday night with a 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Bruins held onto their four-point lead over the New York Rangers for the East Division’s fourth and final playoff berth, as the Rangers beat the Buffalo Sabres, 3-1, at Madison Square Garden.
The Bruins put together one of their better performances of the season against the Pens, with the top two lines supplying the offense. Here are some takeaways from Boston’s 28th win of the season and their fifth over the Pens in eight games.
Bruins Takeaways
- Coming into the game, something have to give between the pipes. Tuukka Rask entered the game, 10-1-3 with a 2.48 goals-against average (GAA) in his last 14 starts against the Penguins, while Pens goalie Tristan Jarry was 6-0-1 with a 1.98 GAA in his last seven games. Rask won the battle in net as he made 24 saves. The only goal he gave up was to Jeff Carter late in the third period and that was because of a bad change by the Boston defensemen, which allowed Carter to break down the right side and unleash a slap shot inside the far post.
- What a game from the Bruins’ top line. David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, and Patrice Bergeron fired 14 shots on the net, with Marchand scoring the second Boston goal and his team-leading 26th in the third period for a 2-0 lead on the rebound of a Pastrnak shot. They set the tone from the first shift of the game and were relentless all night.
- Rask picked up another assist, this time on David Krejci’s goal late in the second period. Charlie McAvoy took a pass from Rask, made his through the neutral zone, and gave Krejci a pass at the blueline. Krejci worked his way toward the goal and beat Jarry with a nice backhander. Good individual efforts from McAvoy on the breakout and Krejci on the goal.
- Have you seen Taylor Hall’s goal? Just what the Bruins got him for.
- The Bruins penalty kill was a perfect 3-for-3 in the game, but their power play failed to find the back of the net again. Power play struggles are something to keep an eye on going forward.
- Jake DeBrusk was a healthy scratch and Trent Frederic was inserted into the lineup. Coach Bruce Cassidy moved around his bottom-six forwards by moving Nick Ritchie to the fourth line during the game and sliding Frederic to the third line. Charlie Coyle went scoreless in his 28th consecutive game. Is he the next healthy scratch?
- As mentioned above, the Black and Gold remain four points up on the Rangers for the final postseason spot in the division. Safe to say that the Bruins can take a major step toward the playoffs in their next four games. Two at home with the Sabres and two on the road against the New Jersey Devils have eight extremely big points available. These are the game the Bruins need to win to get to postseason hockey.
It’s hard to believe that the 56-game regular season is down to eight games. They are eight games left and the Bruins have an opportunity in front of them to not only stake claim to the fourth spot in the division, but also climb in the standings as they are currently one-point behind the New York Islanders for third place.