BSJ Game Report: Penguins 5, Bruins 3 - B’s rally, but can't hold on in frustrating loss taken at BSJ Headquarters (Bruins)

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BSJ Game Report: Penguins 5, Bruins 3 - B’s rally, but can't hold on in frustrating loss

By Conor Ryan

Dec 14, 2018 • 11:09 pm

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Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 5-3 loss against the Penguins in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

B’s can’t capitalize on numerous chances: When the final seconds ticked off the clock Friday night, the Bruins held the edge in attempts (64-32), shots on goal (42-23) and scoring chances (32-19) during five-on-five play against the Penguins. Pretty impressive stuff. And yet, the B’s had nothing to show for it in terms of points. Give credit to Casey DeSmith, who finished with 47 saves in the win, but the B’s have run into an odd trend of being on the wrong side of the scoreboard even when most possession stats say otherwise. Since Dec. 1, the Bruins have held the edge in 5v5 attempts in five games. Their record in those matchups? 1-4. Sometimes it’s running into a hot goalie. Sometimes it's puck luck. Such is the game of hockey.

Power play once again a backbreaker: Much like Boston’s 3-2 loss to the Lightning on Dec. 6 — a contest decided by a shorthanded tally — Friday’s night’s matchup featured another backbreaker served up on the man advantage. With the B’s deficit cut to one in the second period, a miscommunication between Charlie McAvoy and Torey Krug allowed Zach Aston-Reese to break free on a counter rush, burying his chance to give Pittsburgh a two-goal cushion going into intermission. While Boston eventually tied things up in the third, that was a tough hit for a Bruins’ power play that’s operating at a 12.5 percent success rate over seven games while surrendering two shorthanded strikes. 

THREE UP

Brandon Carlo: Carlo finally got the monkey off his back on Friday, lighting the lamp for the first time since March 4, 2017 — a span of 116 games. It was a nice heads-up play by the defenseman to jump up in the play and fire home the loose puck past DeSmith. He’s still working on adding a bit more physicality to his game, but the young blue liner is starting to free himself up a lot more on the ice.




Chris Wagner:
He chipped in with his third goal of the season, but the Walpole native easily could have tallied a few more in what was a strong night for Boston’s fourth line of Wagner,
Sean Kuraly
and
Noel Acciari.
In just 12:42 of TOI, Wagner landed an impressive nine shots on goal against DeSmith
 
while dishing out five hits. Talk about making the most of your opportunity.


Krejci Line:
Ho hum, another great showing from this crew. Primarily matched up against the Crosby line, the Bruins held a 12-5 edge in attempts and a 6-3 advantage in scoring chances in the 9:19 of 5v5 TOI in which Marchand-Krejci-Pastrnak were out on the ice at the same time as Crosby. Add in Krejci’s game-tying goal in the third stanza, and this top line continues to roll.


THREE DOWN


John Moore:
A game removed from being on the ice for a rough goal against vs. Arizona, Moore once against found himself tagged for a defensive gaffe against a Pens club that can bury you in a hurry if given the chance. Following a failed clear by
David Pastrnak
, Moore left
Derek Grant
unchecked to assist in a puck battle along the boards — allowing the Pens forward to skate in unopposed and tuck the puck past Jaroslav Halak to open the scoring on the night.


Charlie McAvoy:
As a whole, McAvoy has been excellent since returning from a 20-game absence, but he gets knocked for a few miscues— whether it be a couple clearing issues or getting caught out of position with
Torey Krug
on the blue line during
Zach Aston-Reese’s
shorthanded strike. He does, however, gets some props for his great set up on Wagner’s tally in the third stanza.


Cave Line:
Both
David Backes
and
Colby Cave
won a combined 17 of their 22 total chances at the faceoff dot, but Boston’s de-facto second line failed to generate much at times in the offensive zone. During close to 11 minutes of 5-on-5 play in which Backes and
Joakim Nordstrom
were out on the ice together, Pittsburgh held a 4-0 edge in scoring chances and an 8-4 edge in shots.


PLAY OF THE GAME


Casey DeSmith robbed
Brad Marchand
with a clutch glove stop in the first period. Not much you can do there after a nice set-up by
David Krejci.




Hey, even Marchand was impressed with DeSmith’s stop.




LOOKING AHEAD


The B’s will return home to TD Garden for a Sunday matchup against the Buffalo Sabres. Puck drop is set for 5 p.m. The surprising Sabres are finally seeing results after years of rebuilding, with Buffalo currently ahead of Boston in the Atlantic Division by four points.

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