BSJ Game Report: Bruins 7, Penguins 5 - Marchand's hat trick, top stars do heavy lifting against Penguins

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’  7-5 win over the Penguins in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

HEADLINES

B's big guns step up

With another potential lopsided loss to the red-hot Penguins brewing after a muted opening period of play, Boston's tried-and-true veterans and offensive conduits orchestrated an offensive outburst that helped a laboring club to stay afloat in the East Division standings on Saturday afternoon.

Brad Marchand tallied a hat trick and David Pastrnak found the back of the net twice in what ultimately a 7-5 win over the Penguins that devolved into a slugfest for most of the final 40 minutes of action.

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For the first time since March 23, 2019, the Bruins lit the lamp five times in a single period, with Marchand (two goals in 20 minutes), Patrice Bergeron (one goal), Pastrnak (one goal) and David Krejci (one goal) all bringing the B's back to life and overcoming a pair of deficits in the second frame.

Twice in the third period, the Penguins made it a one-goal game off of tallies from Cody Ceci and Sidney Crosby, but both times Boston answered back – with Pastrnak cashing in on a 2-on-1 sequence with Nick Ritchie at 13:28 in the third and Marchand capping off his hat trick with an empty-net strike at 18:59.

It was far from an easy win — and almost all of the scoring was once again supplemented by the top six and top pairing of Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk — but as we said earlier this week following a victory over the Devils, two points are two points, and an offensive outburst is a welcome development for a team that has far too often found its forward corps stuck in neutral, especially during even-strength play.

Carlo listed as week-to-week

An already decimated and slumping D corps got even more bad news ahead of Saturday's game, as Brandon Carlo is officially designated as "week to week" going forward due to an upper-body injury. It is important to note that Bruce Cassidy said postgame that Carlo's injury is actually not related to the severe concussion he suffered off of a hit from Tom Wilson back on March 5, but rather a new injury altogether.

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While it's good news that this isn't a serious set-back in regards to lingering effects from a concussion, Boston is still going to be without Carlo for what could be a lengthy amount of time down the stretch —  potentially pushing an already taxed B's blue line to a breaking point.

FIVE UP

Brad Marchand: You could make the case that the Bruins would be in a truly horrid state in 2021 if it wasn't for the play and presence of Marchand (with Charlie McAvoy likely warranting co-MVP honors). Once again, it was Marchand that gave a largely listless B's club a significant shot in the arm in the second — lighting the lamp twice while setting up Krejci's power-play strike off of a slick feed from the blue line. After a fine display of acting from Crosby gave the Penguins a power play while trailing by a single goal in the final minute of regulation, it was Marchand that snuffed out any chance of a Pens rally with an empty-netter — completing the hatty.

It was Marchand's fourth career hat trick — and first since March 6, 2018. In total, it was the first Bruins' hat trick not tallied by Pastrnak since October 27, 2019 (Bergeron with the honors that time).

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Patrice Bergeron: It was a milestone day for Boston's captain, as Bergeron surpassed Rick Middleton for fourth place on the Bruins' all-time scoring list with his two-point showing on Saturday afternoon. Bergeron currently sits at 899 career points — with only Ray Bourque (1,506 points), John Bucyk (1,339 points) and Phil Esposito (1,012 points) standing in front of him. That top line of Marchand-Bergeron-Smith thrived for most of the afternoon, with Boston holding a 3-0 edge in goals scored during their 12:13 of 5v5 ice time.

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David Krejci: Much like Bergeron, Krejci also etched his name in a few more record books with his two-point showing on Saturday. The veteran pivot's secondary helper on Pastrnak's even-strength strike gave him 500 assists for his career, making him one of just seven Bruins to accomplish such a scoring feat.

David Pastrnak: After being mired in a brutal stretch for weeks, Pastrnak finally broke through in his new spot on the second line — finishing with two goals and the secondary assist on Krejci's power-play strike. Perhaps the most encouraging part of Pastrnak's resurgence in the O-zone is that both tallies came during even-strength action, with his last EV goal coming all the way back on March 11 against the Rangers.

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Charlie McAvoy: Boston's decimated D corps was once again bailed out by its top pairing of McAvoy and Grzelcyk. McAvoy finished with a game-high 25:24 of ice time and recorded three assists. In total, the Bruins scored four even-strength goals during McAvoy's 19:31 of 5v5 ice time.

THREE DOWN

Lower depths of D corps: It's continuing to get more and more clear Boston desperately needs to upgrade its blue line ahead of the deadline, especially with Carlo out for at least a couple more weeks. When it comes down to it, a majority of Pittsburgh's scoring chances or extended O-zone possessions on Saturday were the byproduct of failed breakouts, icings, D-zone turnovers and more miscues from further down the B's D-corps depth chart — with the Tinordi-Clifton pairing, in particular, struggling against the Pens' big guns.

Jaroslav Halak: Halak made a timely stop in the third to keep Boston ahead, but it was far from a clean afternoon for the netminder, who relinquished five goals on 28 Penguins shots. Letting a puck slip past him in what was a shorthanded goal for Crosby at 18:45 in the third led to a few anxious minutes for all involved at TD Garden.

Sidney Crosby: I mean, c'mon man.

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PLAY OF THE GAME

Take your pick with either of these two nasty feeds from Marchand and Grzelcyk.

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PARTING THOUGHTS

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

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LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will close out their seven-game homestand on Monday night with a matchup against the Flyers. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.