BSJ Game Report: Penguins 4, Bruins 0 - Bruins land 52 shots on goal, but can’t solve Casey DeSmith

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 4-0 loss to the Penguins, with BSJ insight and analysis:

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

Bruins doomed by quantity over quality: The good news? The Bruins, even without David Pastrnak, still managed to pepper the Penguins' net with 52 shots on goal Thursday night.

The bad news? None of those 52 shots on goal found twine.

Despite facing a salvo of shots, Penguins netminder Casey DeSmith wasn’t actually put on the ropes at PPG Paints Arena, with Boston failing to generate many Grade-A chances en route to a frustrating 4-0 loss to Pittsburgh. 

As noted by 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Ty Anderson, Thursday stands as the first time in Bruins franchise history in which the B’s were shut out despite landing 50 or more shots on goal.

It was a frustrating night all around for Bruce Cassidy’s club, which opened the second period with a commanding 10-0 edge in shots on goal … only to relinquish another tally (Jason Zucker, 6:10) off of Pittsburgh’s first shot on goal of the frame. 

Add in more power-play futility (0-for-2) and defensive breakdowns from top-four regulars like Brandon Carlo, and this was a rough way for Boston’s brief two-game win streak to be snapped. 

No breathing room in standings: For as much as you could cast aside these final weeks of the regular season as nothing more than a buffer before the stakes are raised — the Bruins still have a good amount to play for over this final stretch when it comes to playoff positioning.

And even though you could make the case that the Bruins will have an uphill climb with whoever they face in the first round, the club is setting itself up for a rather sobering entry into the playoff bracket if they need to battle the buzzsaw that is the Panthers in the first week of May.

The Bruins could have significantly cut down the chance of falling into the second wild-card spot and setting up that playoff bout with Florida with a win on Thursday, considering it would have put Boston four points ahead of both the Pens and Capitals in the standings. 

At this point, expect plenty of standings watching and reshuffled playoff brackets for the remainder of the regular season — because things are going to be tight. 

ONE UP

Derek Forbort: Pittsburgh eventually landed some punches against the Bruins as the game progressed, but the Penguins could have given themselves some early breathing room if they managed to cash in on their first-period power play. They had plenty of chances on the man advantage, but Derek Forbort was up to the task — blocking three shots in the span of 28 seconds to keep the Pens off the board. Just a monster PK shift from Forbort, who even received a stick tap from Sidney Crosby for his painful efforts. 

THREE DOWN

Brandon Carlo: Just a rough night at the office for Carlo, headlined by a weak clear in Boston’s zone that was corralled by Pittsburgh and eventually led to Jake Guentzel’s second goal of the night at 16:12 in the second period. Can’t be giving freebies to a team like Pittsburgh that can bury you in a hurry — and there are going to be opponents with even more firepower waiting in the postseason. 

Charlie Coyle: Carlo will get most of the individual blame for Boston’s D-zone breakdowns in this one, but Coyle also deserves some share of these shortcomings as well. He was caught out in no-man’s land and let Zucker slip past him in the moments leading up to the Pens forward’s second-period goal. 

Power play: You know what would have probably helped Boston get off the schneid and finally beat DeSmith? Probably cashing in on the power play. But alas, Boston’s futility on the man advantage continued, with the B’s now stuck in an 0-for-29 slump.

PLAY OF THE GAME 

LOOSE PUCKS 

Man, I don’t think I”m going to be a fan of these new NESN 4K broadcasts. 

 LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will return to TD Garden for one game, with Boston set to battle a potential first-round opponent in the Rangers on Saturday. Puck drop is set for 3 p.m.