The Bruins showed few signs of being able to pull this one out over the first two periods and most of the third, but a late power-play goal by Zdeno Chara — Boston's first on the man-advantage since Dec. 28 — started the comeback. Brad Marchand's goal 12 seconds later, another power-play strike by Mark Recchi and an empty-netter by Greg Campbell completed the outburst.
The Bruins have now outscored the Penguins 9-0 in the third period in two games in Pittsburgh this season. The win pushes Boston two points ahead of Montreal in the Northeast Division as the Bruins head home for a four-game homestand that opens Tuesday against Ottawa and includes a rematch with the Penguins on Saturday.
Third Period, 19:52, Bruins 4-2: The Bruins ice it with an empty-netter by Greg Campbell.
Third Period, 19:10, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins have their first lead of the night as their improbable rally continues.
Mark Recchi scores the goal on a rebound in front out of a scramble after Michael Ryder's initial shot from the right slot.
Third Period, 17:52, 2-2: The Bruins now get another power play with Jordan Staal sent off for holding.
Third Period, 16:49, 2-2: The Bruins complete a stunning comeback of their own, tying it with their second goal in 12 seconds.
Brad Marchand scores this one from Bergeron after Greg Campbell sent in the initial shot.
Third Period, 16:37, Penguins 2-1: The Bruins pull within one as Chara scores with a blast from the right point with just two seconds left on the power play to end Boston's drought on the man-advantage.
Third Period, 14:39, Penguins 2-0: Brooks Orpik is going off for boarding after blasting Steven Kampfer into the boards. Savard was the only Bruin to go after Orpik.
The Bruins will get a power play in what might be their final chance to get back into this game.
Third Period, 13:46, Penguins 2-0: The Bruins kill off the penalty, but not much time remaining for the B's to mount a rally.
Third Period, 11:46, Penguins 2-0: The Bruins' rally hits a snag and Bartkowski's big night takes a turn for the worse as he is called for hooking to give the Penguins another power play.
Third Period, 9:30, Penguins 2-0: The Bruins are getting better chances now, but can't get anything past Fleury. Recchi had a chance from the slot with Marchand on the doorstep, but Fleury makes the save again.
Third Period, 7:13, Penguins 2-0: Just not the Bruins' night, as Tyler Seguin is robbed by Fleury at the right post off a feed from Krejci.
Third Period, 6:18, Penguins 2-0: Things finally get a little nasty with Blake Wheeler of all people getting involved with Brooks Orpik behind the Pittsburgh net, but no penalties come out of that scrum.
Third Period, 1:40, Penguins 2-0: Johnny Boychuk delivers a pair of big hits on Matt Cooke and appeared to ask him to go, but no surprise Cooke turned him down.
Sides are back at full strength now.
Third Period, 0:00, Penguins 2-0: The third period is under way, with the sides playing 4 on 4 to start.
Second Intermission Notes: Things unraveled quickly in the second, as the Penguins scored a pair of goals and a lack of discipline cost the Bruins.
The Bruins took five minor penalties in the second, including three by Mark Recchi. The first two were very questionable calls, but as a veteran leader Recchi has to control himself better than taking an extra two minutes for unsportsmanlike.
The Bruins actually outshot Pittsburgh 14-9 in the second, but the Penguins still hold a 23-20 edge overall and are dominating the hit count 29-16. The latter stat is particularly alarming with Pittsburgh again pushing the Bruins around with no response. Matt Cooke (surprise) took a shot at David Krejci and Marc Savard was dumped by Brooks Orpik.
Matt Bartkowski was on the ice for the first goal, as Mike Rupp got around him and flipped in a backhander from the right side. Bartkowski is now a minus-1 in seven shifts covering 7:09, with just the one hit he had in his first shift in the first.
End Second Period, Penguins 2-0: The first 40 minutes are in the books, and they haven't been kind to the Bruins, who will face a major uphill climb in the third to come back from a two-goal deficit.
Second Period, 19:17, Penguins 2-0: After the Bruins nearly come up with a shorthanded goal as Dennis Seidenberg had a chance in alone and Greg Campbell had a bid on a tip of a Chara shot, the Penguins pick up a penalty on a Goligoski interference call.
Second Period, 17:08, Penguins 2-0: More bad news for Boston, as Recchi gets called for a borderline hook on Staal, then an additional two for unsportsmanlike conduct for complaining about the call.
Huge four-minute power play for Pittsburgh here. Bruins need a kill to have any chance to come back in this one.
Second Period, 16:07, Penguins 2-0: Things get a little nasty as Savard and Letang get in a shoving match and receive matching minors.
That came after Savard set up Lucic in front, but Fleury made the point-blank save. Brooks Orpik delivered a late hit on Savard, sparking the quick scrum.
Second Period, 13:50, Penguins 2-0: Kris Letang doubles the lead with a one-timer from the left point on the power play.
Chris Kunitz supplied the screen in front of Rask as Letang pounded home a bouncing pass from Evgeni Malkin. Bruins facing a big task to come back in this one now.
Second Period, 13:50, Penguins 1-0: Mark Recchi takes a tripping call to put the Penguins back on the power play.
Second Period, 13:10, Penguins 1-0: Good shift from Marchand, who put a nice hit on Cooke, then nearly stole the puck from Fleury behind the net.
Second Period, 11:39, Penguins 1-0: Michael Rupp finally opens the scoring with a goal from the Penguins.
Rupp came down the right wing around the rookie Bartkowski and beat Rask with a backhander up high from deep in the corner almost at the goal line.
Second Period, 9:55, 0-0: Much different game than the first meeting between these clubs, when they combined for 11 goals. Still waiting for the first goal in this one nearly halfway through.
Second Period, 7:14, 0-0: Rask with a big save on Pascal Dupuis on a play that started with a Chris Kunitz steal from Andrew Ference.
Second Period, 4:45, 0-0: Lucic finally remembered he's still allowed to hit, throwing a big check on Maxime Talbot. That's been missing from Lucic's game way too much of late.
Second Period, 3:35, 0-0: The Bruins' power play may be struggling mightily, but at least the penalty kill continues to perform well as Bergeron's minor is killed off.
Second Period, 1:35, 0-0: And just like that, the Bruins are back on the penalty kill with Patrice Bergeron called for goalie interference.
Second Period, 0:41, 0-0: The Bruins are back at full strength after killing off the rest of Savard's penalty.
Second Period, 0:00, 0-0: The second period is under way, with Pittsburgh opening with 41 seconds left on their power play.
First Intermission Notes: The Bruins and Penguins are scoreless through 20 minutes, though the stat sheet certainly favors Pittsburgh so far.
The Penguins had a 14-6 edge in shots in the first and an identical 14-6 advantage in hits. Tuukka Rask has stood tall to keep Pittsburgh off the board, but the Bruins need to do a better job of creating chances, especially on the power play.
Boston had just one shot on two failed power-play opportunities and have now come up empty on 15 straight power plays over the last six games. The Penguins managed three shots on one power play, which still has 41 seconds left to start the second.
Matt Bartkowski didn't look out of place in his NHL debut, throwing one of Boston's few hits on his first shift and finishing with 4:09 over four shifts in the period.
End First Period, 0-0: The first period ends without either side drawing first blood, though the Penguins will have another 41 seconds of power-play time to start the second.
First Period, 18:41, 0-0: The Penguins now get their first chance with the man-advantage as Savard is sent off for slashing.
First Period, 18:05, 0-0: The Bruins are now 0 for 15 on the power play over the last six games, once again failing to produce any real scoring threats.
First Period, 16:05, 0-0: The Bruins are back on the power play after Matt Cooke shockingly broke the rules, this time getting two minutes for high-sticking.
First Period, 15:50, 0-0: The Penguins threaten in front, but Rask stops Staal's shot from the slot and the Bruins eventually clear the puck from a wild scramble in front.
First Period, 13:36, 0-0: The Bruins come up empty again on the man-advantage, with Pittsburgh actually having the best chance.
Rask had to pokecheck the put away from Cooke off a feed in front from Staal.
First Period, 11:36, 0-0: The Bruins will get the first power-play chance of the night as Dustin Jeffrey goes off for hooking. The Bruins haven't scored on the man-advantage in the last five games.
First Period, 10:40, 0-0: Rask kicks out a save to turn aside a bid from the slot off the stick of Chris Kunitz. Rask hasn't been tested too much so far in this one.
First Period, 8:07, 0-0: Milan Lucic nearly sets up Savard in front with a pass out from the right corner, but it doesn't quite connect.
Savard and Cooke were out together at the same time for the first time since last March's cheap shot, but they didn't cross paths this time.
First Period, 5:20, 0-0: Good pressure from the Savard line, with the Bruins getting several good shots on to test Fleury early.
First Period, 2:50, 0-0: Matt Bartkowski out for his first NHL shift, paired with Andrew Ference on the blue line.
First Period, 1:53, 0-0: Good pace to start this one, both teams look to have plenty of energy, though nothing yet in the way of serious scoring chances.
First Period, 0:00, 0-0: This one is under way in Pittsburgh, with the Bruins trying to bounce back from Saturday's setback in Montreal before heading back to Boston to open a four-game homestand on Tuesday.
7:30 p.m.: The Bruins will open with the line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Mark Recchi up front, Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg on defense and Tuukka Rask in goal.
The Penguins counter with Matt Cooke, Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy up front, Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek on the blue line and Marc-Andre Fleury in the net.
7:25 p.m.: Nathan Horton will miss his second game and Adam McQuaid is also out with an undisclosed injury as the Bruins won't have any healthy scratches in this one.
Matt Bartkowski is in the lineup to make his NHL debut in his home town of Pittsburgh.
For the Penguins, Sidney Crosby (concussion) and Arron Asham (flu) are out, while Ben Lovejoy is the healthy scratch on defense.
7 p.m.: As expected, Tuukka Rask and Marc-Andre Fleury led their clubs out for warm-ups. That should be the goaltending matchup in this one.
6:30 p.m.: The Bruins and Penguins will face off in just about an hour, with Marc Savard and Matt Cooke expected to be on the ice together for the first time since Cooke's viscous cheap shot on Savard last March.
The Penguins have their own concussion concerns with NHL leading scorer Sidney Crosby sidelined, but Pittsburgh remains a dangerous team even without their star center.
Boston will likely be without defenseman Adam McQuaid, who suffered an undisclosed injury Saturday in Montreal and is day-to-day. Matt Bartkowski was recalled from Providence on Sunday and is expected to make his NHL debut in his hometown. Forward Nathan Horton is also day-to-day with an undisclosed injury and will likely miss his second straight game.
Tuukka Rask was the first goalie off the ice at the Bruins' optional skate in the morning, indicating he will likely get the start in this one. Marc-Andre Fleury was first off for the Penguins, so the Flower will be in the cage.
8 a.m.: The Bruins will look to bounce back from a devastating collapse in Montreal on Saturday when they complete their brief two-game road trip with another emotional encounter in Pittsburgh on Monday.
The Bruins shouldn't have any trouble getting up for a clash with the Penguins, as Matt Cooke's cheap shot on Marc Savard and the club's pitiful response both that night and in the rematch later last March won't be easily forgotten.
But the Bruins will also have to shake off the lingering effects of Saturday's loss, when they squandered a 2-0 lead with just 2:22 to play, ultimately falling 3-2 in overtime. Instead of pulling three points ahead of Montreal for the Northeast Division lead, Boston is now tied with the Habs, though the Bruins do have two games in hand.
They can't afford to squander those extra games, starting with Monday's matchup with the Penguins.
"We need to move on and focus on [Monday's] game," Bruins coach Claude Julien said after practice on Sunday. "We can't carry that load with us. It's important to bounce back. That's the focus."
The Bruins do have some positive history to point to, as they have already won once in Pittsburgh this season. It took a five-goal rally in the third period, but Boston did prevail 7-4 in that clash on Nov. 10. Seven different Bruins scored goals and 15 different players collected points in that victory, which was a physical affair that also produced three fights.
Boston needs that kind of balanced attack again, as the Bruins have been relying on just one or two lines much too often of late. On Saturday, Patrice Bergeron scored the only two Boston goals, while in other recent games David Krejci's line and the "energy line" of Greg Campbell, Brad Marchand and Shawn Thornton have been the only units to contribute.
At least the Bruins will not have to face NHL leading scorer Sidney Crosby, who remains out with a concussion. Boston has its own injury concerns though, as they recalled Matt Bartkowski from Providence on Sunday to augment their banged-up blue line and Nathan Horton remains questionable after missing Saturday's game with an undisclosed injury.
The puck drops at 7:30 p.m., so check back here throughout the day for updates on all the action.
