Final, Bruins 3-2: That’s it, and that’s all. The Bruins somehow pull out the 3-2 win.
Third period, 19:47, Bruins 3-2: This place is rocking, and that’s because the Bruins have the lead.
Zdeno Chara just scored on a wrist shot from the slot that beat Marc-Andre Fleury, and the B’s improbably have a 3-2 lead with 13 seconds to play. It looked like Fleury might have been screened, and Chara beat him gloveside.
Third period, 18:31, 2-2: We have a tie game.
David Krejci just tied the game with something of a lucky goal. With the Boston net empty, Milan Lucic tried to get the puck to Zdeno Chara in front of the Pittsburgh net.
The puck got through Chara’s skates, but Krejci was in the slot at the right time and he just put the shot on net. It appeared to deflect off of a Pittsburgh defenseman and by Marc-Andre Fleury.
It’s all tied up.
Third period, 18:15, Penguins 2-1: The Bruins just had their best chance of the period, aside from Reilly Smith’s missed goal, but they got some bad luck.
Zdeno Chara waltzed into the slot and took a wrist shot. The puck hit Marc-Andre Fleury’s glove and then bounced off the crossbar.
Seconds later, Sidney Crosby was off to the races where he was denied by Tuukka Rask.
Third period, 15:12, Penguins 2-1: The Bruins are officially running out of time. They’re down a pair of forwards, but that’s not much of an excuse for how little they’re doing offensively right now.
The B’s have just one shot on goal since 5:25 of the third period, as the Penguins have really done a good job of limiting chances here in the period.
Third period, 11:00, Penguins 2-1: Now seems like a good time to mention that the Bruins have scored just two goals since the midway point of the third period against Columbus last Saturday.
They aren’t getting many quality chances right now, and the ones they have gotten (Reilly Smith), they haven’t been able to bury them.
Third period, 9:10, Penguins 2-1: Tuukka Rask has been shaky at times in this one, but he’s really stepped up his game as this has progressed.
He just made a big save on James Neal after the Penguins forward danced around the Boston defense to get in close on the Boston goalie, but Rask was able to make the save and keep it a one-goal game.
Third period, 5:43, Penguins 2-1: The game should be tied.
Reilly Smith, who scored the Bruins’ first goal, should have just scored their second. He was right there on the doorstep to Marc-Andre Fleury’s left when Dougie Hamilton put a shot on goal from the top of the slot. Fleury made the kick save, but he put it right across to Smith who was all alone with an empty net.
Smith inexplicably missed the wide-open net, and the Bruins weren’t able to capitalize on the power play.
Third period, 3:43, Penguins 2-1: The Bruins have come out with good jump here in the third period, and it has earned them a power play.
Dougie Hamilton had a beat on the play up the boards through the neutral zone before he was tripped by Chris Kunitz. The Bruins power play will get another chance.
Third period, 0:01, Penguins 2-1: The third period is underway.
Second intermission: The Penguins just announced this via Twitter:
“Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital where he is alert and conscious.”
So that’s obviously good news.
End second period, Penguins 2-1: A much more calm and collected second period just came to an end with the Penguins ahead 2-1.
The Bruins outshot the Penguins 8-6 in the second period, but the Penguins have a 19-13 advantage in the game.
Second period, 15:06, Penguins 2-1: The Bruins couldn’t do anything with the 30 seconds of power-play time, but the Penguins came really close to adding a goal after the penalty expired.
Kunitz couldn’t quite lift the puck as it was poked out by a defenseman and Tuukka Rask was able to get it with his blocker to keep the game at one-goal deficit for the B’s.
Second period, 11:52, Penguins 2-1:Â The Bruins didn’t have much trouble killing that penalty off, which is mainly because it lasted just 30 seconds.
Zdeno Chara eventually found Daniel Paille with a stretch pass that led to something of a breakaway for Paille. He couldn’t score, but he was able to draw a slashing penalty on Chris Kunitz.
Second period, 11:22, Penguins 2-1: The Bruins were able to get some sustained puck possession in the Pittsburgh end, but they weren’t able to score the game-tying goal.
Then things got worse for the B’s just a few seconds after the power play expired. Jarome Iginla was found guilty of holding, and the Bruins will have to kill off yet another penalty.
Second period, 8:52, Penguins 2-1: The Bruins have been much better in the four minutes or so since killing off the Brad Marchand penalty, and now they’ll get a very important power play.
Simon Despres was just called for holding, and the B’s will get another crack with the man-advantage.
Second period, 5:00, Penguins 2-1: The Bruins were able to kill off the penalty, thanks in large part to a huge play from Dennis Seidenberg.
Tuukka Rask was caught wandering out of his crease when Jussi Jokinen got an opportunity on a relatively empty goal on the right wing. Seidenberg went diving to the rescue, as he got to the post before the puck did and was able to keep the Penguins off the board on the double-minor man-advantage.
Second period, 0:44, Penguins 2-1: That didn’t take long. The Bruins are back on the penalty kill after Brad Marchand is guilty of high sticking Chris Kunitz.
It’s a double-minor.
Second period, 0:01, Penguins 2-1: The second period is underway.
End first period, Penguins 2-1: The Bruins couldn’t score on the power play, and the first period comes to an end with the Penguins leading 2-1.
That was quite a period, all things considered.
First period, 17:42, Penguins 2-1: The Bruins are going on the power play.
Chris Conner just got a high sticking penalty and the B’s get the man-advantage.
First period, 17:00, Penguins 2-1: The Bruins were able to kill off the rest of the five-minute major penalty that came with Shawn Thornton’s match penalty.
That was thanks in large part to a sprawling save from Tuukka Rask on Sidney Crosby in the slot.
First period, 13:13, Penguins 2-1: And that is how you respond, if you’re the Penguins.
For the second time in this game, the Penguins have taken advantage of a Shawn Thornton penalty and they have turned it into a goal.
James Neal, who had just come out of the penalty box after kneeing Brad Marchand in the head, got loose on a breakaway as he came out of the box. He beat Tuukka Rask five-hole for the go-ahead goal.
First period, 11:06, 1-1: This one has gotten very ugly.
Brooks Orpik is being stretchered off the ice after basically being assaulted by Shawn Thornton. The Bruins enforcer wanted a piece of Orpik earlier after a big hit on Loui Eriksson, and Orpik wouldn’t oblige.
So Thornton just basically jumped Orpik after a play, and he appeared to punch Orpik in the head and might have also driven Orpik’s head into the ice.
Thornton was given a match penalty for his actions, and the Bruins will be down a man for five minutes. James Neal, who caught Brad Marchand in the head with a knee to start all of that, will get two minutes for kneeing.
First period, 10:13, 1-1: Reilly Smith is skating with the Bruins’ second line now that Loui Eriksson is done for the night, and that just worked out really well for the Bruins.
Chris Kunitz turned it over, and that ended up leading to Reilly Smith’s sixth goal of the season. He’s skating on that second line, and he took advantage of a pass from Patrice Bergeron and he rifled a shot by Marc-Andre Fleury.
First period, 10:00, Penguins 1-0: Loui Eriksson will not return, the Bruins just announced. He took a huge hit from Brooks Orpik early on, and he’s done for the game.
First period, 7:19, Penguins 1-0: This game has been incredibly physical and pretty nasty so far, and it just continued just a few seconds ago.
Milan Lucic just got real physical with Deryk Engelland in the Pittsburgh end, and it ended up leading to the first of what could be multiple fights in this one. The two players dropped the gloves along the boards on the right wing in the Penguins zone and traded a couple of punches before just getting tied up along the boards.
First period, 6:33, Penguins 1-0: And the Shawn Thornton penalty ends up hurting the Bruins dearly.
Chris Kunitz just scored a power-play goal as he just put a shot on net that ended up hitting Zdeno Chara in front and getting by Tuukka Rask.
The Penguins are now out to the early 1-0 lead.
First period, 5:44, 0-0: Shawn Thornton just tried to stick up for Loui Eriksson, and it will put the Penguins back on the power play.
Thornton went after Brooks Orpik after his hit on Eriksson earlier, and tried to get him to drop the gloves, but Orpik was having none of it. Instead, Thornton gets the penalty for roughing.
First period, 3:00, 0-0: The Bruins were able to kill off the penalty to Zdeno Chara, but there’s still no sign of Loui Eriksson on the Bruins’ bench.
First period, 0:21, 0-0:Â Things didn’t take long to get feisty here.
Just a few seconds into the game, Brooks Orpik absolutely hammered Loui Eriksson with a big hit in the Boston end. Eriksson hit the ice very hard, and he tried to get up, but ended up falling again. He went back to the bench where he looked dazed and he eventually went down the tunnel.
Shortly thereafter, Zdeno Chara dropped Chris Kunitz with what was deemed a cross-check, and the Penguins will end up getting the power play out of it all.
First period, 0:01, 0-0: The final meeting of the regular season between these two Eastern Conference powers is underway.
6:52 p.m.: It looks as if Pascal Dupuis will play in this one, despite the fact that he’s dealing with a lower-body injury that he suffered against the Sharks earlier this week.
He’ll skate on the top line, according to the Pens.
6:45 p.m.: Here are the projected lines for both clubs. If something happens once the rosters are announced, we’ll let you know.
Bruins
Milan Lucic — David Krejci — Jarome Iginla
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — Loui Eriksson
Carl Soderberg — Chris Kelly — Reilly Smith
Daniel Paille — Gregory Campbell — Shawn Thornton
Zdeno Chara — Dougie Hamilton
Dennis Seidenberg — Matt Bartkowski
Torey Krug — Kevan Miller
Penguins
Chris Kunitz — Sidney Crosby — Joe Vitale
Jayson Megna — Jussi Jokinen — James Neal
Chris Conner — Brandon Sutter — Zach Sill
Craig Adams — Harry Zolnercyzk — Chuck Kobasew
Deryk Engelland — BRooks Orpik
Olli Maatta — Kris Letang
Matt Niskanen — Simon Despres
6:38 p.m.: The Bruins look like they’re going to have the same forward lines as they have had recently, but the D-pairs will be shuffled due to injuries.
Judging by warmups, it looks like Zdeno Chara will be paired with Dougie Hamilton, Dennis Seidenberg is with Matt Bartkowski and Torey Krug will skate alongside Kevan Miller.
It’s still unclear whether Pascal Dupuis will go for Pittsburgh.
6:30 p.m.: The two teams have taken the ice for warmups. As expected, Tuukka Rask will start for the Bruins while Marc-Andre Fleury gets the start for the Penguins.
We’ll have the Bruins’ defensive pairings momentarily.
5:50 p.m.: Good evening and welcome to TD Garden where the Bruins and Penguins are about 80 minutes from dropping the puck on some Saturday night hockey.
The Bruins, as expected, will be coming in a little shorthanded on the blue line. Defensemen Johnny Boychuk and Adam McQuaid will both miss this one, as they’re out with their respective injuries. Boychuk won’t play Saturday and won’t travel Sunday to Toronto after suffering a lower back injury as a result of that scary hit against Montreal. He’ll be day to day after that, and it’s unclear when he’ll return, but he will miss at least two games.
McQuaid also remains out with a groin injury that he reaggravated earlier in the week. He’s progressing well, Bruins coach Claude Julien said, but he’s still not ready to return. McQuaid will make the trip to Toronto, but he won’t play for the Bruins on Sunday night, either.
That opens the door for Kevan Miller and Matt Bartkowski. Both will be in the lineup Saturday against Pittsburgh and presumably on Sunday against the Maple Leafs. The Providence Bruins made David Warsofsky a precautionary scratch for their game this evening in case the Bruins suffer yet another injury to a D-man.
The Penguins are banged up as well. They’ll be without 0ne of the best players in the world against the Bruins, as Evgeni Malkin is out once again. He missed the team’s Thursday game against San Jose and did not make the trip to Boston for this one.
8 a.m.: The Bruins probably should have won Thursday night and retained first place in the Atlantic Division against the Montreal Canadiens. That wasn’t in the cards, though, with the B’s tripping over themselves in the second period on the way to a 2-1 loss. If they take a period off on Saturday night, things could end up being much worse.
The schedule-makers didn’t do the Bruins any favors for the end of this week, as the B’s will host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night at TD Garden. It’s the third and final meeting between the two teams, and it will be the middle game of three games in four nights for the Bruins. After visiting Montreal on Thursday, the B’s are back home for Satuday’s tilt before going right back out on the road to take on Toronto on Sunday.
Of course, if the Bruins get caught looking ahead to their first trip to Toronto this season, they’ll end up in really big trouble on Saturday. The Penguins come in on top of the Eastern Conference with 41 points and they’re riding a five-game winning streak. Not only that, they have won eight of their last 10, and they’re fresh off of a 5-1 spanking of one of the league’s best teams, the Sharks, on Thursday night. They did that even without all-world forward Evgeni Malkin who is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Saturday’s matchup will be the rubber match between these two teams that met in the Eastern Conference Finals last season. Pittsburgh won the season’s first matchup on Oct. 30 in Pittsburgh, while the B’s bounced back to win on Nov. 25 in overtime after Sidney Crosby tied the game with 0.3 seconds to play.
Puck drop from the Garden on Saturday night is set for 7 p.m.
