Final, Penguins 3-2: Pittsburgh takes the extra point as Dustin Jeffrey steals a Dennis Seidenberg clearing pass and breaks in around Seidenberg to beat Tim Thomas with 3:08 left in overtime.
The Bruins get a point out of the effort to move within two of first-place Philadelphia, but their win streak ends at seven.
Boston will face an even more important challenge in their next game, as they head up to Montreal for a Northeast Division showdown with the Canadiens on Tuesday.
Overtime, 0:50, 2-2: The extra session opens with a bid by the Penguins, but after Staal takes an extra whack at Thomas, Chara clears him out of the crease.
End Regulation, 2-2: And we're on to overtime to try to settle this one 4 on 4.
Third Period, 19:27, 2-2: The Bruins get the equalizer with the net empty as David Krejci roofs a shot from the slot.
That came after Kaberle saved an empty-net goal by blocking a shot by Matt Cooke at the other end.
Third Period, 18:44, Penguins 2-1: Thomas comes out for the extra attacker, but has to go back after an offsides, finally out with just over a minute left.
Third Period, 17:00, Penguins 2-1: Thomas keeps the Bruins alive with a big stop on Staal after a Krejci turnover at the blue line.
Third Period, 15:30, Penguins 2-1: The Bruins are running out of time as the clock ticks under five minutes to play and Pittsburgh still clinging to the one-goal lead.
Third Period, 12:25, Penguins 2-1: Recchi is out with Campbell and Kelly with Julien shortening his bench here in the third.
Third Period, 10:43, Penguins 2-1: The Bruins have Ryder out with Peverley and Marchand instead of Recchi for this shift as Claude Julien is shuffling the lines a bit.
Third Period, 7:41, Penguins 2-1: The Bruins kill off the penalty, and Dennis Seidenberg puts an exclamation point on the kill by leveling Kris Letang with a huge hit at the blue line late in the power play.
Third Period, 5:41, Penguins 2-1: The Bruins' comeback just got a little tougher as they have to kill off a hooking penalty to Milan Lucic.
Third Period, 4:40, Penguins 2-1: Thomas gets some help from the iron, as Mark Letestu hits the post from the right slot.
Third Period, 3:20, Penguins 2-1: Great shift by the fourth line, with Daniel Paille and Shawn Thornton forcing multiple turnovers in deep in the Penguins zone and creating several scoring chances.
Third Period, 1:18, Penguins 2-1: Nathan Horton with a bid down low at the right post. Fleury makes the glove save and Horton gos hard into the boards after teh shot.
Third Period, 0:32, Penguins 2-1: Lots of pressure early around the Pittsburgh net, forcing the Penguins to ice the puck.
Third Period, 0:00, Penguins 2-1: The final frame is under way, with the Bruins looking to rally for their eighth straight win and pull within a point of first place in the East.
Brick's Keys to the Third: Just spent a few minutes speaking with NESN analyst Andy Brickley about what we've seen so far and what the Bruins need to do in the third period to pull this one out.
Here's Brickley's take on the situation:
"I'm really impressed with Pittsburgh's compete level. They contest everything. They got the better of the skating game in the second period. Boston needs to match that in the third.
"The good news is that they're just a shot away. These are the kind of games Boston has been playing and they've been playing well in the. But Pittsburgh was the better team through 40 minutes. I'm impressed with Pittsburgh's effort."
Brickley also touched on Boston's struggles on the power play, as they failed to mount much of a threat on their only chance in this game and are 0 for 12 in the last six games.
"Pittsburgh is one of the best penalty-killing teams in the league," Brickley said. "They're quick and aggressive. They know they don't have [Sidney] Crosby and [Evgeni] Malkin and [Chris] Kunitz and that makes the penalty kill even more vital to them. For the Bruins, I would like to see more plays down low instead of forcing it to [Tomas] Kaberle and [Zdeno] Chara all the time. Draw the penalty killers down low and see what that can open up. I'm not saying that is definitely the answer, but I would like to see what that looks like."
End Second Period, Penguins 2-1: The middle frame comes to a close with Pittsburgh holding a one-goal lead. The Bruins will need another third-period rally to pull this one out, a feat they accomplished twice in Pittsburgh earlier this year.
Second Period, 14:48, Penguins 2-1: The Bruins have been way too sloppy in their own zone in this one, struggling to clear the puck at times and giving Pittsburgh second chances in deep. They've also been caught up ice too much, with the Penguins taking advantage with odd-man breaks the other way.
Second Period, 11:19, Penguins 2-1: The Penguins strike again, with Dustin Jeffrey giving Pittsburgh its first lead of the night with a low shot through Thomas from the left slot.
Second Period, 10:09, 1-1: The Penguins answer right back. After another Bruins' chance, Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy break in 2-on-1 with Chara back.
Staal gives it to Kennedy, then takes the return pass and taps it home at the left post.
Second Period, 7:24, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins strike first, with Zdeno Chara scoring from the slot off a feed from David Krejci.
Krejci stopped at the blue line and flipped a backhand pass to Chara, who was wide open and allowed to skate down between the circles before firing home the wrister. That's Chara's first goal in 20 games and first since his hat trick against Carolina on Jan. 17.
Second Period, 6:17, 0-0: Johnny Boychuk lays a big hit on Cooke behind the Bruins net, drawing the loudest roar of the night in response.
Second Period, 4:25, 0-0: Chara steps up to level Talbot with a hit in front of the benches. Talbot sparked a minor scrum in the first by shoving Seguin after the whistle.
Second Period, 2:53, 0-0: The Bruins kill that penalty. Boston is now 11 for 11 on the PK over the last four-plus games.
Second Period, 0:53, 0-0: The Penguins get their first power-play chance as the Bruins are caught with too many men on the ice.
Second Period, 0:00, 0-0: The second period is under way, with both clubs still looking for that first goal.
First Intermission Notes: That was about as eventful a period of scoreless hockey you could find. No goals, but plenty of chances, lots of hitting and a pair of scraps.
Michael Ryder has come to play in this one, creating a couple of good chances early. He's the only Bruins with more than one shot as Pittsburgh holds a 14-9 edge in that category.
The Bruins do have a 13-12 edge in hits, while Shawn Thornton and Nathan Horton each dropped the gloves to set the physical tone.
Matt Bartkowski played 4:05 over five shifts with a hit and a blocked shot in his return to the NHL. He also survived a scary shift when he was caught out there without a stick after breaking his, but Tim Thomas bailed him out with a save to tie up the puck for a whistle.
End First Period, 0-0: The first period is in the books, with no scoring but plenty of action in the first 20 minutes.
First Period,18:31, 0-0: Another scrap, as Nathan Horton and Craig Adams get together behind the play for a quick but spirited exchange that ends with Horton on top.
First Period,17:59, 0-0: Scary sequence for the Bruins there as they failed to clear the puck on several attempts, then Bartkowski broke his stick. But Thomas was able to get control for a faceoff and line change.
First Period,15:08, 0-0: Horrible power play for the Bruins, as this one didn't even look good. The Bruins struggled to set up anything in the zone and Pittsburgh actually had the better scoring chances shorthanded.
First Period,13:08, 0-0: The Bruins get the first power play of the night as Pittsburgh defenseman Ben Lovejoy is sent to the box for holding.
The Bruins are 0-11 on the power play in the last five games and just 1-16 in six games since acquiring Tomas Kaberle despite the improved movement and possession time he as added.
First Period, 9:32, 0-0: Max Talbot gives a couple post-whistle shoves to Seguin, which brings McQuaid in from the point. A scrum develops, with Kelly also yapping at Talbot, but nothing further develops and no penalties are called.
First Period, 8:00, 0-0: Johnny Boychuk pinches in deep for a chance from the right circle. Wide-open action early in this one with both teams trading chances.
First Period, 7:08, 0-0: Pittsburgh has its best chance so far as Thomas robs Craig Adams at the top of the crease off a feed out of the left corner.
First Period, 6:14, 0-0: Ryder with another bid, this time from the left circle with a shot that almost handcuffed Fleury.
First Period, 2:59, 0-0: The gloves come off early, with Shawn Thornton and Michael Rupp squaring off. They traded some big shots with both switching hands, though Rupp appeared to get the upper hand late.
First Period, 2:28, 0-0: The Bruins with the first big chance in this one, but Michael Ryder is denied by a Fleury toe save at the right post and Chris Kelly can't bang home the rebound out of the scrum in front.
First Period, 0:00, 0-0: And this one is under way here at the Garden, with the Bruins looking to push their season-best win streak to eight games.
They can also move within a point of first place in the conference with a win, as Philadelphia lost to Buffalo this afternoon and the Flyers' lead on second-place Boston is just three points.
7 p.m.: The Bruins will start with the top line of David Krejci between Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton, with Zdeno Chara and Johnny Boychuk on defense and Tim Thomas in goal.
The Penguins counter with James Neal, Mark Letestu and Alex Kovalev up front, Zbynek Michalek and Paul Martin on the blue line and Marc-Andre Fleury in net.
6:50 p.m.: No healthy scratches for either side in this one. The Bruins are without Steven Kampfer (concussion), Andrew Ference (lower body) and Patrice Bergeron (personal reasons).
Pittsburgh has Chris Kunitz (lower body) and Eric Godard (suspension) out in addition to seven others on injured reserve, including Sidney Crosby (concussion).
6:40 p.m.: The Bruins rolled the same lines in warm-ups they used in practice Friday, with Rich Peverley in Patrice Bergeron's spot on the second line and Tyler Seguin back in the lineup on the third line. Here's the full combos:
Lucic-Krejci-Horton
Marchand-Peverley-Recchi
Ryder-Kelly-Seguin
Paille-Campbell-Thornton
The defense pairs are sure to be mixed and matched throughout the game, but the warm-ups the pairings were Chara-Boychuk, Kaberle-McQuaid and Bartkowski-Seidenberg.
6:30 p.m.: Tim Thomas and Marc-Andre Fleury lead the teams onto the ice for warm-ups. That's the goaltending matchup for this one.
6 p.m.: The Bruins and Penguins will clash for the final time this season in about an hour.
Pittsburgh won't be getting any new reinforcements from their lengthy injury list. Chris Kunitz, who had been considered a possibility to return in this one after missing the last 12 games with a lower-body injury, has been ruled out.
The Bruins had just an optional skate in the morning and the Penguins took the morning off after playing in New Jersey Friday night. Warm-ups will tell the tale of who is starting in goal for the Bruins in this one. Marc-Andre Fleury is expected in net for Pittsburgh.
8 a.m.: The Bruins have seen this scenario play out before, and they hope to repeat the final result on Saturday.
On Wednesday, Tampa Bay dropped a 2-1 decision at New Jersey on a third-period goal by Ilya Kovalchuk while the Bruins enjoyed a night off. The following evening, the Bruins rallied for a 2-1 win over the Lightning on Milan Lucic's late strike.
On Friday, Pittsburgh fell to the Devils 2-1 in overtime in New Jersey on a Kovalchuk power-play goal. The Bruins had the night off as they awaited the Penguins arrival, and they certainly hope to continue the pattern with another victory over Pittsburgh Saturday night at the Garden.
If they do, the Bruins will extend their season-best win streak to eight games and further solidify their hold on second place in the Eastern Conference. They could even perhaps inch closer to top-seeded Philadelphia, which hosts Buffalo Saturday afternoon.
While the Bruins are on a roll, Pittsburgh has dropped two straight overtime decisions and has just one win in its last seven games. The Penguins are 2-4-4 in their last 10 games, a slide started by a 9-3 loss to the Islanders in a fight-filled game that Pittsburgh owner Mario Lemieux called a "travesty" and left him needing "to re-think whether I want to be a part of [the NHL]."
Just a reminder, this is the same owner who cuts the checks for Matt Cooke. And yes, Cooke will be on hand Saturday, two days short of the anniversary of his brutal cheap shot on Marc Savard in Pittsburgh last year.
Savard is out for the season after suffering another concussion in January, while Patrice Bergeron will miss the game for personal reasons and defensemen Steven Kampfer (concussion) and Andrew Ference (lower body) are also sidelined.
Pittsburgh is without stars Sidney Crosby (concussion) and Evgeni Malkin (knee), with forwards Chris Kunitz (lower body), Arron Asham (concussion), Eric Tangradi (concussion), Mike Comrie (hip) and Nick Johnson (concussion) and defenseman Brooks Orpik (finger) also battling injuries. The Penguins will also be without enforcer Eric Godard, who is serving the final game of his 10-game suspension for leaving the bench to fight in that game against the Islanders back on Feb. 11.
The puck drops at 7 p.m., so check back here throughout the day for updates on all the action.
