Final, Penguins 3-1: The Bruins tried like hell in the final minute, but they just couldn’t get one by Marc-Andre Fleury.
The Penguins goalie saved his best for last and stopped a one-timer bid from David Krejci from the left wing.
Third period, 18:17, Penguins 3-2: It’s not over just yet.
Jarome Iginla just blasted a one-timer from the high slot that beat Marc-Andre Fleury, and the B’s are within one.
Third period, 17:58, Penguins 3-1: Well, at least the Red Sox are winning.
Jussin Jokinen just stole the puck in the Boston zone, and he ripped a wrist shot by Tuukka Rask for the two-goal lead.
Third period, 16:45, Penguins 2-1: The Penguins certainly aren’t making it easy for the Bruins to stage a comeback.
Pittsburgh just had a relentless shift from Sidney Crosby’s line that led to a ton of pressure in the Boston end. That must have chewed up another 20-30 seconds, though, which is invaluable at this point.
11:00, Penguins 2-1: The Shawn Thornton boarding penalty was killed off, but 17 seconds later, the Penguins score the go-ahead goal.Â
Brandon Sutter just ripped a nasty wrist shot up over Tuukka Rask’s right shoulder up under the crossbar to give the Pens the 2-1 lead midway through the period.
Third period, 8:43, 1-1: The Penguins are about to get a chance to get the lead back on the power play.
Shawn Thornton boarded Tanner Glass from behind, and Thornton gets the minor penalty. The Penguins pleaded for a major penalty, but they did not get it.
Third period, 7:04, 1-1: The Bruins almost just made it two deflected goals in the period, but the deflection ended up hitting Marc-Andre Fleury.Â
Not long before that, Sidney Crosby had something of a breakaway in on Tuukka Rask. The Penguins star was stopped by the Bruins goalie, who then covered the puck up. As he was covering up, Crosby stopped right in front of the Boston goalie, giving him a nice snow shower. Rask got up and went right after Crosby as he tried to shove the Pittsburgh captain before everyone else arrived and more pushing and grabbing took place.
Those two certainly have a history after their little bump during the Eastern Conference Finals last year.
Third period, 1:30, 1-1: Not long after the Bruins goal, just a few seconds really, the gloves were dropped.
Jordan Caron and Robert Bortuzzo threw some wild punches in a spirited fight deep in the Boston zone. It certainly looked like Bortuzzo got the best of the fight with a couple of big right hands late in the bout.
Third period, 1:05, 1-1:Â That’s exactly how the Bruins wanted to start the third period.
Brad Marcand carried the puck into the zone and did a good job of taking a hit to move the puck. He chipped it in, took the hit and eventually won a puck battle in the corner. He then passed it across the offensive zone to Dennis Seidenberg.
The defenseman put it at the net, and Patrice Bergeron tipped it by Marc-Andre Fleury for the game-tying goal.
Third period, 0:01, Penguins 1-0:Â The third period is underway in Pittsburgh with the Bruins looking to get the tying goal.
End second period, Penguins 1-0: The second period comes to a close with some pushing and shoving between ex-teammates Jarome Iginla and Evgeni Malkin.
Speaking of rough stuff, Torey Krug and Sidney Crosby received matching roughing penalties after they got tangled up during the Boston power play.
Second period, 17:00, Penguins 1-0: The Bruins weren’t able to score on the power play, but it wasn’t for lack of chances.
The B’s had a couple of good looks from the first unit, but Jarome Iginla couldn’t bury a one-timer in front of the net. Zdeno Chara made a great look across the slot to Iginla, but the winger whiffed on the wide-open chance.
Torey Krug also had a scoring chance when he got a shot through traffic low and on net that was deflected by Zdeno Chara. That was stopped by Marc-Andre Fleury.
Second period, 14:53, Penguins 1-0: The Bruins are getting their first power play of the evening.
Chris Kunitz was just called for tripping.
Second period, 14:00, Penguins 1-0: The Bruins are certainly starting to get their chances.
The latest came from Patrice Bergeron when the center carried the puck into the Pittsburgh zone, and was able to maneuver around Norris Trophy finalist Kris Letang. Bergeron carried the puck all the way to the net and flipped a backhander on net. Marc-Andre Fleury was able to make the save, though.
Second period, 12:00, Penguins 1-0:Â The Bruins just had arguably their best chance of the night, but Daniel Paille couldn’t finish.
Paille was the beneficiary of Paul Martin falling down, and Paille took the puck on a breakaway. However, he put the puck right in Marc-Andre Fleury’s chest, and nothing comes of the chance.
Second period, 6:54, Penguins 1-0: That didn’t take very long on the Pittsburgh power play.Â
After going 1-for-18 in the last four games, the Penguins PP strikes.
Chris Kunitz got in the right place at the right time, as he backhanded a rebounded opportunity through the legs of Tuukka Rask. Sidney Crosby put it toward net, it was deflected by Kris Letang, and then Kunitz took care of the rest.
Second period, 6:15, 0-0: The second period has been better for the Bruins, who just had some sustained puck possession in the Pittsburgh end.
However, that was all undone a few seconds later. In the midst of the Penguins clearing the zone, Bruins forward Milan Lucic was called for interference in the neutral zone.
Now the Bruins will have to go against a very good Penguins power play in this scoreless tie.
Second period, 0:01, 0-0: The second period is underway.Â
End first period, 0-0: The first period just ended, and it’s not exactly a pretty end to the period for the Bruins.Â
The Penguins are now outshooting the Bruins 13-6, and if Tuukka Rask wasn’t his usual sharp self, the B’s would be in trouble right now.
First period, 16:33, 0-0: At the risk of turning this into the Evgeni Malkin live blog, he certainly has been fantastic in the first period.Â
Malkin just created another scoring chance for the Penguins, and this time he was setting up someone else. Malkin went below the goal line to retrieve the puck and tossed a semi no-look pass in front to Jayson Megna. The puck got a little too deep into Megna’s skate, and he couldn’t do much with it.
The Pens were able to burn the defensive pairing of Dennis Seidenberg and Dougie Hamilton as Seidenberg lost track of Megna in front. It’s been a rough night so far for that Bruins D-pairing.
First period, 10: 26, 0-0:Â Evgeni Malkin has been the best player on the ice in the early going.
He just got himself another scoring chance after the Penguins attempted to take advantage of icing on the Bruins. The icing call left the Bruins’ fourth line out on the ice, and Dan Bylsma countered with Malkin’s line. After winning the faceoff, Malkin got to the net and put a shot on that either was stopped by Tuukka Rask or hit the side of the net or both.
The Bruins are outshooting Pittsburgh 5-4 so far.
First period, 7:39, 0-0: If you’re watching the Red Sox game — and who could blame you — and are using this live blog as a source for updates, welcome. We’ll try to keep them coming, but when the game starts like this one did, it’s tough.
There have been few whistles in the early going, but plenty of strong end to end play.
That produced arguably the best scoring chance when Evgeni Malkin took a puck in the neutral zone and was able to get a round Torey Krug. The elite forward got in on Tuukka Rask, but the goalie made the save.
That started action back the other way, where Reilly Smith had a scoring chance of his own. Smith put a shot toward the net that was deflected just wide by a Penguin.
First period, 0:01, 0-0: The game is underway in Pittsburgh.Â
7:40 p.m.: The Bruins appear to be going with Dougie Hamilton over Matt Bartkowski yet again.
Hamilton has gotten the bulk of the games this season, and he’ll be back in there yet again tonight, at least according to pregame lineups. Hamilton was skating with Dennis Seidenberg again, and it would appear that he’s in for this grudge match.
3 p.m.:Â It probably shouldn’t come as much surprise, but both teams’ top goalies will get the start on Wednesday night. Tuukka Rask will go for the B’s, and he’ll be opposed by Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury.
There are also don’t appear to be any changes up front for the Bruins who are playing their first game since Saturday night.
Here are the projected forwards line for the Bruins.
Milan Lucic — David Krejci — Jarome Iginla
Reilly Smith — Patrice Bergeron — Brad Marchand
Carl Soderberg — Chris Kelly — Jordan Caron
Daniel Paille — Gregory Campbell — Shawn Thornton
It’s still uncertain whether Dougie Hamilton or Matt Bartkowski will be the healthy scratch on the Bruins’ blue line.
8 a.m.: The Bruins were thought by many to be nothing more than a speed bump on the road to the Stanley Cup Final for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Four games later, the B’s proved to be an immovable road block.
Boston swept away the Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals with a dominant effort, and Pittsburgh’s season came to a halt. The two teams will meet Wednesday for the first time since that series. After another multi-day layoff, three days this time, the Bruins are back to work in Pittsburgh for a rematch of the ECF.
The stakes will be a little bit different this time around, of course. At the very least, though, it’s a matchup between two of the league’s best teams who are both off to nice starts. The Penguins are in first place in the new Metropolitan Division with 16 points, while the Bruins have 14 points albeit in two fewer games.
Much of the Bruins’ success, like it did in the playoff series, will hinge upon whether they can slow down Sidney Crosby. Arguably the best player in the world, Crosby is healthy again and the results speak for themselves. He already leads the league in points with 20 through 12 games, and his eight goals are tied for fourth in the league.
The Bruins, meanwhile, will be looking to start a new winning streak. Boston entered Saturday’s game with New Jersey on a four-game winning streak. They looked poised to make that a five-game run, but late penalties did them in as the Devils scored twice in the final two minutes to get out of town with a surprising win.
Puck drop from Pittsburgh is slated for 8 p.m.
