Boston Bruins beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 on Saturday afternoon at TD Garden.
The B’s clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with the win and improved to 46-24-5, while the playoff-bound Penguins fell to 43-23-11.
Check out the full box score.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Starting on time makes life easier.
The Bruins scored a pair of goals before the Penguins had a chance to gain a foothold in the game. By the time Pittsburgh took hold of the contest, the Bruins were locked-in defensively and withstood just about everything the visitors threw their way.
Trent Frederic scored his sixth goal in the season just 49 seconds into the contest when he scooped home the rebound from Craig Smith’s shot.
Erik Haula doubled Boston’s advantage at 2:01 in the first. His 15th goal of the season was, um, unconventional to say the least. Watch closely.
The B’s outshot the Penguins 11-6 in that opening period, but Pittsburgh raised the intensity in the second, pinning back Boston into its own end for much of the second period. Former Bruin Danton Heinen halved Boston’s lead at 5:38 in the second period with a powerful wrist shot.
The Penguins were on the march, but the Bruins dug in and gradually asserted themselves toward the end of the second period.
The trend continued in the third period, as the B’s held the Pens at bay, outshooting the visitors 13-8.
STARS OF THE GAME
— Haula notched the winning goal on his first of three shots in the game, but his contributions also extended to other areas of the ice, including winning five of seven faceoffs.
— Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman saved 23 of the 24 shots he faced in his first game as de-facto starter.
— After missing one game due to injury, Brandon Carlo returned to Boston’s blue line after and didn’t miss a beat. He made one hit and two blocks in 21:13 of ice time.
WAGER WATCH
DraftKings Sportsbook opened with -575 lines for the Bruins to score over 1.5 goals. Those who bet $100 on the Bruins to score at least two took home a nice payday.
UP NEXT ON NESN
The Bruins return to action Tuesday in St. Louis, where they take on the Blues. Puck drop is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET., and you can watch the game on ESPN+.
NESN’s next Bruins broadcast will be Thursday when they visit the Penguins in a rematch. Pregame coverage will begin at 6:30 p.m. Puck drop is scheduled for for 7 p.m., and postgame coverage immediately will follow the final horn. On the go? Be sure to stream Bruins-Penguins in full at Watch NESN Live.
