For the first 36 minutes of the game, the Pittsburgh Penguins continued to show why they were losers in 4 of their last 6 games. In just 48 seconds, they showed why they were considered one of the top teams in the league.
After blowing another 2-0 lead, the Pittsburgh Penguins got power play goals from James Neal and Sidney Crosby and never looked back. Crosby scored two goals and tallied an assist, Martin scored his second goal of the season, and Brent Johnson made 26 saves as the Penguins closed within two points of clinching the fourth seed.
The Penguins started Johnson to give Marc-Andre Fleury some much needed rest and the Bruins -already locked into the 2nd seed- countered with Marty Turco.
Sidney Crosby gave the Penguins the lead 7:40 into the first period. During a 4 on 4, Kris Letang drove down the left side of the ice and backhanded a shot off Turco. The rebound was knocked loose by Pascal Dupuis and Sidney Crosby found the top right corner of the net to put the Penguins up 1-0.
Seven minutes later, Tyler Kennedy’s shot produced a huge rebound to Paul Martin who shot the puck off of Turco’s shoulder which bounced back off of Martin and in the goal. The play was reviewed and stood as a good goal, giving Martin his second goal of the season and first since December 10th against the Islanders.
The Bruins would get back in the game however, with a goal from Benoit Pouliot late in the first period, and a goal Milan Lucic 18 seconds into the second.
From there, both teams traded chances with both backup goaltenders making key saves to keep the game knotted at two. Brad Marchand was robbed by Johnson of an excellent scoring chance down low, then Turco made a nifty glove save on Steve Sullivan’s wrist shot from the slot.
The game turned on a hit by Daniel Paille who knocked Matt Niskanen out of the game and took a charging penalty in the process. Paille skated full speed and left his feet sending Niskanen into the corner boards in Pittsburgh’s end. Nine seconds later, Rich Peverley took a questionable high sticking penalty after his stick hit the shoulder of Letang but first appeared to hit Letang in the face.
With the crowd at TD Garden booing furiously over the replay of the second penalty, the Penguins quickly got a goal from James Neal. Crosby tried to feed Chris Kunitz in front of the net but the puck hopped over his stick and found its way to Neal who fired the puck over Turco’s left shoulder for his 40th goal of the season.
Just 48 seconds later, Kris Letang made a perfect pass to Sidney Crosby who buried the puck into a wide open cage to give the Penguins a 4-2 lead.
The Penguins padded their lead with Arron Asham’s fifth goal of the season 6:15 into the third. Dan Bylsma’s fourth line, characterized as a goon line by Peter Laviolette after Sunday’s brawl, produced the backbreaker for the Penguins. Craig Adams fired the puck on net from the left face off circle and Asham was in front for the tip-in.
Two minutes later, the Bruins gained some life after a goal from Rich Peverley on a 2 on 1. The Bruins had some excellent chances to cut the lead further, but the Penguins were able to stave off the final rush to preserve the 5-3 win.
- With the New York Rangers defeating the Philadelphia Flyers, the Penguins are now two points away from clinching the fourth seed for the fourth straight season.
- Pascal Dupuis’s assist on Crosby’s first goal extended his point streak to 15 straight games.
- Matt Niskanen left the game with an upper body injury and Joe Vitale left after being struck in the chin with a shot from Zdeno Chara late in the third period.
Three Stars
- Sidney Crosby
- Milan Lucic
- Kris Letang
Photo courtesy of Yahoo! sports
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