BOSTON — The Pittsburgh Penguins (21-14-9) shoveled pucks, snapped wrist shots, and tried to plow the puck across the goal line, but a mass of Boston Bruins (25-19-2) bodies and another sterling performance by backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo against the Penguins was just enough.
Boston beat the Penguins 1-0 at TD Garden, Sunday. The Penguins have lost two in a row, both tight one-goal games, after winning six in a row.
Penguins goalie Stuart Skinner stopped 17 of 18 in the hard-luck loss. Boston had just eight shots over the last 40 minutes. Korpisalo stopped all 28 shots he faced,
Before Sunday, Korpisalo had a .923 career save percentage against the Penguins, the best against any team in his career in which he’s had more than two starts.
The Penguins applied heavy pressure through the latter part of the second period and in the third period.
The Penguins were 0-for-2 in two power plays, totaling 2:34. Boston had six power plays, but was also scoreless.
Saturday, Boston scored 10 goals against the New York Rangers. They got the first goal against the Penguins Sunday. Former Boston defenseman Parker Wotherspoon’s giveaway in the offensive zone sprang Boston’s counterattack.
As the Penguins raced back to the defensive zone, Viktor Arvidsson kicked a rebound to himself beside the crease and sneaked a backhand under Penguins goalie Stuart Skinner’s right pad for a 1-0 lead at 11:00.
Boston had three power plays in the first period as the Penguins struggled to find sustained momentum.
The Penguins did have a few good chances, including Ben Kindel unabated to the net midway through the period, and Anthony Mantha sweeping across the crease with the puck shortly afterward.
Korpisalo was sharp from the start.
Korpisalo and Skinner traded difficult saves in the second period. The Penguins limited Boston to just four shots in the period, but each seemed to be a high-danger chance, including a couple of two-on-ones.
Korpisalo made a few good saves in the final minutes of the second period, including stopping a couple of Sidney Crosby backhand chances and one by Tommy Novak. Justin Brazeau hit the post at 14:15 of the second with a deflection chance.
After five Boston power plays, the Penguins didn’t get their first chance until 11:36 of the second when Boston fourth-liner Mark Kastelic contacted Skinner, who went down. Kastelic performatively mocked Skinner’s balance to the delight of home fans on his way to the penalty box.
It was a turning point in the period, but the Penguins were unable to score and trailed 1-0 after 40 minutes.
Penguins Notes
Coach Dan Muse made more line changes Sunday, shuffling the top nine, again, in Bryan Rust’s injury absence.
Anthony Mantha-Sidney Crosby-Rickard Rakell
Tommy Novak-Ben Kindel-Justin Brazeau
Evgeni Malkin-Kevin Hayes-Egor Chinakhov
Connor Dewar-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari
*Kevin Hayes played in his 800th career game.
*Connor Clifton drew into the lineup in place of Jack St. Ivany and played his 400th game.
Tags: Boston Bruins Penguins game Pittsburgh Penguins
Categorized: Penguins Postgame