Six Wins and Counting: Penguins Bag Sagging Bruins

Although in hindsight it’s hard to imagine, back in the early-to-mid 1990s the Mario Lemieux/Jaromir Jagr Penguins were routinely outshot by less gifted opponents. But while our foes did most of the shooting, we did most of the scoring.

Last night’s 4-1 conquest of Boston at PPG Paints Arena reminded me very much of those days. The Bruins pounded 43 shots at Tristan Jarry (who was absolutely Pensational) but our guys did all of the damage.

Publicly called out by their coach, Bruce Cassidy, following a listless 4-0 loss to the Rangers on Saturday, the Bruins got the message. They came out loaded for bear (pun intended), strafing Jarry with a whopping 20 first-period shots on goal and grabbing the early lead on a power-play goal by Matt Grzelcyk.

For a time it looked like our Pens…fresh off a pair of easy wins over hapless Buffalo…were in over their heads against stiffer competition.

Turns out we were only playing possum.

Evan Rodrigues got us on the board at 16:51 of the opening frame with an innocuous, knuckling shot from the top of the left circle. The puck found its way under Jaroslav Halak’s left arm, then proceeded to jangle off various parts of his equipment before spitting out between his pads and crossing the goal line.

Hey, it looks like a laser in the box score.

Speaking of lasers, Sidney Crosby struck with one from a sharp angle less than two minutes later to stake the Pens to a 2-1 lead. The play typified Sid’s understated brilliance…he drove B’s defenseman and former Baby Pens farmhand Jarred Tinordi to the inside to create space for Jake Guentzel’s pass and his subsequent one-timer.

Next it was Evgeni Malkin’s turn to shine. Working on a power-play midway through the second period, Geno circled the Bruins’ zone before making himself available for a sharp cross-ice feed from Crosby. After digging the pass out of his skates, Malkin dusted the puck off and whipped it past Halak to the glove side.

Down 3-1, the Bruins didn’t retreat into hibernation. To the contrary, they tested Jarry with a slew of Grade-A chances over the back half of the game, including a wicked one-timer by Nick Ritchie from the right circle in the closing minutes. A virtual human highlight reel, No. 35 stopped ‘em all. Setting the stage for Guentzel’s empty netter with 16 tics remaining.

Puckpourri

Statistically speaking, the Bruins dominated. They outshot the Pens, 43-26, won 57 percent of the faceoffs and outhit us, 38-26. But we prevailed where it matters most…on the scoreboard.

Malkin’s on fire. The big Russian tallied a goal and an assist to extend his points streak to eight games. His numbers over that span…four goals, 12 points and a plus-six. His goal was his 1100th point, placing 63rd on the NHL’s all-time list.

Crosby paced the black and gold with a goal and two assists, running his points streak to seven games (four goals and 11 points). Guentzel finished with a goal and an assist. His shoulder injury thankfully seems to be but a distant memory.

Jarry is making the incredible seem de rigueur. Since his two disastrous starts against Philly to open the season, he’s posted a very respectable .917 save percentage.

The top defensive pairing of Kris Letang and Brian Dumoulin has been a force. They finished the game a collective plus-five with two assists. Our six-game winning streak coincides with Dumoulin’s return to the lineup.

In the more-good-news department, it sounds like we won’t face Tuukka Rask in tonight’s rematch. Our long-time nemesis is out with an undisclosed injury.

The Pens presently hold third place in the MassMutual East with 37 points, good for a five-point edge over Boston and a six-point bulge over Philly. Both teams have two games in hand.

We’re 7-1 in March.