Boston has been a harsh environment for the Penguins over the past five decades.
From the earliest days of the franchise, the Penguins have had quite a bit of trouble against the Big Bad Bruins, whether it be in the iconic Boston Garden or the unremarkable TD Garden.
That notion has been especially true over the past half-decade and change.
Tuesday’s 3-2 overtime road loss to the Bruins extended a losing streak for the Penguins in Boston to nine games, dating to 2015.
Their latest defeat extracted a toll as it may have cost the Penguins the services of defenseman Brian Dumoulin, one of the team’s top players.
Leaving the game after the second period due to an undisclosed injury, his absence further taxed a threadbare blue line already missing four defensemen due to various ailments.
What ailed the Penguins in this game were inefficient special teams. The Penguins went 0 for 6 on the power play and even gave up a short-handed goal. Meanwhile, the Bruins were 1 for 4 with the man advantage.
“I didn’t think we executed as well as we have been in prior games tonight,” coach Mike Sullivan said via video conference. “You’ve got to give Boston credit. They’ve got a very good penalty kill. But I didn’t think we were at our best for whatever reason. We didn’t execute as good as our guys have been to this point.”
That was evident 7:41 into regulation when the Bruins opened the scoring with that short-handed score. Off a turnover in the neutral zone by Penguins forward Jared McCann, Bruins forward Brad Marchand netted his fourth goal of the season with a strong rush off the right wing.
Boston made it a 2-0 game at 7:58 of the second period with a five-on-three power-play goal by forward Nick Ritchie, his third of the campaign.
But as was the case during the four-game winning streak the Penguins had snapped, they mounted a comeback. It began when struggling forward Jason Zucker scored his first goal of the season from the right circle at 9:47 of the third period.
Then at 16:44 of the third, forward Kasperi Kapanen made a furious surge up the right wing, veered past Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy and tucked a backhander past goaltender Tuuka Rask’s skate for his first as a member of the Penguins.
“I was just trying to take it the net,” Kapanen said. “I feel like I got hooked a bit, so I think that kind of threw Rask off a bit. It just went underneath his pad. I’m not complaining. I’ll take it.”
Unlike some of the previous four games, the Penguins could not take it in overtime, even when the Bruins gave it up. Off a Boston turnover, the Penguins generated a three-on-none rush but failed to manage a shot on net when a passing sequence between forward Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Kris Letang was broken up by Rask at approximately 3:45 of the extra period.
Sullivan was curt when asked about the inability of a handful of all-stars to generate a shot in that scenario.
“They understand the circumstance,” Sullivan said. “These guys are world-class players.”
The Bruins had a firm grasp of the circumstances when a two-on-none rush resulted in forward Craig Smith beating goaltender Tristan Jarry for his second goal of the season and a victory.
Jarry made 33 saves in the defeat.
The Penguins are scheduled to face the Bruins, in Boston, again on Thursday. Hopes of snapping this losing skid in TD Garden will be even more difficult should Dumoulin remain sidelined.
“It’s tough when you go down that many players at the same position,” Sullivan said. “It’s a test of your depth.”
Seth Rorabaugh is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Seth by email at srorabaugh@triblive.com or via Twitter .
Categories: Penguins/NHL | Sports
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