Crosby Leads Penguins to Victory Over Bruins
Sidney Crosby scores the go-ahead goal and collects three assists as the Penguins defeat the Bruins 6-5
Crosby Gives Penguins the Lead
Sidney Crosby scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period and also had two assists as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Boston Bruins 6-5 at TD Garden on Thursday.
Crosby's power-play goal at 11:19 put Pittsburgh ahead 6-5, breaking the tie. The Bruins had rallied from a 5-2 deficit early in the second period to tie the game 5-5, thanks to a short-handed goal from Brad Marchand.
"Weird start with five [goals] in the first eight minutes, but some games happen like that and you got to be able to handle it," Crosby said. "They get a big one short-handed there. Momentum swung a couple times there both ways. So just one of those games where last goal is [going to] win, and we got the last one."
Strong Performances from Letang and O'Connor
Kris Letang contributed three assists, Lars Eller and Drew O'Connor each had a goal and an assist, and Alex Nedeljkovic made 24 saves for Pittsburgh. The Penguins have now won six of their last eight games.
Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan commended his team's response to the game's ups and downs, saying, "I really liked how we responded. We didn't allow it to get us down and snowball into something worse."
On the Bruins' side, David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie each recorded a goal and two assists, while Marchand scored twice. Jeremy Swayman made 29 saves for Boston.
Back-and-Forth Game with Offensive Exploits
The game got off to a fast start, with five goals being scored in the first 7:21, making it the fastest start to a game this season. Marchand opened the scoring for Boston just 41 seconds into the first period, but Pittsburgh quickly responded with goals from O'Connor, Ryan Graves, and Jake Guentzel to take a 3-2 lead.
The teams continued to trade goals, with Pastrnak and Eller adding to the scoring. Geekie and Jake DeBrusk also found the back of the net for the Bruins. Ultimately, Crosby's power-play goal in the third period proved to be the difference-maker.
"It's fun to win those games, maybe not for the goalies," Nedeljkovic said. "But I mean it’s a heck of a lot better than coming out on the losing side for us. ... They were on top of us to start there. It can be hard to stay positive and stay with it, and I thought we did a great job of that all night."
Bruins Reflect on Missed Opportunities
Despite the game's excitement, the Bruins were left disappointed with their performance. Coach Jim Montgomery criticized the team's decision-making and the number of odd-man rushes given up.
Marchand acknowledged the Penguins' talent but emphasized the need for better coverage and decision-making: "But again, you give one of the best players in the world (Crosby) time and space, he's going to make plays. Couple bounces there early that [we] would've liked to have back, but yeah, missing coverage against a team like that can't happen, so we need to be better there."
The loss ends the Bruins' four-game winning streak.
