Empty Thoughts: Bruins 6, Penguins 4

Observations from the Penguins’ 6-4 loss to the Boston Bruins.

First things first, there was no update on Kris Letang who left the game in the third period due to an undisclosed injury.

He left the contest after recording his final shift with 13:53 left in regulation. Coach Mike Sullivan did not offer an update on his status beyond saying he is being evaluated. Sullivan suggested there could be an update on him on Tuesday.

As for the game, the Penguins had one of their wildest contests of the season. They came back from a three-goal deficit to actually claim a lead at the start of the third period - thanks to a player coming off a healthy scratch and two others who had yet to score a goal this season - but ultimately surrendered it to a white-hot Bruins team which has won six consecutive games and has points in 10 consecutive contests.

If you just glance at the score, you’d assume the Penguins just played a sloppy run-and-gun affair. They would protest that notion.

“I don’t think they had a ton of chances outside of their top line,” said forward Bryan Rust. “They’re going to get some chances just kind of based on who they are. But I thought we did a pretty good job of eliminating them. As far as we go, I thought we had a lot of chances. We could have put more in the net. We’ve just got to tighten up a little bit.”

It would be fair to lump this loss onto the goaltending. Matt Murray just looked sluggish from the start allowing three goals on only 11 shots. The Penguins’ comeback started when he was pulled and replaced by Jarry. But ultimately, it was Jarry who allowed a few iffy goals and took the loss.

Beyond that, the Penguins emerged from yet another loss with satisfaction in how they played.

“This is one of the best games we’ve played all year,” Sullivan said. “We’re playing one of the top teams in the league. You knew they were going to push back. They’ve got some talent on that team too. I thought our third period was strong. We had zone time, we had scoring chances, we were making good decisions. I loved our energy, everybody was involved. I thought it was a really good team by our team. We just didn’t win.”

What happened

The Bruins opened the scoring 5:34 into regulation. Stealing a puck off of Letang at the Penguins’ blue line, Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk raced up the left wing, fended off Letang and fired a wrister to the short side which found a way into the net between Murray’s blocker and the near post. The score was unassisted.

It became a 2-0 contest at 13:05 of the first. Collecting a rimmed puck on the left half wall, Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara shuffled a bouncing shot towards the cage. Murray tried to clear it with a poke check but the puck hopped up on him as Bruins forward David Pastrnak made contact with his stick. From above the crease, Bruins forward Brad Marchand swatted the puck out of the air past Murray on the glove side. Assists went to Pastrnak and Chara.

Boston made it a 3-0 game 4:22 into the second period. Off a cross-ice pass from Marchand, Pastrnak gained the offensive zone on the left wing and whipped a pedestrian wrister past Murray’s blocker on the near side. The Penguins pulled Murray and replaced him with Jarry after that score. Marchand and Chara netted assists.

The Penguins finally got on the scoreboard at 5:35 of the second. After forward Nick Bjugstad won a draw in Boston’s left circle, defenseman Justin Schultz settled a puck at the right point and shuffled a wrister wide to the far side. The puck hit off the end boards and deflected to the near circle where forward Jared McCann jabbed it towards the net. The puck bounced through the crease to the right of the cage where forward Dominik Kahun, returning to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for one game, adjusted his body and shot a wrister from an awkward angle on the near side just past the left skate of sprawling goaltender Jaroslav Halak. McCann and Schultz recorded assists.

They pulled within one at 9:56 of the second. After defenseman Brian Dumoulin lost control of a puck at Boston’s blue line and had to retreat within his own blue line to avoid Bruins forecheckers, he fed a cross-ice pass to Letang on the right wing. Surveying the neutral zone waiting for a line change, Letang fired a stretch pass to Bjugstad coming off the bench and streaking into the offensive zone. Bearing down on Halak, Bjugstad fired a forehand shot past Halak’s glove hand for his first goal of the season. Assists went to Letang and Dumoulin.

The game was tied, 3-3, at 4:01 of the second. Backchecking to help defensemen Jack Johnson and John Marino get a puck off their own end boards, forward Alex Galchenyuk fired a stretch pass from his own left corner across the ice to Evgeni Malkin in front of the benches. Gaining the offensive blue line on the left wing and spinning off a check from defenseman Clifton Connor, Malkin centered a backhand pass for forward Bryan Rust who raced past Bruins forward Sean Kuraly to create a breakaway. He attacked the net and lifted a wrister past Halak’s glove. Malkin and Galchenyuk had assists.

They took their first lead with only three seconds remaining the second period. After completing a tripping penalty, rookie defenseman John Marino surged out of the penalty box and collected an errant pass by Bruins defenseman Torey Krug which slid to the red line. Creating another breakaway, Marino hustled in on net while fending off Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy and slid a sly backhander through the five hole of Halak, who broke his stick off the cage in anger. The score as the first of Marino’s career. The North Easton, Mass. native had several family and friends cheering him on in person. There were no assists.

The game was tied again, 4-4, at 8:14 of the third period. Marchand made a determined effort to maintain puck possession above the right circle despite pressure from Malkin and Rust then fed a pass low to Krug in the right circle. From a tough angle, Krug made amends for his mistake on Marino’s goal and cranked a one-timer which toasted Jarry on the near side. Marchand and forward David Krejci collected assists.

A would-be backhanded goal by Galchenyuk at 17:01 was waved off after officials ruled Rust had dislodged the cage. That sequence proved to be vital barely a minute later.

The Bruins reclaimed the lead, 5-4, at 18:03 of the third. Marino, elevated to the top pair in the absence of Letang, misfired a wrister from deep on the left wing wide of the cage to the far side and created an outlet for Marchand. Racing up the left wing and facing passive pressure from Dumoulin, Marchand snapped off a wrister from the left circle which clunked off the far post. The rebound hit off the left shoulder of Jarry and fluttered into the cage for the game-winning score at 18:03 of the third. It was another unassisted goal.

And empty net score by Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron secured victory at 19:46 of the third. Krejci and Marchand netted assists.

Statistically speaking

• The Penguins controlled shots, 44-26.

• The Penguins had a 14-11 edge in shots before the change in goaltenders. They enjoyed a 30-15 advantage after the switch.

• Letang led the game with six shots on goal.

• Forward Dominik Simon and Johnson were the only Penguins who failed to get a shot on net.

• Pastrnak led the Bruins with five shots on goal.

• Marchand led the game with 24:21 of ice time on 23 shifts.

• Dumoulin led the Penguins with 24:18 of ice time on 32 shifts.

• The Penguins had a 30-24 edge in faceoffs (54 percent).

• Malkin was 8 for 11 in faceoffs (73 percent).

• Bergeron was 12 for 25 (48 percent) in faceoffs.

• Dumoulin led the game with five blocked shots.

• Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, forward Cameron Hughes and McAvoy each led the game with two blocked shots.

Historically speaking

• Marino is the 527th player to score a goal for the Penguins in franchise history.

• Schultz (108 points) surpassed former defensive partner Olli Maatta (107), for 85th place on the franchise’s career scoring list.

• It had been a while since the Penguins had a lead entering the third period in Boston:

This is the first time Pens have had a lead going to third period of a regular season game at Boston since Dec. 7, 2013.

— Bob Grove (@bobgrove91) November 5, 2019

• Marchand finished with five points (two goals, three assists). The last player to score five points vs. the Penguins was Blackhawks forward Ryan Hartman (one goal, four assists) in a 10-1 butt-kicking at the United Center on Oct. 5, 2017. You may remember that game as being the Penguins debut of former Penguins goaltender Antti Niemi. Given Niemi’s poor but brief tenure with the Penguins, you may not want to remember it.

Randomly speaking

• Dumoulin was able to play after missing practice on Sunday and flying by himself to Boston following the birth of his son.

• While the NHL doesn’t officially recognize it as a scoring streak, Kahun has scored in three consecutive games he has played.

• The Penguins’ power play failed to score on its lone chance in the contest. It has failed to score for nine consecutive games and is 0 for 20 over that stretch.

• Hughes made his NHL debut. He logged 9:53 of ice time on 16 shifts and had one shot attempt.

Publicly speaking

• What changed after the goalie switch? Rust:

“We all just kind of ramped it up a little bit. I don’t think we were playing bad but I think we all just had a little bit of a higher level. We got to that and we showed that.”

• Bjugstad when to bad for Murray and Jarry:

“Murray’s been so good for us in so many different ways. It’s going to happen. It’s not his fault. Obviously, those are some good goals by those guys who are some skilled guys. Jarry’s a good goaltender too. We have faith in both of them.”

• Kahun was jacked about how the team played in the second:

“How we came back in the second period was amazing. All of a sudden, we played maybe (some) of our best hockey. We were all over them. Just unlucky there in the third. But we still had chances to win this game for sure.”

• Bjugstad is confidence in the team’s structure if it has to go without Letang for any period of time.

“You never want your guys injured at any point. Obviously, this is a deep organization with good guys. You saw what (players from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) did when they came up. It’s more the culture and the mentality that’s in the room. If everyone buys in, it works out. Hopefully, (Letang) is healthy and he’s okay.”

• Marino may see an elevated role if Letang is missing. He knows he may have to step up:

“Obviously, he’s one of the best defensemen in the league. We’re missing a key element there but we’re just going to need everyone to step up their game, have some people fill in and do their job.”

• Rust tipped his cap to the Bruins but not too much:

“We didn’t play bad. They’ve got good players also. We got a little bit unlucky. Didn’t get all the goals in. But we responded very well and I think we deserved better.”

• Marino’s first goal was quite a moment:

“I was just trying to skate as fast as possible to get away from the defender. … It was a special moment there with family and friends. Something that I’ll always remember. That was pretty cool.”

Visually speaking

• Game summary.

• Event summary.

• Highlights:

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