Penguins eager to apply lessons learned in final meeting with Bruins

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ next game represents arguably the biggest remaining challenge of their regular season.

Locked in a tight battle for of one of the two Eastern Conference wild-card spots and with opportunities to accrue points quickly running out, the Penguins (37-28-10) will face Boston at 3 p.m. Saturday at PPG Paints Arena.

The Bruins (58-12-5) clinched the Presidents’ Trophy on Thursday after only 75 games played and have a well-earned reputation as one of the most dominant NHL clubs in recent memory.

Saturday’s game in Pittsburgh will be the third and final regular-season meeting between the teams, with Boston having won previous contests Nov. 1 and Jan. 2.

Falling to the Bruins at home in early November and at Fenway Park in the Winter Classic were frustrating defeats for different reasons.

The first game was one of the Penguins’ league-leading nine slip-ups when holding a lead after two periods. The Bruins trailed 5-3 that night, rallied in the third, forced overtime and won 6-5.

The Winter Classic is where many of goaltender Tristan Jarry’s injury woes this season can be traced.

After leaving the game in the first period, he missed about three weeks and has suffered through a string of ailments since.

While neither game resulted in two points for the Penguins, there are still applicable elements within both performances that can be applied Saturday.

“If you look at our last (game against Boston), we did a lot of good things and then late in that game, it kind of got away from us,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. “The one (in Pittsburgh), we had a two-goal lead going into the third. I think just putting a full game together will be really important. They’ve got a lot of depth. They’re playing well, and that’s what you need this time of year.”

Despite blowing a comfortable lead to the Bruins in November, the Penguins scored five goals at even strength against netminder Linus Ullmark, who, at 37-6-1, is the betting favorite (-300, per Vegas Insider) to capture this year’s Vezina Trophy.

Then, during the Winter Classic, in what was a home game in all but formal designation for the Bruins, the Penguins kept them scoreless until about the 12-minute mark of the final period.

Heading into Saturday, the Bruins’ 275 total goals and 181 goals at even-strength rank second in the NHL. Scoring has come from a variety of sources for Boston, which boasts 11 players with 10 or more goals.

“We know the type of team that they have,” defenseman Brian Dumoulin said. “They’re very balanced, they’re very deep and there’s not really a weakness in their game. We’re going to need all four lines, all six (defensemen) and goalie to contribute in order to beat them.”

Several Penguins players recently have admitted to watching the standings as they pertain to the wild-card spots.

That seems only natural, given the team’s position.

Florida has emerged as the primary club nipping at the heels of the Penguins for control of the second wild card.

Shortly after the Penguins wrap up their afternoon game against Boston, the Panthers take on Columbus, the last-place team in the Eastern Conference.

The Penguins hold a one-point advantage over Florida. Given Florida’s game against inferior opposition, the Penguins likely will need to manufacture 60 minutes of clean hockey to end the day in possession of a playoff position.

“We know it’s going to be a big challenge against these guys. They’re a deep team,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “But we also can look back on those two experiences of playing against them. I think those two experiences suggest that those games could have gone either way. We’ve got to find a way to get over the hump.”