Penguins lose Kris Letang in wild loss to Bruins

BOSTON — When the Pittsburgh Penguins welcomed back superstar forward Evgeni Malkin to the lineup Saturday, it marked a rare occasion.

They had a completely healthy roster for the first time in 92 games.

Coach Mike Sullivan boasted of having “difficult decisions” to make with his lineup.

After Monday’s wild 6-4 loss to the Boston Bruins at TD Garden, he could face greater difficulty in figuring out how to play without Kris Letang.

The team’s top defensemen left the game in the third period because of an undisclosed injury. Recording his final shift with 13 minutes, 53 seconds remaining in regulation, Letang is one of the NHL’s leaders in ice time, averaging an even 25 minutes a game this season.

Beyond noting he is being evaluated, Sullivan did not have an update on Letang’s status and suggested an update might be available Tuesday.

Already without the net-front tenacity of forward Patric Hornqvist, the Penguins could be missing one of their least replaceable players.

“Obviously, he’s one of the best defensemen in the league,” said rookie defenseman John Marino. “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.”

The Penguins didn’t do their jobs very well throughout the early stages of this contest. They allowed the Bruins to race out to a 3-0 lead off of goals by forwards Jake DeBrusk at 5:24 of the first period, Brad Marchand at 13:05 of the first and David Pastrnak at 4:22 of the second period.

Pastrnak’s score prompted the Penguins to pull starting goaltender Matt Murray and replace him with backup Tristan Jarry.

It also prompted a furious comeback.

Only 1:13 after that change, forward Dominik Kahun, a game removed from behind a healthy scratch due to the now-extinct abundance of health for the squad, scored from a tough angle to the right of the cage. While not officially recognized as a scoring streak, it marked the third game Kahun has scored in which he has played.

At 9:56 of the second, forward Nick Bjugstad, who entered the game without a point, scored on a breakaway. That was followed up by another breakaway score by forward Bryan Rust at the 15:59 mark of the second which tied the score.

The Penguins took their only lead of the contest with three seconds remaining in the middle frame when Marino, a native of nearby North Easton, Mass, completed a penalty, emerged from the penalty box and collected an errant Boston pass to create his own breakaway. Bearing down on goaltender Jaroslav Halak, Marino scored his first career goal with a slick backhander through Halak’s five hole in front of several loved ones.

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

Boston tied the score again, 4-4, at 8:14 of the third when defenseman Torey Krug wired a one-timer from a tough angle on the right wing during a four-on-four sequence.

The Bruins reclaimed the lead, 5-4, when Marino misfired a slapper from deep on the left wing wide of the cage and created an outlet for Marchand who raced up the left wing. Facing passive pressure from Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin, who was able to play after attending to the birth of his son, 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.

An empty-net goal by forward Patric Bergeron at the 19:46 mark of the third secured the victory.

Having successfully weathered considerable injury woes earlier this season, the Penguins appear to find security in relying on their structure if they are forced to play without the adroit abilities of Letang.

“You never want your guys injured at any point,” Bjugstad said. “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.”