Bruins Close Out Road Trip with Strong Win in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH - The Bruins were well aware of where they stood heading into Tuesday night's road trip finale. After two straight losses, Boston's momentum coming out of the trade deadline was softening and its cushion for a playoff spot dwindling.
And with a nine-day expedition finally coming to a close, the Black & Gold knew how crucial securing two points in the Steel City would be in their quest toward securing a spot in the postseason.
"We addressed some things before the game," said David Krejci. "Obviously, we know where we're at in the standings, what's going on around us. We talked about some stuff. I thought for the most part we stuck to the game plan and did exactly what we talked about."
With Krejci leading the way with a goal and an assist, the Bruins capped their lengthy trip on a high note with a strong all-around team effort in a 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.

While it was Boston's top-end talent leading the way once again - Brad Marchand and Taylor Hall also added crucial insurances tallies and Tuukka Rask made 25 stops - coach Bruce Cassidy made sure to express his satisfaction with the efforts of everyone throughout the lineup.
"There's a lot to like from everybody tonight, to be honest with you," said Cassidy, whose club maintained a four-point lead over the New York Rangers - also winners on Tuesday night - for the East Division's final playoff spot.
"Played a good, determined game…our top guys did the finishing tonight and our bottom guys did a lot of the dirty work, the grunt work, the physicality. It's a good formula for us."

Filthy Finishes

The Bruins' new-look second line continued to impress with a couple of filthy finishes. Krejci got the scoring started late in the second period when he took a tape-to-tape feed from Charlie McAvoy in the neutral zone and surged into the slot.
The pivot then toe-dragged around Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson before finishing with a slick far-side backhand from the hashmarks to beat goalie Tristan Jarry with 1:49 remaining in the middle frame. It was Boston's first goal in almost five periods.
"One of those things, tried to make a move 1-on-1. It worked," said Krejci, who has five goals and nine points in nine games since the trade deadline. "It's no secret - I don't think we got inside with the puck much last game. We did that today. Sometimes if it doesn't work, you draw a penalty or something happens. That was one of the things, get to the net."
Krejci was at it again in the third period when he teamed up with Hall for a welcomed insurance marker. Mike Reilly (five assists since the deadline) started things deep in Boston's end with a breakout feed to Hall, who found Krejci through the neutral zone.
Krejci then dropped it back to Hall just inside the Penguins' blue line. Hall corralled the puck and loaded up at the tops of the circles, before ripping a wrister over the right shoulder of Jarry for his fourth as a Bruin and a 3-0 Boston lead with 7:42 to go.
"It was a big goal for our team. It was 3-on-2, he was coming as the late guy…he made the whole play happen. Good for him," Krejci said of Hall, who's collected seven points in his nine games with Boston. "He definitely helps our line. He's fast, he makes a lot of 1-on-1 moves. He's a pretty strong guy as well. He makes things happen.
"And at the same time, last few games he's been backchecking really hard. As a counterman, I appreciate when my wings do that. That means I don't have to do that sometimes, so it's kind of nice."

At It Again

Boston's top trio was dominant from start to finish, though it took them two-and-half periods - and some extra effort - to finally cash in. After Jarry turned away Marchand's initial chance, Pastrnak crashed the net for a follow up attempt that the Pittsburgh netminder also denied. But Marchand remained on the doorstep and was there to grab the bouncing rebound and swat it past Jarry for a 2-0 Bruins lead with 10:50 left in the third. It was Marchand's league-leading 13th goal in April.
Cassidy credited all three of Boston's goals to a strong effort between the blue lines.
"We talked about their neutral zone forecheck, there is a little bit of room in the middle of the ice," said Cassidy. "Good for Charlie to make it [on Krejci's goal], and he made it a couple of other times where we got some good looks off the rush. Then Krech just used his skill…Hall, same thing.
"Sometimes you've got to beat guys 1-on-1 in this league, pick your spots - when to do it, when's the appropriate time. They both did and finished real well…Marchy did for the second goal and Hall for the third. Kudos to them."

Doing the Dirty Work

While Boston's bottom six remained off the scoresheet - Curtis Lazar did pick up an assist on Marchand's goal - Cassidy was quite pleased with its performance, particularly the third line. Trent Frederic, playing for the first time since April 6 after a bout with a non-COVID related illness, started on the fourth line before bumping up to play alongside Sean Kuraly and Charlie Coyle, both of whom created havoc in the Pittsburgh end for much of the night.
"We moved him up - originally, he was with Lazar and [Chris] Wagner, and we knew that may happen," Cassidy said of Frederic. "We kept Sean in the middle. I thought he did a good job with Coyle, making it hard on their defenseman - and Freddy as well, in there banging and annoying people. He did a good job on the walls.
"I liked what I saw - it's a big line, something we've been trying to construct here for a while, and he added to it. Had a good look at the end, probably builds his confidence when you get to shoot the puck, play with the puck. I liked what he brought for us.
"He was playing well earlier in the year, then had a bit of a dip, obviously got sick. We gave him the appropriate amount of time to recover and went with the guys we thought would help us win, and just thought at some point we've got to get Freddy back in and let's see how he does."

Keeping 'Em In It

Rask was stellar in the early going as the Bruins killed off three Pittsburgh power plays over the game's first 25 minuntes. The netminder made several key stops on the kill, including a point-blank, right-shoulder denial of Bryan Rust midway through the Pens' second power play.
"I thought he was solid in there. I thought we were the better team, honestly, early on," said Cassidy. "Got ourselves into a little penalty trouble in the first period, but 5-on-5 were real good. He made a big save on a rebound that actually deflected off our guy in the first period, I think on [Zach] Aston-Reese. But other than that, I thought we kept it clean in front of him."
Rask's shutout was broken with 2:21 to play in the third when Jeff Carter let a slapper rip from the right circle that beat the netminder inside the far post.
"Good for him, too bad we couldn't have got him the zero there with the kind of defenseman change at the inappropriate time," said Cassidy. "But it's still a win in a tough building to win in - tough building for any team in this league, and for us over the years obviously. Good to see him bounce back from the game in Buffalo and full value for the win tonight."
Rask also picked up an assist on Krejci's tally, starting the rush with a feed to McAvoy from behind the net. It was the back stop's second assist in in his last two games.
"Well, I started it," Rask said when asked what he saw on the goal. "So I did see it coming…I told Chuckie to go wide there. I figured we'd win a second and have a rush chance. I think him and Krech took care of most of that rush. Krech made a nice finish there.
"When I have time and space to make plays with the puck, I try to help us out as much as I can and not turn it over. It's been working pretty well this year."