Bruins' Comeback Falls Short in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH - Momentum can be a funny thing.
Just when the Bruins thought they had seized control on Friday night in Pittsburgh, surging back from a two-goal deficit to tie the game midway through the third period, one bad sequence had them chasing once again - and for good.
An icing call, a lost defensive zone faceoff, and a textbook deflection doomed the Bruins, whose three-game winning streak came to an end with a 5-3 setback to the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.

"The way we came back, it felt like the momentum was on our side," said David Krejci, who tied the game, 3-3, at 8:02 of the third. "But just a tough break. I lost the defensive zone faceoff, it's back in the net. It's a momentum killer and it's hard to bounce back…it's hard to come back twice in one period against a team like this."

Just 2:45 after Krejci's fifth of the season knotted things up, Pittsburgh responded for the winner. Sidney Crosby beat Krejci off the draw, winning the puck back to Kris Letand, whose wrister from the point was deflected by Jake Guentzel to put the Penguins ahead, 4-3, with 9:13 remaining.
"Good on us to come back. Play was starting to go our way and then they got one there," said Charlie McAvoy. "I think there's some good we can take from this game, definitely being down, 3-1, and coming back to make it, 3-3, is something we can be happy about it.
"Unfortunately we didn't the win or even get a point. At least we battled. We never say die. That's a great trait to have as a team."
Boston fell behind, 2-0, on goals from Derek Grant and Phil Kessel, but Brandon Carlo's first goal in 116 games cut the deficit in half at 11:53 of the second. The Bruins had a golden chance to tie the game with a late power play in the middle frame, but a shorthanded goal by Zach Aston-Reese doubled Pittsburgh's lead with just 58 seconds left in the period.
"Felt like it at the time," said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy - whose team landed 51 shots on goal - when asked if the shorty stunted his team's push. "At the end of the day we overcame that, just unfortunately not a lot of puck luck around our net."

Fourth Line Shines

Boston's fourth line was immense in the loss, putting together their most effective all-around performance of the season. With Sean Kuraly shifted to the left side and Noel Acciari back in the lineup at center, the trio was dominant at times in the offensive zone, while also bringing their usual energy and snarl.
The line combined for 14 hits and four points, while Wagner landed a game-high nine shots on goal, including his third goal of the season to bring the Bruins within 3-2 at 7:08 of the third.
"We've got to play like that every night," said Wagner, who also added an assist on Carlo's goal. "We got the puck in, we dominated down low, and it feels good for our line personally…I thought we played a good game, created a lot of havoc and momentum for our team."
Acciari was back in the lineup after sitting out the last three games as a healthy scratch. And with Kuraly coming off minor nose surgery that required him to wear a full shield, Cassidy thought it was best to shift him to the wing.
"We weren't sure how he'd be…if playing with the facemask was gonna throw him off down low," said Cassidy. "I like Noel in the middle, always find him responsible, allows his wingers to go and work. Sean was much better offensively it seemed without having to worry about the other end as much, getting back.
"So maybe we found something there, but they got rewarded, they played real hard and we need the secondary scoring."
The triumvirate thought they had another goal in the second period with the Bruins down, 2-0, but an early whistle negated what would have been Kuraly's second of the year. Wagner took the puck to the net and was shoved into Pittsburgh goalie Casey DeSmith. With the puck sitting on DeSmith's chest, Kuraly came in and knocked it into the net, but after review the call of no goal on the ice stood.
"They said he just blew the whistle, he lost sight of the puck," said Cassidy. "Can't argue that…once they blow the whistle, there's really no challenge on my end."

Carlo Breaks Through

It was the fourth line that also helped Carlo break through with his first goal since March 4, 2017. Some strong work down low led to a Wagner wrap-around attempt, which eventually popped out to Carlo at the top of the right circle.
"It all started with them," said Carlo. "They were getting pucks to the net, they were playing really hard in front of their net and that's exactly what we needed from them."
Carlo found the loose puck and ripped a one-timer by DeSmith for his first goal in two seasons to bring the Bruins within 2-1 at 11:53 of the second.
"Been a long while, but I feel like with the way I'm starting to put the puck to the net a little bit more, the opportunities were coming for me to shoot the puck more tonight, especially," said Carlo, who dropped to a knee and pointed skyward following the goal.
"I thought it was gonna come soon, eventually. You hope that they come. It felt really good to put that one into the back of the net."

Carlo had a season-high four shots on goal and has been heeding the advice of assistant coach Kevin Dean to shoot the puck more often. Over the last seven games, the third-year blue liner has landed 16 shots after putting just 18 on goal in his first 16 games of the season.
"I haven't always had that [shooting] mentally," said Carlo, who had six goals during his rookie season. "Deano's done a really good job of showing me videos and situations where I can shoot and get down the wall and get to the middle. I feel like that's been a lot of good help from him.
"I think I'm starting to see the lanes a little bit better…a little more calm. Not just throwing the puck down the wall all the time…now I'm trying to get my head up and see my options."