B's Fall to Penguins 4-0 in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH -The Bruins head back to Boston after losing, 4-0, to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night as they close in on the playoffs with only a week remaining in the regular season.

Coach Bruce Cassidy knew the Penguins would come out hot, having just lost to the Bruins back home at TD Garden last week. "We knew they'd be good in the first they were," sad Cassidy.
The B's went scoreless despite peppering Penguins goalie Casey DeSmith with 52 shots, as finishing on their opportunities proved to be troublesome for Boston on this night.
"We need to finish better," said Cassidy. "We've been struggling to score here the last little bit and got away with it the last few games because we play good defensively."
The B's eventually found somewhat of a groove and made some plays in the Pittsburgh end, but not all the pieces fell into place. "We were able to generate some rebound chances eventually," said Cassidy. "But not the screens, probably, as much as we'd like."
The Penguins' Jake Guentzel was a weapon for the Penguins Thursday night, scoring a hat trick and keeping things very busy in front of Jeremy Swayman.
"I think we need a timely save tonight," said Cassidy. "We didn't get it but we obviously didn't finish any plays either at that end."
With playoffs on the horizon, staying focused on the next game ahead is something the B's will stick to.
"We are a hard working group," said Cassidy. "That shouldn't change, whatever games next, we have to stick to our identity."

Swayman Starts Once More

Swayman got his third straight start with Linus Ullmark back home in Boston and eyeing a possible Sunday return from an upper-body injury.
"They brought it tonight, good for them, but definitely felt the loss," said Swayman, who emphasized he will be taking it day by day, focusing on learning what he can from each game whether its a win or a loss. "We are so good defensively so the only thing they are going to get is great. I just want to make sure Im doing whatever I can do help the team win."

Searching for a Fix

Patrice Bergeron is looking for the pay-off when it comes to hard work on the B's power play. Despite the second of two power plays against Pittsburgh looking promising, ultimately the B's couldn't finish and are now mired in an 0 for 29 slump on the man advantage.
"The second one was some good looks," said Bergeron. "But ultimately you want results, it's the type of game where you want results and obviously when you're on the power play you want the results."
As for what the captain believes the B's need to work on, he kept it simple. "We have to get to the inside a little more try to retrieve some rebounds and the good old cliche' of get in front and make it harder for him," said Bergeron.
Although DeSmith was stellar in his 52-save shutout, Bergeron believes the B's need to be better in the offensive end. "Yes he's made some good saves you can't take that away from him, but we have to be better about bearing down when we have those good looks," said Bergeron.