Pluses, minuses for Bruins, Penguins

Each Wednesday throughout the regular season, Kevin Weekes will be offering his pluses and minuses for the teams competing in the NBCSN Wednesday Night Rivalry game in his Weekes on the Web blog. Weekes also will assist fans with three must-watch elements of the game.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have shown no Stanley Cup hangover through the first two-plus months of the season. They've won six straight games after a 7-0 victory against the Arizona Coyotes on Monday and are tied with the New York Rangers for first place in the Metropolitan Division (41 points).
The Boston Bruins ended a three-game losing streak with a 2-1 overtime win against the Montreal Canadiens on Monday. Montreal always brings out the best in Boston, and the Bruins are hoping to carry that over against the Penguins.

This is the first game between the Bruins (16-12-2) and Penguins (19-7-3) this season. Pittsburgh is 12-2-1 home, and Boston is 9-5-1 on the road. Something has to give when the two teams play at PPG Paints Arena on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV).
Here's my breakdown of the game:
Bruins
Pluses: It all starts with Tuukka Rask. He's been playing like a Vezina Trophy winner all season (15-5-2, 1.80 goals-against average, three shutouts). I don't know what it is with Rask when he plays Montreal; he's usually not quite himself, but he sure was Monday. Rask made 30 saves in the win at Bell Centre. Going save for save with Carey Price and coming out on the winning side doesn't happen very often
Next is the emergence of David Pastrnak and what he means to the Bruins. He has 18 goals in 25 games. The only player in the NHL with more will be across the ice from him. Sidney Crosby leads the League with 21 goals. Pastrnak can play either wing. He is so skilled and is critical to Boston's success. He doesn't bring the physicality the Bruins lost when they traded Milan Lucic before last season, but he has brought the scoring touch.

Brandon Carlo is playing huge minutes. He's second on the Bruins with an average of 22:29 of ice time per game, trailing only his usual defense partner, Zdeno Chara (22:53). I don't think the Bruins expected him to play as much as he has while being as productive as he has been.
Boston has gotten great production from free agent acquisition Dominic Moore, who has more goals (seven) than Ryan Spooner (four) and is tied with David Backes and one behind Brad Marchand (eight).
Minuses: The Bruins are a physical team and will try to be physical against the Penguins, but they can't be overly physical because Pittsburgh usually makes its opponents pay when it gets a power play. With Backes in the lineup up front, it helps them to be physical, but he has to make sure not to overdo it.
Boston has allowed 30 or more shots on goal in four of the past nine games. That's a number it definitely wants to keep lower, especially against the dangerous Pittsburgh offense; the Penguins have been outshot in eight of 29 games this season, none in the past 10 games.
Penguins
Pluses: Crosby has 21 goals in 23 games. His game is so complete. It's always been great. We'd be selling him short if we said anything other than that, but there's no weaknesses in his game. He works hard and competes hard every time. That aside, there's no wrinkles in his game. Crosby is unpredictable and can beat you in so many ways.
Let's not forget about Evgeni Malkin, who quietly is having a great season. He's been dominant, and his size and strength and speed and skill make him very hard to match up against. Malkin has 12 goals and 32 points in 29 games.

Phil Kessel, if you look at his last few seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, he's a better playmaker now. He became a really good passer playing with James van Riemsdyk and has shown people now, if you give him that time, he will beat you with that shot, but if you don't, he can pass way better than people may recognize.
Matt Murray has started his career 20-4-1 in the regular season, and when you add his record from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he's 35-10-1, which is unreal. Plus, he's coming off the shutout on Monday.
And lastly, the Penguins have been able to force other teams to play the way they do, the way they use their speed and attack, and that's why they're on a long winning streak.
Minuses: The Penguins have a few defensemen (Kris Letang, Trevor Daley) who can play in all situations, but after that, the onus falls to the rest of the lineup to defend in groups of five. Despite the winning streak, Pittsburgh has allowed at least three goals in three of the past five games, including an uncharacteristic five goals in an 8-5 win against the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 5. They can't always count on the offense to bail them out.
THREE THINGS TO WATCH
1. The speed of the Penguins
2. What do the Bruins do in the neutral zone?
3. Special teams