Penguins Shut Out Bruins in "Benchmark Game"

WHAT HAPPENED:

OVERALL ASSESSMENT:

Heading into this game, the Penguins knew exactly what to expect.
"It's going to be a playoff-type atmosphere and tight-checking game," Sidney Crosby said.
And that's exactly what transpired, as there wasn't a lot of space out there and only one penalty was called. But while both clubs came ready to play, I thought the Penguins absolutely deserved this win.
The game wasn't as quite close as the score indicated in the sense that the Penguins were in control for most of the day, putting on a clinic defensively and not sacrificing in that area to create offense. As head coach Mike Sullivan says to his guys all the time, it's hard to score your way to success in this league. Today, they were 100% committed to playing the right way, and ultimately got rewarded.
"This is a great benchmark game for us, especially defensively, of how we have to play and how hard we have to work without the puck," Brian Dumoulin said. "We saw that we can still create chances. So it was really a quality game for us, especially defensively."
"We know some of the gifted players they have, so I think our mindset is we got to defend hard and the offense will come," Guentzel added. "I think we did a good job of that."
The entire play that led to his tally was a perfect microcosm of how they performed all game - relentless. All five guys on the ice were competing and winning puck battles and foot races, with Dumoulin and Bryan Rust in particular doing a tremendous job to hold the zone so that Guentzel could eventually capitalize.
And to be honest, the Penguins probably would have scored earlier if it wasn't for Jeremy Swayman, the Bruins rookie goalie who had to come up with some really good stops throughout the course of the game.

"I thought today was one of our more complete games on the defensive side of the puck for sure, and I thought we had some real good offensive-zone shifts where we either possessed the puck or pursued the puck, one or the other," Sullivan said.
"For me, that's when our team is at its best. I've always been of the belief that that defense can start 150 or 160 feet from your net, just through puck pursuit, and it takes all five guys to do it. So I thought the guys really played hard tonight. Everyone was invested on both sides of the puck. And fortunately, we got the result."
With the win, the Penguins moved into first place, one point ahead of Washington and four points ahead of the Islanders, who play each other on Tuesday. And that's when Pittsburgh will host Boston again.
They know they have to be prepared for a response as the Bruins are also battling for position. Boston has 60 points while Pittsburgh has 67, but possess two games in hand. But today's performance also gives the Penguins a lot of confidence heading into the rematch, as Sullivan told them before this game that they needed to find a comfort level playing in low-scoring games, because that's the nature of high-stakes hockey.
"Obviously the Bruins are one of the teams that we're fighting for a playoff spot with and against," Dumoulin said. "This game was really important to create a little separation between us. Obviously as the games wind down, they get more and more important, especially with us playing these playoff opponents right now.
"It makes Tuesday's game even more important to create even more separation, and obviously right now, we're fighting for the top spot in our conference. So all these games matter and all these games are really important going down the wire."

OTHER THOUGHTS, MUSINGS AND OBSERVATIONS

• It's kind of hard to believe that this was Jarry's first shutout of the season, but it was great to see him get rewarded with the goose egg, especially with the way he responded after that wild third period the other night against the Devils.
  After giving up six goals in the final frame of Pittsburgh's 7-6 win on April 20, Jarry went on to surrender just one goal in his next six periods. He backstopped the Penguins to a 5-1 win over New Jersey on April 22 before his perfect performance tonight.
  "I think it was just a matter of it happed, it's over, and just moving on as quick as you can," Jarry said. "It's a shortened season, we play a lot of games and they're very tight together, so I think it's just a matter of putting it behind you as quick as you can and just being prepared for the next game."
  Jarry earned the player of the game helmet from Jason Zucker for his efforts, with his teammates and coach praising his performance afterward.
  "Just a huge performance by him," Guentzel said. "Game in and game out, he's always there for us. Tristan is an excellent goaltender. We're definitely lucky to have him back there and just a big performance from him."
  - A big storyline going into this game was how the line of Guentzel, Crosby and Rust - which is the best top trio in hockey, in my opinion - would match up against The Perfection Line. That's what Boston's top trio of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak has been nicknamed.
  Crosby and company certainly came out on the right side of that battle, holding them completely off the scoresheet except for in the minus column, with Guentzel capitalizing at even strength.
  "It's fun," Guentzel said. "We know the offensive abilities they have. They're one of the best lines in hockey. So I think whenever you play against them, you know you got to be at your best. It's a challenge for our line to see how you match up against them. So I think for us, I think we just get excited for this game and we got to be good on both ends of the ice."