* The Boston Bruins hadn't lost a game in regulation since Jan. 19 - a span of 19 games and nearly two months. The Bruins came to Pittsburgh with a 6-game winning streak.
So, of course, the Pens won the game and snapped Boston's impressive run. Because hockey.
* Clearly, there was some flippancy in the above comment. Boston is no doubt one of the best teams in the league, but Pittsburgh has the talent to play - and defeat - any team in the league. It was a smart game from the Pens.
There were no egregious turnovers, no odd-man rushes against, no blaring mistakes - things that crippled the Pens early in the season. Pittsburgh played simple, played as a five-man unit on the ice and defended hard. The Bruins definitely had their moments and momentum at times, but the Pens found a way to keep the puck out of their own net.
* Matt Murray is back. The Pens' franchise goaltender got the nod on back-to-back nights following one of the finest performances of his career in a losing effort last night to Columbus. Murray carried that play over against the Bruins.
Pittsburgh's championship aspirations will come down to the play of No. 30 in the blue paint. If he's going to play like he has the past 2 nights, there are no limits to this team's potential.
* The Pens' power play is having its struggles of late. The shorthanded goals against aside (which there are way too many of this season) the squad has been inconsistent all season.
After going 0-for-4, a tweak was made with the man-advantage late in the second period to split the top unit into two units. Jake Guentzel, the team's leading goal scorer, was added to the top unit in favor of Patric Hornqvist. The move paid immediate dividends.
After Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara pinched on a shorthanded scoring chance and the Pens turned the other way. Sidney Crosby laid up a beautiful pass beyond the outstretched stick of Chara and to Guentzel, who corralled it and went top corner for his team-leading 34th goal of the season.
* Forward Jared McCann has quietly become a point-per-game player of late. He has 8 points (5G-3A) in the past 8 games, which includes his two goals against Boston.
McCann's shorthanded goal was straight nasty. He came on goal with speed, leaned on the back edges of his skates for an abrupt speed change. Then pulled the puck to his backhand for the score.
But more impressive to me was how he started the play. McCann was pressuring David Krejci at the blue line and forced him to lose the puck. Instead of trying to get the puck, McCann recognized that Teddy Blueger was within reach. Instead, McCann alertly sped up ice for the clear lane to the net. The sequence displayed McCann's hockey sense and skill.
