Boston 2, Pittsburgh 1
When: 12:30 PM ET, Saturday, April 16, 2022
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Referees:
Frederick L'Ecuyer, Ian Walsh
Linesmen:
Tyson Baker, Matt MacPherson
Attendance:
17850
By Field Level Media
The Boston Bruins scored two goals in the opening minutes of regulation Saturday, then held on to not only beat the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 but also to clinch a playoff spot.
Boston (46-24-5, 97 points) still has a chance to move up from a wild-card spot in the Atlantic Division.
Trent Frederic and Erik Haula scored within just a tick past two minutes into the game for the Bruins, who snapped what had been their longest losing streak of the season, a three-game skid.
Boston goaltender Jeremy Swayman, playing with Linus Ullmark injured, made 23 saves.
The Bruins won despite going 0 for 2 on the power play, extending their drought with the man-advantage to 0 for 25 over seven games.
Danton Heinen scored for the Penguins (43-23-11, 97 points), who dropped to 3-5-1 in their past nine games. They wrapped up a playoff berth in their previous game but are in danger of falling into a wild-card spot.
Pittsburgh goaltender Casey DeSmith had 27 saves in his first start since the team announced that No. 1 netminder Tristan Jarry is out week-to-week because of a lower-body injury that is believed to be a broken foot.
Penguins center Evgeni Malkin served the third game of a four-game suspension for a cross-checking incident.
The Bruins struck early.
Frederic made it 1-0 just 49 seconds into regulation. After Craig Smith's shot from the left-wing boards, Frederic got to the rebound and scored on a backhander.
The puck was pinballing around the crease area in front of DeSmith when Haula got his stick on it. The puck went in off Pittsburgh defenseman Marcus Pettersson at 2:01 to make it 2-0.
Heinen scored for the third straight game and reached a career high with his 17th goal of the season at 5:38 of the second. He took a drop pass from Teddy Blueger and, from above the hash marks, scored on a screened shot that sailed over Swayman's glove to make it 2-1.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Pittsburgh |
|
Boston |
Danton Heinen 1 |
Points |
Trent Frederic 1 |
Danton Heinen 1 |
Goals |
Trent Frederic 1 |
Teddy Blueger 1 |
Assists |
Mike Reilly 1 |
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Casey DeSmith .931 |
Save Percentage |
Jeremy Swayman .958 |
Casey DeSmith 27 |
Saves |
Jeremy Swayman 23 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Pittsburgh
|
24 |
1 |
0-3 |
2-2 |
4 |
31 |
Boston
|
29 |
2 |
0-2 |
3-3 |
6 |
25 |
Upcoming Games
-
Boston will play their next game on the road against St. Louis. The Bruins have a W/L % of .524 after a win and .733 after a loss.
-
Pittsburgh will play their next game at home against Boston. The Penguins have a W/L % of .614 after a win and .485 after a loss.