National Hockey League
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

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.