Bruins Postgame: Bruins Fall Short In 6-5 Loss To Penguins

The Boston Bruins erased a three-goal deficit but still lost 6-5 to the Pittsburgh Penguins on a Sidney Crosby powerplay goal 11:19 into the third period.

David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie each had a goal and two assists for the Bruins, while captain Brad Marchand scored twice, and Jake DeBrusk also found the back of the net.

Crosby has a goal and two assists, forwards Drew O’Connor each had a goal and an assist, and both Jeff Carter and jake Guentzel each scored for the Penguins.

Here’s your Boston Hockey Now Bruins Postgame:

CLUTCH: As my co-host Pierre McGuire and I have repeatedly said this week on ‘The Eye Test’ Podcast, 36-year-old Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is having another Hart Trophy-worthy season. He is really the only reason that the Penguins are now in a three-way tie for the final wild-card slot in the Eastern Conference. Crosby was a beast again in this game as he scored the game-winner with a powerplay goal at 11:19 of the third period.

SIDNEY CROSBY DELIVERS ON THE POWER PLAY! pic.twitter.com/BpxYXjd7Mo

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 5, 2024

Crosby finished the game with a goal, two assists, three shots, two hits, and two blocked shots in 15:55. He also owned the faceoff dot going 16-6.

DOGHOUSE: Anyone who bet the Under 6 like yours truly did with our Boston Hockey Now DraftKings Promo. After a six-goal first period, that bet was a loss 6:38 into the second period when Penguins veteran forward Jeff Carter made it 5-2 Penguins. All joking and betting aside, there was porous defense on both sides in what quickly became a pond hockey game at TD Garden.

After Brad Marchand put the Bruins up 1-0 41 seconds into the game, Penguins forward and former Dartmouth star tied the game at 5:04 of the opening frame. Then, all hell broke loose! The two teams combined for three goals in 1:04, with goals from Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves at 6:17, then one from David Pastrnak at 6:39, and then one from Penguins forward Jake Guentzel to put the Penguins up 3-2 at 7:21. The Penguins weren’t done though as forward Lars Eller gave his team a 4-2 lead at 15:58 of the first period.

Both teams just completely abandoned their systems and basically hoped for the best from there.

BANGER: Trent Frederic had his two-game goal streak snapped on Thursday, but he did lead the Bruins and all players in the game with three hits.

UNSUNG HERO: After putting the Boston Bruins up 1-0 with his 14th goal just 41 ticks into the game, Bruins captain Brad Marchand willed his team back into the fight once they went down 5-2 6:38 into the second period. After goals by Morgan Geekie and Jake DeBrusk cut the Penguins’ lead to 5-4 late in the second period, Marchand tied the game on a shorthanded goal 3:08 into the third period.

😳 BRAD MARCHAND 😳

What a spectacular move to the net to tie the game!

🇺🇸: @espn ➡️ https://t.co/FmPv8M6v1l
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ https://t.co/sEijvXhbA1 pic.twitter.com/qXjGudtYZ4

— NHL (@NHL) January 5, 2024

Boston Bruins Lineup

Forwards

Pavel Zacha-Morgan Geekie-David Pastrnak

Brad Marchand-Charlie Coyle-Jake DeBrusk

James van Riemsdyk-Trent Frederic-Danton Heinen

John Beecher-Georgii Merkulov-Oskar Steen

Defensemen

Matt Grzelcyk-Charlie McAvoy

Hampus Lindholm-Brandon Carlo

Mason Lohrei-Kevin Shattenkirk

Goalies

Jeremy Swayman

Linus Ullmark

NEXT UP: The Boston Bruins will host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night before heading out on a four-game road trip that starts on Monday against the Colorado Avalanche in Denver.