In Boston, Patrice Bergeron scored twice and the Bruins defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-1 on Thursday night.
Jaroslav Halak made 16 saves to get the win.
Chris Wagner staked the Bruins to a 1-0 lead early in the opening frame.
“It was an ugly one, so I didn’t even know if I wanted to take credit for that one,” Anders Bjork said. “But it was good. I mean we made some good plays. I think in weird ways you get paid off for that.”
Cody Ceci got the Pens even in the 16th minute of the first.
“We see Boston, they’re faster, they’re hungry and they win every battle in the corners,” the Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin said. “… We need just to look in the mirror and fight every shift. It’s not a pretty game right now. … We need to try to play simple and need to just work, work, work.”
Sean Kuraly scored what would be the game-winner with 67 seconds left in the first period.
“As a team, we think on the [defensive] side of the puck we’ve been playing well, and we just wanted to stick with that,” Kuraly said. “We know we’ve got good players, a bunch of talent, goals will come. Sometimes you’ve just got to tell yourself, ‘Stick with it.’ And I think that’s, as a team, what we’ve been doing is sticking with it. Our chances are coming, and they’re starting to go in a little bit more.”
Tristan Jarry made 16 saves in the loss.
“Listen, we knew the game, the way the game was going to be played,” Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan said. “Boston’s a good team, they defend hard, we knew that going in. We have to play every bit as stingy a game on the defensive side of the puck and we didn’t. And then we’ve got to work for the opportunities that we get. I think we need an element of simplicity with our offensive game. I don’t think we’re putting nearly enough pucks in play that give our guys opportunities for next-play chances, whether it be off a rebound or a deflection and things of that nature.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.