Penguins shut out Bruins in playoff-style contest - TribLIVE

cicingwos.blogspot.com

The Pittsburgh Penguins knew what to expect entering Sunday’s encounter with the Boston Bruins at PPG Paints Arena.

Intensity.

And sure enough, that’s how this contest played out, as the Penguins shut out the Bruins, 1-0.

To be clear, this game wasn’t intense in a blood-and-guts fashion. There wasn’t much in the way of post-whistle combativeness. Sure, there was a fair amount of hitting and contact, but little that rose to the level of a penalty.

(Literally. There was only one penalty called, and it came within the final two minutes of regulation.)

No, the intensity this matchup offered came in the precision both clubs displayed.

Passing was sharp. Line changes were crisp. Forechecking was schematic. Poke checks were plentiful. Positioning was sound. Turnovers were minimal. Defense was stout. Goaltenders were focused. Discipline was maintained.

And scoring chances, at least the quality of them, were somewhat limited.

The Penguins and Bruins played a game that had the intensity of a playoff matchup they might experience when the postseason begins, as scheduled, in just over two weeks.

“There wasn’t much room out there,” Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin said via video conference. “We had to try to create some plays and make some time for ourselves by supporting the puck. It was a playoff feel. There wasn’t a lot of special teams. There was a lot of five-on-five play.

“It was a fun one to play in.”

After two furiously executed periods that produced nothing but an impasse, Dumoulin helped generate the contest’s only goal 4 minutes, 3 seconds into the third period.

After Penguins forward Bryan Rust made a gutsy effort to keep a puck in the offensive zone at the left point, Dumoulin shielded Bruins forward Sean Kuraly from the puck on the boards in front of the visiting bench and tapped a backhand pass to forward Jake Guentzel above the left circle.

From there, Guentzel fed the puck to forward Sidney Crosby deep on the left wing. Allowing the play to develop, Crosby drew in Bruins defenseman Kevan Miller, opening up space for Guentzel at the left dot and fed a pass which Guentzel swiped for a one-timer that beat rookie goaltender Jeremy Swayman’s glove on the far side

“Games like this, this time of year, I think are going to be tight checking like that,” said Guentzel, who leads the team with 21 goals and snapped a seven-game skid without a goal. “We’ve got to find ways to come out on top.”

Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry helped his team accomplish that outcome as he made 30 saves and improved his record to 21-8-3 in his first shutout of the season.

The Penguins have seven games remaining in the regular season, including a rematch with the Bruins at home Tuesday.

As for Sunday’s contest, it resembled the type of hockey the Penguins and Bruins each hopes to be playing in a few weeks.

“It’s good for our team to get into these types of games,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “We’ve got to find a comfort level in playing in a one-goal, low-scoring game because that’s the nature of high-stakes environment hockey. That’s the way it’s going to be when you play a top team in the league like Boston. They’re as good as a defensive team as there is in the league.

“We knew we were going to have to fight for every inch out there.”

Seth Rorabaugh is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Seth by email at srorabaugh@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Let's block ads! (Why?)

"Shut" - Google News
April 26, 2021 at 04:57AM
https://ift.tt/3dRozMN

Penguins shut out Bruins in playoff-style contest - TribLIVE
"Shut" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3d35Me0
https://ift.tt/2WkO13c

Bagikan Berita Ini