Bruins 6, Penguins 1: Brad Marchand scored twice to highlight his team's four-goal first period as visiting Boston breezed to a 2-0 advantage in its Eastern Conference final series versus top-seeded Pittsburgh.
David Krejci netted his third tally in two games to increase his league-leading point total to 20. Nathan Horton, Patrice Bergeron and defenseman Johnny Boychuk each collected a goal and an assist and Tuukka Rask turned aside 26 shots for the fourth-seeded Bruins, who host Game 3 on Wednesday.
Marchand set the tone just 28 seconds into the contest after Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby failed to get a solid shot on a bouncing puck at the blue line. Marchand quickly gained control and used his superior speed to create distance before wristing the puck over the glove of Tomas Vokoun (nine saves).
Boston doubled the advantage at 14:37 of the session as Norris Trophy finalist Kris Letang failed to clear the puck at the end of a power play, leading to Horton burying the rebound of defenseman Torey Krug's shot from the point. Krejci chased Vokoun nearly two minutes later by completing a pretty tic-tac-toe passing play with linemates Milan Lucic and Horton.
Brandon Sutter wired a shot under the crossbar with 34 seconds remaining in the first period, but Marchand quickly restored the three-goal bulge when his wrist shot from the outer edge of the left faceoff circle beat Marc-Andre Fleury (14 saves) with 8.1 seconds left in the session.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Marchand has recorded three two-goal games in his playoff career. ... Bergeron secured his 50th career postseason point by notching an assist on Marchand's second tally. ... Boston RW Jaromir Jagr picked up two assists and finished with a plus-3 rating. ... Rask has stopped 55-of-56 shots in the series.
Boston | Pittsburgh | |
Brad Marchand 2 | Points | Brandon Sutter 1 |
Brad Marchand 2 | Goals | Brandon Sutter 1 |
Jaromir Jagr 2 | Assists | Matt Cooke 1 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | N/A |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Tuukka Rask .963 | Save Percentage | Marc-Andre Fleury .824 |
Tuukka Rask 26 | Saves | Marc-Andre Fleury 14 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Boston | 29 | 6 | 0-1 | 2-2 | 6 | 29 |
Pittsburgh | 27 | 1 | 0-2 | 1-1 | 4 | 28 |