Bruins at Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins hope to build off a complete effort last time out and continue to climb back into a playoff position when they open a three-game homestand Sunday against the surging Boston Bruins. Captain Sidney Crosby registered his first four-point performance of the season as the Penguins rolled to a 4-0 road victory against the New York Islanders on Friday for their second convincing win in three games.
“We played fast, we generated a lot of shots (38), a lot of opportunities, so that’s more of the way we need to play,” Crosby told reporters. “Especially coming off of (a 4-0 home loss to Carolina on Thursday). We had a quick turnaround. That one was fresh in our mind, and I thought we responded well.” Pittsburgh is 12-7-1 at home in 2017-18 and posted a pair of wins at PPG Paints Arena last season against Boston, which extended its point streak to 10 games (8-0-2) with a 7-1 triumph over Carolina on Saturday. Patrice Bergeron tied the single-game club record and became the first Bruin to score four goals in a game since 1999 while moving over the 700-point mark (702) in his career. Tuukka Rask, who is 11-0-1 in his last 12 starts and has allowed a total of four goals in his last five games, is expected to be in net after being rested against the Hurricanes.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network
ABOUT THE BRUINS (23-10-6): Boston had plenty of players who padded their statistics in the win over Carolina, as Bergeron moved to third on the team with 31 points after recording five. Brad Marchand registered four assists Saturday while David Pastrnak scored a goal and set up two others as the duo enter Sunday sharing the club lead with 38 points apiece. Rookie Danton Heinen also notched an assist, giving him seven points in his last five games, while David Backes has registered 12 in his last nine contests.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (21-19-3): Crosby recorded just three points in his previous eight games before scoring one goal and setting up three others against the Islanders while new linemate Daniel Sprong collected two tallies and an assist. Phil Kessel has notched four of his team-leading 45 points in the last four games and Evgeni Malkin has registered two goals and two assists in the same span to push his point total to 39 - one behind Crosby. Defenseman Brian Dumoulin (concussion) has missed the last two games and is questionable for Sunday.
OVERTIME
1. The Bruins have scored 25 goals in their last five games and are 4-for-9 on the power play over their last three contests.
2. Pittsburgh RW Patric Hornqvist has been kept off the scoresheet in five straight games and C Jake Guentzel is pointless in four.
3. Crosby needed three goals to reach 400 for his career while Boston D Torey Krug is two points shy of 200 in the NHL.