2/8/22 by Ava Salti
The Bruins returned from the 2022 NHL All-Star Weekend to face the Pittsburgh Penguins. Both teams last played a game on Feb. 1, giving both rosters a one-week break. Patrice Bergeron represented Boston at the All-Star Game, while Jake Guentzel and Tristan Jarry were Pittsburgh’s all-stars.
Jarry would get the nod in goal for the Penguins, while Jeremy Swayman would start for the Bruins. In the first period, David Pastrnak gave the Bruins a quick 1-0 lead, scoring a power-play goal just 2:01 in. Pastrnak found the back of the net again 15:34 into the first period, and the Bruins would head into the first intermission with a 2-0 lead.
The second period was all Penguins, as Danton Heinen scored 4:18 into the frame to cut the Bruins’ lead in half. Just 28 seconds later, Heinen scored again and tied the game up at 2. At 12:53 of the second period, a Sidney Crosby one-timer gave Pittsburgh their first lead of the night. The goal was Crosby’s 499th career goal, leaving him one goal away from an impressive milestone.
The Bruins’ comeback attempt came up short, mostly due to the performance of Jarry. Jarry stopped 43 of the 45 shots he faced, whereas Swayman stopped 21 of 24. The Bruins’ Bergeron also left the game at 8:44 of the third after a collision with Crosby and the boards.
Despite the layoff for both teams, the game contained plenty of intensity. In between play, Bruins’ star winger and known “instigator” Brad Marchand stopped Jarry from giving a puck to a Penguins fan in the crowd by knocking the puck off Jarry’s stick. Towards the end of the third period, Marchand and Jarry got into it again, and Marchand appeared to throw a punch and swing his stick at Jarry.
The Bruins now sit at 26-15-3 on the season, good for fourth place in the Atlantic Division and eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Their next game is on Thursday, Feb. 10, versus the Carolina Hurricanes at 7 p.m. ET.