Rask, Bruins blank Penguins 3-0

Boston goalie Tuukka Rask excelled Wednesday night as he stopped 34 shots and blanked the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0.

“It’s happened to me before”, said Hayes, who’d managed just one point during his prolonged slump. That’€™s how I’€™m going to be effective, get big, move my feet. Evgeni Malkin, who has easily been Pittsburgh’s best player outside of Fleury, ended one shift by lazily backhanding a centering pass instead of just sending the puck around the boards.

“Tuukka has been like I think we’re used to seeing him”, Bruins coach Claude Julien said after one recent Rask victory.

“It’€™s been a while, struggling to find the back of the net”, Hayes said. “He’s really good at either tipping pucks or finding loose pucks”.

Earlier in the campaign, Boston’s newer forwards were focused on trying to impact the game by making individual contributions, and the team concept only existed as a desire except among the remaining veteran players. “What’€™s happening to him now, that’€™s what he deserves because of just the way he’€™s handled himself through the situation that started at the beginning of the year”. “(Against Pittsburgh), that’s what he tried to do and had some success doing it”. Talbot’s goal was his first in 11 games with the Bruins and his first in 29 games, since February 28. Pressure from Hayes caused Pens’ defenseman Brian Dumoulin to turn the puck over, with Adam McQuaid feeding Talbot up ice for a break into the offensive zone. “It keeps it well hidden”. Pittsburgh and Boston meet again Friday night at CONSOL Energy Center for the conclusion of a home-and-home series.

“I think how poorly we’ve played at times defensively affected my game too”. Pittsburgh has not scored a power-play in a season-high tying five straight contests (0-for-2 vs. Caps). The over/under total for the game has been set at 5 goals. The Penguins hemmed the B’s in their own end in the second period, outshooting them by a whopping 18-4 margin.

The 2014 Vezina Trophy victor started this season with one win in his first five starts and allowed 22 goals.

Sullivan replaced fired coach Mike Johnston on Saturday, and Pittsburgh lost 4-1 to Washington in his debut Monday. And as the defensemen have gained experience in the NHL and with each other, the Bruins have looked more like the team that’s been among the League’s stingiest in Julien’s eight-plus seasons behind the bench. He reflected before the game on his long coaching journey. “We have to do a better job of playing smarter”, he said. By nature of the position, you’re always going to be second-guessed, and that’s the nature of coaching. “I want to create an environment here… where they want to come to the rink, where they want to work”. I love interacting with the guys. “There are so many teams that are so close and everyone thinks they’re still in the [race]”. It’s not an easy business. “But I don’t think the system changes have done anything different to us”.

“Yeah [it was a relief to score], but at the same time I scored like nearly a week ago, but in Providence”, Talbot said.

Warsofsky has no points and a minus-4 rating in four games for the Penguins, but he’s now getting the legit National Hockey League shot over an extended period of time. “I thought he was on the puck, he was quick, he forced turnovers, he was skating”.