Bruins dismantle Penguins; take 2-0 series lead

After Game 1, you could make a case that the Penguins played well enough to win only to fall on the side of bad luck.  In Game 2, not so much.

The Boston Bruins destroyed the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-1, Monday night, taking a commanding 2-0 series lead with the chance to advance to the Stanley Cup on home ice.

Brad Marchand’s goal just 28 seconds into the game stunned the hometown crowd and gave the Bruins an early 1-0 lead.  Sidney Crosby misplayed the puck on the right point and Marchand picked off the pass attempt and headed for the Pittsburgh net.  Marchand delayed before beating Tomas Vokoun, short side, with a snap shot.

The Penguins killed a Bruins power play late in the period, but an errant play by Kris Letang led to a turnover.  Torey Krug knocked down the clearing attempt at the blue line and put the puck on goal.  Vokoun made the initial stop on Krug but Nathan Horton pounced on the rebound and chipped it into the wide open net before defenseman Paul Martin could make a play.

Less than two minutes later, David Krejci scored to extend Boston’s lead to three.

Milan Lucic took the puck in the slot and sent a drop pass to Horton who, all in one motion, fed Krejci for an easy one-timer.

Dan Bylsma pulled Vokoun in favor of Marc-Andre Fleury, who hadn’t seen the ice since Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.  The crowd gave a loud ovation for Fleury including chants of his last name.

At first, the goalie switch seemed to turn things around for the home team.  Matt Cooke’s pass from the neutral zone sprung Brandon Sutter from the blue line.  Sutter was able to get around the defense and fire a shot that beat the stick side of Tuuka Rask.

The goal appeared to pull the Penguins back into the game, as it occurred with 34 seconds remaining in the period.  But Marchand’s long range shot from the left point beat Fleury on the long side to get the Boston lead back to three with nine seconds left in the first.

In the second, the Bruins locked down the Penguins and frustrated them with textbook defense.  Up until the mid point of the second period, the Penguins had eight total shots, including two in the second.

The Penguins got a power play with eight minutes remaining in the second, but only mustered one shot and chased the puck in the neutral zone for most of the time with the man advantage.  It was shocking to watch the league’s best offense run into each other on the ice while boos rained down from the Consol Energy Center.

In the third, the Penguins needed to score early to have a chance for a comeback.  Instead, the Bruins scored to put the finishing touches on a nearly flawless game for the team in white.  The Bruins went tic-tac-toe as the puck went from Johnny Boychuk, to Jaromir Jagr, and finally to Patrice Bergeron for the one-timer.

Marc-Andre Fleury had no chance and the rest of the team had no idea what to do next.

Johnny Boychuk added a goal late in the third just for good measure.

The series shifts to Boston where the Bruins have a chance to take a 3-0 series lead on Wednesday.  The Penguins, meanwhile, will have to determine who will start in goal and whether or not their stars will show up in the process.

• The Penguins are 5-3 in series where they trailed 0-2.
• In two games against the Bruins, Sidney Crosby has zero points and is a minus 3.
• Pittsburgh was credited with 12 giveaways, 4 from Crosby.

Photo courtesy of NHL.com