Sabres - The Buffalo News
National Hockey League
Boston 7, Pittsburgh 5
When: 1:00 PM ET, Saturday, April 3, 2021
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Referees: Jean Hebert, Brian Pochmara
Linesmen: Ryan Gibbons, Libor Suchanek
Attendance: 2191

Brad Marchand had a hat trick plus an assist Saturday and the Boston Bruins scored five times in the second period en route to a wild 7-5 win over visiting Pittsburgh, ending the Penguins' five-game winning streak.

David Pastrnak had two goals and an assist and David Krejci a goal and an assist. Craig Smith and Nick Ritchie had two assists each for the Bruins, who split consecutive games against Pittsburgh at TD Garden. Goaltender Jaroslav Halak made 23 saves.

Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel each had a goal and two assists for Pittsburgh. Mark Jankowski had a goal and an assist. Jared McCann and Cody Ceci also scored. Casey DeSmith made 21 saves.

Mike Matheson's shot from near the left point clicked off the stick of Boston's Charlie Coyle and then off Jankowski's stick and past Halak for a 1-0 Pittsburgh lead at 3:24 of the first.

Patrice Bergeron tied it 11 seconds into the second through traffic.

With his 15th goal, Pastrnak gave Boston a 2-1 lead 34 seconds later. A pass by Ritchie went off Pittsburgh defenseman Marcus Pettersson, and Pastrnak swept it in. Krejci picked up his 500th assist.

Guentzel tied it at 2:45. Crosby carried the puck behind the net before setting up Guentzel.

The Penguins regained the lead at 5:11 on McCann's power-play goal. He scored off a backhand pass from Guentzel, who got a backhand pass from Crosby.

Marchand tied it again at 14:56. Matt Grzelcyk swooped behind the net to the right circle and set up Marchand, who roofed it from the far side of the crease.

At 18:29, Krejci's power-play goal, off a redirect, pushed the Bruins' lead to 4-3.

With 19.9 seconds left, Marchand notched Boston's fifth goal of the period, making it 5-3 on a shot from the slot past DeSmith's blocker.

Ceci closed it to 5-4 with a roofed, short-side shot from the left circle at 4:38 of the third.

At 13:28 of the third, Pastrnak's goal off a two-on-one made it 6-4.

Crosby scored short-handed with 1:15 left, but Marchand's empty-netter with 1:01 remaining sealed it.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Pittsburgh   Boston
Sidney Crosby 3 Points Brad Marchand 4
Sidney Crosby 1 Goals Brad Marchand 3
Sidney Crosby 2 Assists Nick Ritchie 2
Jared McCann 1 Power Play Goals David Krejci 1
Sidney Crosby 1 Short Handed Goals N/A
Casey DeSmith .778 Save Percentage Jaroslav Halak .821
Casey DeSmith 21 Saves Jaroslav Halak 23
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Pittsburgh 28 5 1-3 2-3 8 23
Boston 28 7 1-3 2-3 10 34
Upcoming Games
  • Boston will play their next game at home against Philadelphia. The Bruins have a W/L % of .444 after a win and .667 after a loss.
  • Pittsburgh will play their next game on the road against NY Rangers. The Penguins have a W/L % of .625 after a win and .692 after a loss.