The Penguins’ experience in this Winter Classic was visually spectacular, but ended with a fifth straight loss, 2-1 to the Bruins at a sold out Fenway Park.
"There’s a fine line between winning and losing,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “It comes down to subtle details. There were momentum swings on both sides in all periods."
Kasperi Kapanen opened the scoring for PIttsburgh, banging home a behind-the-net pass from Teddy Blueger midway through the second period to give PIttsburgh a 1-0 lead.
But the Penguins, which had 14 shots in the opening frame, slowed down after that, recovering just six second period shots on goal.
In the third, Jake Debrusk scored twice for Boston, including a goal with 2:24 to go, lifting the Bruins to the win.
“We played a good game, Sidney Crosby said. “Felt like our game wasn't great here since the Christmas break, I think. So we did some really good things, just got to find a way to close it out."
Linus Ullmark made 26 saves for Boston, with half coming in the opening period.
Jarry Injured
During the first period, it became apparent that Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry was experiencing some sort of pain or discomfort in his right leg.
With under five minutes to play in the first, Jarry removed himself from the game, and went to the locker room. Casey DeSmith took over in his place, a tough ask in normal circumstances, let alone an outdoor game.
"Yeah, I just think because it's a little bit of uncharted territory,” DeSmith said. “Jumping in cold to an outdoor game definitely carries a few more challenges than your regular game.”
Mike Sullivan said postgame that Jarry is being evaluated for a lower-body injury.
Jarry has had an up-and-down season. He’s 24th in the NHL in goals against average and 14th in save percentage. But he is 15-5-4 in the net.
Pittsburgh, however, had lost three straight games with Jarry in net, with him surrendering 12 goals in the three contests and sporting a save percentage under .890.
Before that, however, Jarry had won seven straight games and 11 of 12, earning a point in the only loss.
Special moment for Sully
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan, a Boston native who played for and coach the Bruins, was able to return home to experience the Fenway Park hockey game.
Letang steps away
Earlier in the day, Mike Sullivan revealed that Kris Letang has stepped away from the team due to the passing of his father, Claude Fouquet.
Letang was likely not going to be available for the Winter Classic, having missed Friday’s game against New Jersey due to an injury that Sullivan described as “day-to-day.”
In November, Letang suffered his second stroke in the last eight years, and missed five games because of it.