BOSTON — It looked like the Penguins were in for another Boston beat-down.
During the first 20 minutes Tuesday, they seemed frazzled, from their top blue-liner to their All-Star goalie. Odd-man rushes? One bit them again. And as the Boston Bruins kept coming and coming, this game felt close to getting out of hand.
But the Penguins roared back in the second period then put the clamps on during the third to pick up a rare victory at TD Garden, beating the Bruins, 4-2. Danton Heinen scored twice in his first game back in Boston and Sidney Crosby inched closer to his 500th career goal to help them snap their losing streak.
The Penguins got off to a rough another rough start in Boston. They gave away the puck three times in the first three shifts then Radim Zohorna took a penalty. After John Marino couldn’t elevate his backhand clearing attempt off the glass and out, a David Pastrnak one-timer made it 1-0, Bruins, 2:01 into the game.
Pastrnak scored his second later in the period. Kris Letang shanked a shot attempt, leading to a 3-on-1. Tristan Jarry couldn’t squeeze Taylor Hall’s wrister from 30 feet out but Pastrnak was there to swat the rebound off Tristan Jarry and in.
Jarry was back in goal after starring in Saturday’s All-Star Game in Las Vegas. In the All-Star finale, he backstopped the Metropolitan Division to the win.
But in the first period Tuesday, it looked like Jarry still had a Vegas hangover. He was shaky behind a sloppy Penguins team. His positioning was off, particularly on plays around his posts. And he let a few controllable rebounds leak out.
It easily could have been 4-0 after the first period, with a few more frantic moments that included a hit post and a point-blank block by Letang on Brad Marchand.
Instead, the Penguins remained within striking distance. Jarry would settle down. Then two quick goals by Heinen suddenly pulled them back even at 2-2.
A little less than two years ago, the Bruins traded Heinen to the Anaheim Ducks. He enjoyed his time in Boston and had nothing but good things to say Tuesday about the team that drafted him, developed him and allowed him to debut in 2016. This was his first game back in Boston as a member of the visiting team.
Early in the second period, Heinen accepted a nice pass from Brock McGinn on the move and tucked the puck behind Jeremy Swayman for his first goal since Dec. 19. He stayed on for the ensuing faceoff and 28 seconds later scored another when his shot hit Swayman in the chest, rolled over his shoulder and fell in.
That was the fastest that a Penguins player scored back-to-back goals since Martin Straka back in 2000. It took Straka only seven seconds, a team record.
It was also the first time in two weeks that the Penguins received some secondary scoring. They had lost their last four before the All-Streak break. In those games, they got all seven of their goals from their power play or Crosby’s line.
Speaking of the captain, he scored to put the Penguins up, 3-2, after two periods at TD Garden. That was the 499th goal of Crosby’s career. Bryan Rust, who had just returned from a crushing Connor Clifton hit, set him up with a slick pass.
Crosby was a mere inch away from the milestone goal during the third period when his shot hit the left post on a 2-on-1 and fluttered over the Boston net.
Jarry robbed Thomas Nosek with a flashy glove save with 4:29 left to keep the lead intact. That was one of 28 saves he made in the final two periods. He finished with 43. Then Rust gave the Penguins a little cushion with an empty-netter.
It was just the second time they won in Boston in their last 13 games here.
Last season, the Penguins won in Boston for the first time since 2014, before coach Mike Sullivan had jumped behind the bench. Due to the pandemic, there were no fans in the building that night. The Bruins faithful brought it Tuesday. But so did the Penguins, tuning out the noise to secure a gutsy win at TD Garden.
The Penguins were without center Evgeni Malkin in Boston after he tested positive for COVID-19 during the break. Jeff Carter took his place in the middle of the second line and Evan Rodrigues moved from the wing to center on the third. Rodrigues also took Malkin’s spot on Pittsburgh’s red-hot top power-play unit.
The Penguins conclude their two-game trip Thursday in Ottawa. Matt Murray, who has won five of his last seven starts, should be in goal for the Senators.
