BOSTON -- Admittedly, Bryan Rust is not and won't soon be mistaken for Patric Hornqvist.
It's not just that Rust has eight fewer goals this season or 178 fewer in his career, it's the intangibles that Hornqvist brings that have separated him from pretty much everyone else in the NHL.
If you have watched the Penguins during their recent slide, including their 2-1 overtime loss to the Bruins Friday night at TD Garden, you can't truly quantify what Hornqvist has brought. On the ice, save for Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, he's been their most consistent player. Off the ice, he's taken on more of a leadership role, trying to will his team through words and action.
But when the puck dropped for the third period of this game, Hornqvist was nowhere to be seen on the visitors’ bench. Rust took his place on the Penguins' top line with Crosby and Jake Guentzel. In a tight game where there was little room to operate, the Penguins surely could have used Hornqvist's net-front services on the power play after Kevan Miller took a delay of game penalty midway through the period. Or maybe they could have used Hornqvist to generate one of his patented greasy goals off a goal-mouth scrum.
However, he left the game after absorbing this bone-crunching hit courtesy of Miller with a little over five minutes remaining in the second period:
"He's a huge part of this team," Rust told DKPittsburghSports.com. "He's a heart-and-soul guy. He brings so much energy and passion that is contagious. Hope he's all right. He's obviously big."
Never mind the extended shifts that led to Joakim Nordstrom's overtime winner -- we'll get to that -- Hornqvist was the potentially bigger loss on Friday.
Following the game, Sullivan said that Hornqvist would be evaluated Saturday when the team returns to Pittsburgh. His availability for Saturday night's game against the Blue Jackets would seem to be very much in doubt after he couldn't finish the game.
Hornqvist, who is the Penguins' second-leading power play goal scorer, provided the screen on Malkin's second-period power-play goal, the lone goal they scored.
That the Penguins still managed to take a loser's point out of Friday — and have managed to cobble three straight games with at least one point — was of little consolation to Mike Sullivan or anyone else.
"We're looking for wins. We're looking for wins," said the clearly steamed coach, who is now winless in six games against his hometown team with the Penguins. "We have higher expectations. We're trying to win every game that we're in."
The Penguins were very much in this one. Though they dominated possession and put up 27 shots over the final 40 minutes, they could not get anything past Jaroslav Halak, who made 36 saves in all.
Tristan Jarry, making his first start of the season after being recalled from Wilkes-Barre just a day earlier, was fairly strong. The 24-year old stopped 35 of 37 shots, including a brilliant pad stop on Brad Marchand in the first period. However, the one goal he allowed in regulation, a long-range one-timer from Jacob DeBrusk, was one he thought he should have made.
"It's tough, it was a good shot, right over the pad," Jarry said. "It's one I'd like to have back. I'd like to have every goal back."
Still, against an injury-strapped Bruins team that was without three of their top six defensemen and their leading scorer, the Penguins still managed to lose. They have now lost 10 of their past 12 and now face the Metropolitan Division-leading Blue Jackets in less than 24 hours.
"We did some good things, but we can always be better," Rust said. "Excited to get back out there."
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THREE STARS
My curtain calls go to …
1. Jaroslav Halak
Bruins goaltender
Shades of 2010. Stopped 36 of 37 shots, including two big glove saves on Jake Guentzel.
2. Jacob DeBrusk
Bruins left winger
Now has four goals in the last five games.
3. Tristan Jarry
Penguins goaltender
Made 35 saves in season debut. Not bad.
THE INJURIES
• Penguins: Matt Murray, goaltender, missed his first game with a lower body injury. He is out "longer term." Matt Cullen, center, is also out "longer term" with a lower body injury. Justin Schultz, defenseman, is expected to miss four months after fracturing his leg Oct. 13 in Montreal. Hornqvist was to be evaluated in Pittsburgh on Saturday.
• Bruins: Patrice Bergeron, center, is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with rib injuries sustained Nov. 16. Brandon Carlo, defenseman, is on IR with an upper body injury suffered Nov. 10. Zdeno Chara, defenseman, is on IR with a lower body injury suffered Nov. 14. Charlie McAvoy, defenseman, is on IR with a concussion suffered Nov. 18. Urho Vaakanainen is on IR with a concussion suffered Oct. 23.
THE GOOD
Even with Patrice Bergeron taking in Friday night's game from up in the press box, there was still some Selke-worthy play six floors below. And the best instance came from a most unlikely source: Phil Kessel.
With 7:04 remaining in the first period and the Penguins back on their heels, Kessel saved what would have been a sure goal. Kessel steamed back into coverage on the backcheck and intercepted David Krejci's centering pass that was earmarked for Danton Heinen at the right side of the net where it would have been a tap-in:
Kessel takes a lot of grief for his defensive shortcomings but, credit where credit is due ... At least on that one.
THE BAD
Overtime used to be the Penguins' good luck charm. With the offensive arsenal the Penguins can put out at anytime, it used to be game, set, match.
But even that has been of little use to the Penguins this season. Friday night's loss dropped them to 2-5 in games that have gone beyond regulation.
While the 3-on-3 format is basically organized chaos, there is some method to the madness. Or there's supposed to be.
That wasn't the case on Nordstrom's game-winner. It's not so much that he scored, but that the three Penguins on the ice -- Kessel, Malkin and Brian Dumoulin -- were caught on extended shifts. That trio was on the ice for an almost unconscionable -- for OT -- 1:01 when Nordstrom redirected Krug's one-timer past Jarry.
"We stayed on the ice a little bit longer, you know, we're tired and they changed a couple times, and we lost players, and they scored," Malkin said. "I mean, we need to play a little bit smarter."
THE PLAY
The Penguins would not have gotten over-extended in overtime had Dumoulin not made the giveaway that sealed their fate.
With 3:43 remaining in overtime and the Penguins controlling the puck, Dumoulin, from his own zone, threw a stretch pass up the middle that was easily intercepted by Krejci.
From there, the Bruins had the Penguins hemmed in their own zone before Nordstrom sent the Garden crowd home happy at 1:57:
Sullivan didn't have an answer as to why OT has suddenly gone wrong for his team, but he knows what can't happen.
"When we don't have the puck, we have to defend harder," he said. "When we have the puck, we have to hang on to the puck. To me, the 3-on-3 game is all about possession. It's about keeping the puck, not about forcing plays. It's about shot selection and line changes, making sure you keep fresh guys on the ice and not have guys caught out on an extended shift when you have to defend when you're tired. We make an unforced error in the overtime, they end up with the puck and we get three guys caught on the ice when they're tired."
Yep, that about sums it up.
THE CALL
With 2:35 remaining in the second period, David Backes jammed a puck on Jarry. Then Chris Wagner gave it an earnest whack. Finally, Sean Kuraly appeared to have stuffed the right pad of Jarry and the puck back into the net.
On the ice, referee Wes McAuley immediately signaled no goal even as the Bruins' fourth line celebrated what it thought was a 2-1 lead.
However, after a lengthy video review in Toronto, the original call was upheld much to the dismay of the 17,565 at TD Garden. To their credit, the NHL's war room appeared to get this one right. The play should have been whistled dead after Jarry made the second stop on Wagner.
Here, Jarry explains what happened:
THE OTHER SIDE
• The Bruins improved to 8-2 at the Garden and are now 3-1 vs. the Metro.
• After Friday's win, the Bruins chartered to Montreal where they'll face the archrival Canadiens on Saturday. It's part of their fourth of 17 sets of three games in four nights this season.
• With his assist on DeBrusk's goal, Krejci tied Peter McNab for 11th place on Boston's all-time points list with 587.
• Boston is now 114-62-21 all-time vs. Pittsburgh.
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins will not hold a morning skate before Saturday night’s home game against the Blue Jackets. Sullivan will speak to the media at about 5 p.m.
THE COVERAGE
Visit our Penguins team page for everything.
