BOSTON -- The Penguins carried a 1-0 lead into the third period against the Bruins in the Winter Classic here at Fenway Park in Boston on Monday, but following two back-breaking goals from Jake DeBrusk, they had little time to come up with the equalizer.
DeBrusk's go-ahead goal left just 2:24 on the clock until regulation expired. Had he scored just a moment sooner, we're likely having a much different discussion about the end result.
Casey DeSmith was pulled from his crease for the extra attacker to make it a 6-on-5 for the Penguins, but they failed to muster much of anything threatening against Linus Ullmark until there was nearly no time left on the clock.
They did, however, finally create a high-octane chance off the stick of Evgeni Malkin that slipped through Ullmark to the back of the net, but it was too late, as 0.0 showed on the clock right as Malkin let it rip.
Here's how it unfolded:
The Penguins overloaded the left side of the ice, doing a great job of pulling several Bruins toward the perimeter and out of the slot and net-front area. Because the Penguins overloaded that side, they were able to grind out possession along the wall before working the puck low to Sidney Crosby.
Baiting the Bruins to chase him in the corner, Crosby flung a backhand pass to Marcus Pettersson, who shrunk the zone by jumping up and making himself available in the left circle. Hampus Lindholm impeded Pettersson's attempt, and the puck quickly ended up right back in the corner.
As Rickard Rakell raced to recover the puck, all five Bruins skaters on the ice got bunched up and were guilty of locking their eyes on Rakell. Malkin used this to his advantage, as he went against the grain, rolling out of coverage and slipping into a soft spot on the edge of the right circle.
Rakell wasted no time spinning and ripping a bullet pass through a set of legs and several bodies to a wide-open Malkin on the other side of the ice, who then wasted no time himself to get a shot off.
Of course, no one's taking any moral victories from that sequence even though the puck did cross the red line.
It was everything you'd want to see from the Penguins in a 6-on-5 situation, but it simply didn't happen quick enough.
