Penguins fall to Bruins, drop out of playoff position

PITTSBURGH -- The Boston Bruins had six different goal-scorers and ended the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 10-game point streak with a 6-4 win at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday.

Pavel Zacha had a goal and an assist, and David Pastrnak and Charlie Coyle each had two assists for the Bruins (47-18-15), who have won five of six. Linus Ullmark made 28 saves.

Boston is first in the Atlantic Division, one point ahead of the Florida Panthers, who defeated the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 in overtime Saturday.

“We're fighting for first, but we're more worried about getting our game ready for the playoffs,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “We're worried about Game 1 in the playoffs. Whether we're first or second, it would be nice to be first, but that's not as paramount as our game being ready.”

Erik Karlsson had an assist in his 1,000th NHL game, and Michael Bunting, Evgeni Malkin and Drew O'Connor each had a goal and an assist for the Penguins (37-31-12), who were 7-0-3 in their previous 10 games. Alex Nedeljkovic allowed three goals on 16 shots before being pulled in the second period of his 11th straight start; Tristan Jarry made 12 saves in relief, his first game since March 24.

“I just think the important thing that we have to be aware of and be focused on is the game right in front of us,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “That’s really the only thing we can control. We knew this was a tough stretch. This was going to be a tough one tonight against one of the best teams in the League.”

The Penguins fell out of the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, one point behind the Washington Capitals, Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers with two games remaining. 

“It is what it is,” Karlsson said. “We can’t do anything about the other teams around us. Everybody’s in the same situation. We’ve got two games left. We knew that we were going to have to at least win two. Luckily, we have two games left.” 

Jake DeBrusk put the Bruins ahead 1-0 at 8:08 of the second period, poking in the puck under Nedeljkovic, before Zacha scored 14 seconds later, making it 2-0 at 8:22 with a wrist shot from the slot on a rebound. 

"Obviously, they're fighting for their lives,” DeBrusk said. “I think with the later start, it was definitely a different feel to the game. I guess first period, and probably after that, there were some momentum shifts. They had some good shifts.  

“We capitalized on our chances. Another a good test for us. That's what we're going to be seeing coming up.” 

Bryan Rust cut it to 2-1 at 10:27, tapping in a pass from O’Connor. 

Kevin Shattenkirk extended the lead to 3-1 at 11:35 to end a 28-game goal drought with a snap shot from the right face-off circle, resulting in Jarry replacing Nedeljkovic. 

“I thought the atmosphere was great tonight,” Shattenkirk said. “So it kind of creates that playoff atmosphere for us, juices you up a little bit, rather than playing somewhere that may be a little bit quieter and might be harder to get into the game.”

Brad Marchand pushed it to 4-1 with a short-handed goal at 14:54 on a wrist shot through Jarry's five-hole.

Bunting scored on the same power play, cutting the deficit to 4-2 at 15:52 by tipping in a pass from Malkin in the crease.

O’Connor cut it to 4-3 on a short-handed goal at 4:32 of the third period, backhanding the puck past Marchand, going around him and holding him off for a shot from the slot.

Morgan Geekie made it 5-3 on a one-timer at 14:10 before Danton Heinen scored an empty-net goal, extending it to 6-3 at 17:13.

Malkin scored with 1:21 remaining for the 6-4 final.

“You have to worry about the next one. That’s it,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. “That’s what we’ve been doing here for a long time. So we’re practiced pretty well at that.”

NOTES: Crosby, 36, had the secondary assist on Rust’s goal to reach 90 points (41 goals, 49 assists) in 80 games this season. He is the ninth player in NHL history to hit that mark at 36 or older. … Karlsson’s 814 points (188 goals, 626 assists) are the 10th most by a defenseman through 1,000 NHL games, behind Paul Coffey (1,249), Ray Bourque (1059), Denis Potvin (1,011), Al MacInnis (966), Phil Housley (959), Bobby Orr (915), Brian Leetch (900), Brad Park (823) and Doug Wilson (815). ... Forward Pat Maroon had one shot on goal in 13:16 of ice time in his Bruins debut after being acquired in a trade with the Minnesota Wild on March 8. He had not played since having back surgery on Feb. 6.