DeSmith, Penguins defeat Bruins for fifth straight win

BOSTON -- Casey DeSmith made 30 saves to help the Pittsburgh Penguins end their 10-game road losing streak against the Boston Bruins with a 4-1 win at TD Garden on Thursday.

Pittsburgh (24-11-2), which has won five games in a row, was 0-8-2 since its last win in Boston, 3-2 in overtime on Nov. 24, 2014.
"It's been a long time and it was definitely something we talked about," Penguins forward Zach Aston-Reese said. "I know Kris Letang] went with the mustache, and I didn't really see his suit, but I guess he wore a pretty flashy suit. I know a lot of guys changed things up and got coffees at different spots, things like that. So definitely we were trying to do everything we could to snap that streak."
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made 19 saves for Boston (18-10-5), which is 2-2-1 since returning from a pause due to NHL COVID-19 protocol that caused two games to be rescheduled.
"We've had games like this where we just don't respect the process, we don't respect taking care of the puck," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "A lot of it was our top guys tonight. Yeah, our younger guys are learning the ropes a little bit but [they have to] do a better job taking care of the puck. It's that simple."
The teams play again here Saturday.
Aston-Reese gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead at 2:01 of the second period from in close. Mike Matheson scored on an end-to-end rush at 13:12 to extend the lead to 2-0.
"I just think it's an overall complete game," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "I love the start we had, I thought we had great energy in the first period. I thought our attack was really strong, whether it was with the puck or without the puck. You know, there were times when we put pucks in behind their defensemen and established a pretty good puck-pursuit game, and that's when I think our team's at its best, when we're playing on our toes like that."

Brad Marchand got Boston within 2-1 at 11:14 of the third period with a redirection from the left side of the slot.
"They're a good team," Marchand said. "They compete hard, they've won, they know what it takes, they still have the majority of their core in there. We have to bring our best game when we want to compete with them, so we need a better effort on Saturday."
Jason Zucker gave the Penguins a 3-1 lead at 13:07 off a pass from Evan Rodrigues.
"It was a heck of a play by Marcus [Pettersson] to step up at the red line, and then an even better play by Rodrigues to give me that pass," Zucker said. "So at that point it's just getting the puck on net. But you know it was, again, a big goal at that point in the game."
Jake Guentzel scored an empty-net goal at 17:51 for the 4-1 final.
"Well it's great from our standpoint," Sullivan said of ending the losing streak at Boston. "I can only speak for myself personally, but it's nice to get a win here. You know this is not an easy building to play in, this is a real good team and has been for a number of years. And so it's always a big challenge when you come here. I thought the guys played really hard tonight."
NOTES:Penguins forward Brandon Tanev returned after missing six games because of an upper-body injury. He had an assist and a Pittsburgh-high five hits in 14:02 of ice time. … Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo sustained an upper-body injury in the first period and is day to day. He was playing his second game since returning from 10 games missed due to an upper-body injury. … Pittsburgh goalie Tristan Jarry did not play because of an upper-body injury.