Crosby scores NHL goal No. 499, helps Penguins defeat Bruins

BOSTON -- Sidney Crosby broke a tie with his 499th NHL goal, helping the Pittsburgh Penguins rally to defeat the Boston Bruins 4-2 at TD Garden on Tuesday.

Crosby gave the Penguins a 3-2 lead on the power play at 12:53 of the second period with a one-timer from the bottom of the left face-off circle off a pass from Bryan Rust.
Danton Heinen scored twice in 28 seconds, and Rust had a goal and an assist for Pittsburgh (28-11-8), which had lost four in a row (0-1-3) and trailed 2-0 in the first period. Tristan Jarry made a season-high 43 saves.
"I thought the game was sloppy in so many areas. It certainly wasn't our best by any stretch," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "What I do think is that, if you play the right way consistently, more often than not, you're going to get the result you're looking for. So I give the players high marks because I thought we dug in as the game went on."
David Pastrnak scored twice, and Taylor Hall had two assists for Boston (26-15-3). Jeremy Swayman made 21 saves.
"Goaltending picks you up some nights, and it can deflate you," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "I think we saw both in the second period. I mean, you're not going to play a perfect game. Their guy made more stops than our guy did. So to me, that's the bigger story of the game."

It was the first game for each team since the break for the 2022 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend. Each last played Feb. 1.
Pastrnak gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead on the power play at 2:01 of the first period with a one-timer from the left face-off dot. He made it 2-0 at 15:34, batting a rebound out of the air near the right post after Jarry saved Hall's wrist shot.
"[Hall and I] like to play with each other, and our chemistry is getting better, but still a lot of game to work at," Pastrnak said. "I think we kind of shot ourselves in the foot. I think we were the better team, but we made a lot of mistakes. Pittsburgh is a great team with a lot of skill, and they were able to capitalize on our every mistake."
Heinen cut it to 2-1 at 4:18 of the second period with a forehand-to-backhand move in front of the crease off a pass from Brock McGinn. Heinen tied it 2-2 at 4:46 with a wrist shot from the bottom of the right circle. Swayman made the initial save before the puck bounced over his left shoulder.
"That was fun," Heinen said. "It felt good today to see it go in a couple times there. Hockey's a funny game, you know, it doesn't go in sometimes. Sometimes two go in on one shift. So it was fun."

Rust scored into an empty net at 18:31 of the third period for the 4-2 final.
Bruins center Patrice Bergeron left the game at 8:44 of the third with an upper-body injury after colliding with Crosby and hitting the boards. Cassidy had no update.
Bruins forward Brad Marchand was assessed a two-minute roughing penalty and five-minute match penalty for attempt to injure with 25 seconds left in the third after an exchange with Jarry. Marchand punched Jarry and later poked him in the mask with his stick.
"I think it's just the heat of the moment," Jarry said. "I think everyone's battling hard out there, he's just trying to get the puck to the net, and I think our team did a great job. It's part of the game, and it stays on the ice."
Cassidy said, "Honestly, that's lack of discipline on Brad's part in that situation. I just watched the replay at the end. It looks like some words were exchanged. … Brad's a leader on our team and he needs to control his emotions in that situation."
NOTES: It was Heinen's first game against the Bruins since they traded him to the Anaheim Ducks on Feb. 24, 2020. He played his first four NHL seasons (2017-20) for Boston, scoring 103 points (34 goals, 69 assists) in 220 games. His two goals Tuesday were the fastest by a Penguins player since Martin Straka scored twice in seven seconds during a 2-2 tie against the Edmonton Oilers on Feb. 11, 2000. … Pastrnak scored the first goal of the game for the 52nd time, tied with Marchand for the most in the NHL since he debuted in 2014-15. Pastrnak scored two goals for the second straight game and has scored 16 in his past 16 games. The goals have come since Jan. 1 (18 games) and are the most in the NHL in that span.