Pens Extend Unbeaten Streak

WHAT HAPPENED

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Watch: Game Highlights

BIGGEST TAKEAWAY: MALKIN'S LINE

Evgeni Malkin's line with Zucker and Kapanen broke through in a big way tonight. All three players were an absolute force coming out of the second intermission and were the biggest factors in the Penguins battling back to get a point.
"I thought Geno's line had a strong game," Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said. "They were on the puck, they had a lot of offensive-zone time, they created a lot of scoring opportunities."
It was Zucker who got it started just seconds after the Penguins' sixth power play of the night (more on that below) expired. The Penguins were putting everything at the net and the puck eventually popped out to Zucker, who buried it past Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask.
"I think our emphasis today going into the game was shooting pucks, trying to get to the net," Zucker said. "I think we, and myself especially, have been a little bit too fancy the last few games trying to make the perfect play."
Tonight marked the first time Kapanen started a game in the top-six, as the Penguins had been managing his minutes after he was forced to miss all of training camp and the first three games of the season after immigration issues delayed his debut.
"I think the coaching staff has done a good job with me," Kapanen said. "Minutes-wise, it was smart for me to not get too many in the first couple games. Coming into Game 4 now, I feel like I'm getting my legs underneath me a bit, so it's getting there."
That was evident in Kapanen's play, as he was absolutely buzzing in the third period. He was denied on a point-blank chance of his own before helping set up Zucker's goal. He then used his speed to get a mini-breakaway after a beautiful pass from Malkin. And Kapanen finally broke through in the goal column after anotherbeautiful pass from Malkin.
"G kind of gave it to me in stride and I was just trying to take it to the net," Kapanen said. "I feel like I got hooked a bit, so I think that kind of threw Rask off a bit and it just went underneath his pad. But I'm happy it went in. I'll take it."
As for Malkin, he got better and better as the game went on, and was especially dominant in overtime - where he had a breakaway and led the charge on a 3-on-0 attempt.
Much has been made of Malkin's relatively slow start to the season, as he had one goal, one assist and a minus-4 in his first seven games heading into tonight. But as Sullivan said Monday, it's only a matter of time before Malkin finds his game consistently, and tonight was a huge step in the right direction.
"He just seemed to get more and more confident," Sullivan said. "I think with Kappy's speed on that line, I think it really helps. Obviously they score that goal with Kappy's wide speed, Geno makes a nice play to him. He had the puck an awful lot tonight and that's usually an indication that Geno's game is coming."

MORE THOUGHTS, MUSINGS AND OBSERVATIONS

- O'Connor makes NHL debut
Rookie forward Drew O'Connor made his NHL debut in the game after taking the traditional rookie lap prior to warmups.
"It was definitely pretty cool skating out there for the first time," O'Connor said. "Pretty cool moment, a lot of fun. I think I spent the first couple shifts shaking off the nerves a little bit and then kind of settled into the game after that."
O'Connor finished with one assist in 10:51 minutes of ice time while also seeing time on the second power-play unit as the net-front presence. That's where he was standing when Kapanen's shot deflected off of his skate and right to Jared McCann. His attempt caromed to Zucker, who finished the play to give O'Connor his first career point.
The Pens love O'Connor's combination of size, scoring ability and skating. The skating in particular was on display tonight, along with his work ethic. There was one sequence in the second period that stood out when the Penguins were trying to get out of their own zone.
O'Connor hustled to the halfwall to pokecheck the puck off of one Bruin. It went to another Bruin at the blue line, where O'Connor didn't give up on the play, forcing a turnover there to get the clear.
"I thought it was great," Sullivan said of O'Connor's debut. "He had a real strong game. He was good on our second power play, we used him a little bit on the penalty kill. I think he skates really well; he's got a good stick, he's got good hockey sense. I thought he had a real good first game."
O'Connor is the second Penguins rookie to make his NHL debut in the past few days, as defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph did the same in Friday's shootout win over the Rangers.
- Special teams struggle
The Penguins ended up on the wrong side of the special teams battle against Boston.
After not getting a power play on Sunday against the Rangers, the Penguins got six chances on the man-advantage tonight. But they couldn't take advantage, going 0-for-6 on the power play while giving up a shorthanded goal. Boston also converted a two-man advantage to go 1-for-3 in that regard.
"I didn't think we executed as well as we have been in prior games tonight for whatever reason," Sullivan said. "You have to give Boston credit, they've got a very good penalty kill. But I didn't think we were at our best for whatever reason. We didn't execute as well as our guys have been up until this point."
The Penguins had stuck with the same units for the first five chances: Kris Letang, Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust and Malkin on the first and John Marino, Kapanen, Zucker, McCann and O'Connor on the second. They flipped Letang and Marino on the sixth chance, which ultimately led to Zucker's goal.
"For us as that second unit, we're trying to get shots on that," Zucker said. "We're lucky and happy to get one, but we'll get back to work on it tomorrow and try to be a little bit better next time."
- Another defenseman goes down
Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin was injured on the final shift of the second period when he took a slash on the knee and went down. He was able to skate off on his own accord, but did not return for the third period. Sullivan said he is being evaluated for a lower-body injury.
The Penguins are already without three other defensemen, as Marcus Pettersson (upper-body, week-to-week), Juuso Riikola (upper-body, longer-term) and Mike Matheson (upper-body, longer-term) are all currently out.
"It's tough when you go down that many players at the same position," Sullivan said. "It certainly is a test of your depth. I think the guys are stepping up, we're asking guys to play more significant minutes and more significant roles, and these guys are competing. So I give them a lot of credit. They're playing hard back there."
On a positive note, Matheson - who last played in the second game of the season in Philadelphia - did take part in the Penguins' optional skate on Tuesday morning.
"The fact that he's on the ice and has made the trip is encouraging," Sullivan said. "It suggests that he's getting closer to a return to play. His status has not changed."