Game 1 Recap:

One thing we have learned thus far is that this series will be fun to watch. The Bruins were successful getting under the skin of the Penguins. We saw Sidney Crosby take a bad penalty within the final two minutes when he took a whack at Tyler Seguin out of frustration. Prior to that at the end of the 2nd period, we saw Penguins captain Sidney Crosby trying to mess with Tuukka Rask. The rough stuff at the end of the period culminated in a Patrice Bergeron and Evgeni Malkin fight. A Patrice Bergeron fight is a rarity considering this was only his 2nd career bout and I know all Bruins fans had to be holding their collective breaths  considering Patrice Bergeron’s concussion history. Moreover, the Bruins defense played very well.  The return of Andrew Ference was a welcome one as he provided steadiness with Johnny Boychuck against the Malkin line. The defense as a whole stayed in the passing lanes and prevented odd man rushes. As I tweeted last night, Tuukka Rask had to be the MVP of yesterday’s game. Did he get a few posts? Yes, but he earned them with his steller MVP play, which Bruins Believer predicted I might add. Overall, it was a thrilling win with the Bruins playing their brand of hockey and imposing their will against Pittsburgh.

Game 2 Preview

The last thing I would expect from the Pittsburgh Penguins is for them to remain off the score sheet for another home game. After all, this is the same team that was averaging over 4 goals per game during the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Bruins will have to match the intensity level that the Penguins will be bringing to Game 2 and convert on their odd-man rush opportunies. The Penguins can’t afford to go down by 2 games heading out on the road to Boston. The Boston Bruins power play can’t get much worse then it did in Game 1 and it must improve if they hope to keep pace. Tuukka Rask must continue to be strong between the pipes. It will be another battle and hopefully, the officials have not listened to the collective whining of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Let’s hope the Bruins continue with another strong defense effort and physical play. Let’s Go B’s!

Don’t forget to follow me on twitter for all of my in-game thoughts!