Pittsburgh Penguins Lose Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in 2-0 Loss to Bruins
The Pittsburgh Penguins suffered a crushing 2-0 loss to the Boston Bruins today, but it was a different set of losses that left the Pens looking for answers.
Pittsburgh’s two leading scorers, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, were both lost for the match against the Bruins. Crosby took part in the team’s warmup before being scratched right before the opening faceoff.
Head coach Mike Johnston indicated after the game that the captain was scratched due to illness rather than injury, though there was little information offered past that.
Pittsburgh’s leading goal-scorer, Malkin, started for the Pens but absorbed a hard hit from Boston’s Chris Kelly in the first period. The hit caused Malkin’s ankle to twist somewhat awkwardly, and the star centre remained down in pain for a fair while after the collision.
Malkin was able to suit up for a few more shifts but never returned after the first intermission. He skated a total of only 4:15 of ice-time.
Without their two most lethal offensive threats, the Pens had little firepower to take down the Bruins.
Boston’s Milan Lucic opened the scoring midway through the first stanza, taking a pass in the slot and turning to wire it past backup netminder Thomas Greiss.
Pittsburgh managed 12 shots against the Bruins’ Tuukka Rask in the first, while giving up 14 to the Bruins, but were unable to find the twine.
The second period saw a strong effort by Pittsburgh, playing with altered lines in the face of Crosby’s and Malkin’s absences. The Pens outshot Boston 10-8, but neither club registered a goal.
The game continued with much of the same through the second period as both teams posted 8 shots but were denied by the opposing goaltenders.
Down 1-0 with the clock winding down, Johnston elected to pull Greiss for the extra attacker.
Bruins captain Zdeno Chara was the one to tally a late goal, however, scoring an empty-netter to ice the Pens and take the score to 2-0 – where it would remain as 60 minutes elapsed.
The shutout was Rask’s third of the season.
Despite the losses of Crosby and Malkin, Pittsburgh did get one key contributor back for the game.
Defenseman Christian Ehrhoff made his return to the lineup, playing in his first game since Feb. 25th.
The veteran defender had a solid performance, skating for 21:24 of ice-time (logging time on both the powerplay and penalty kill), while also registering 2 blocks and 6 shots – tied for the team lead.
Blake Comeau and Patric Hornqvist led the Pens forwards in terms of shots, registering 6 and 4, respectively. The two also combined for 13 hits.
Coach Johnston stated after the game that both Crosby and Malkin could possibly play tomorrow when the Pens face off against the Detroit Red Wings.
The Pens will certainly hope the two are okay as, after dealing with numerous injuries throughout the season and finally reaching a point of nearly full health, the loss of either one of their marquee stars would be a crushing blow right before playoffs begin.
Fans and the organization alike will wait to see whether one or both of the centermen will suit up tomorrow night against Detroit.