Talking Points: Not enough oomph aside from Bruins' 4th line vs Penguins

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Talking points from the Bruins' 5-3 loss to the Penguins

GOLD STAR: It was ultimately in a losing effort, but give credit to Chris Wagner for bringing his very best to the table in defeat. Wagner finished with a goal and two points for his first multi-point game of the season, had a season-high nine shots on net and threw out five hits in 12:42 of demolition derby ice hockey. It was Wagner that kept the play alive in front of the Boston net long enough to eventually work possession out to Brandon Carlo for his first goal of the season, and it was Wagner again in the third period that sparked a third-period comeback with his own goal. Wagner almost had another goal in the second period when his net drive ended with a puck resting on the goalie’s chest in the crease, but the officials ruled it no goal.

BLACK EYE: It was not a good night for Charlie McAvoy, and probably his worst since coming back from the 20-game absence due to a concussion. McAvoy and John Moore made a poor defensive play in the first period both chasing a puck carrier behind the net and leaving things wide open leading to Pittsburgh’s first goal. Then it was McAvoy again trying to make a play on the PP that instead turned around the other way into a 2-on-1 shorthanded breakaway for Pittsburgh’s third goal of the game. McAvoy did puck up an assist in his 23 plus minutes of ice time while also racking up four hits, but a couple of key defensive breakdowns ultimately hurt the Bruins.

TURNING POINT: For the Bruins it was definitely the third-period defensive zone face-off lost by David Krejci that immediately led to the game-winning goal for the Penguins. The Bruins had just battled back to tie the game at 3-3 with a pair of goals scored in 33 seconds, and at least put themselves in a good position to at least take a point from the game. Then Krejci loses a draw and Ryan Guentzel is able to put a high tip on a Kris Letang point shot that ended up in the back of the net before Jaroslav Halak had a chance to make a play on it. It wasn’t anybody’s fault per se, but it’s those big face-off situations in the D-zone where you really miss No. 37 when he’s out of the lineup.

HONORABLE MENTION: Clearly the Bruins didn’t have enough answers for Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith, who stopped 48 shots in earning the victory for Pittsburgh. He probably made his best save in the first period when he gloved a Brad Marchand backhanded bid after he’d worked his way free in front to receive a David Krejci dish. But DeSmith was just solid making a number of underrated pad saves and using his big body to stand tall in the net and keep Boston from scoring more on their whopping total of 51 shots on net. Certainly, the B’s hoped for a better fate in a game where they outshot their opponent by a 51-28 margin, but that didn’t have on this night for Boston.

BY THE NUMBERS: 0 – The number of words uttered by Jaroslav Halak, who opted not to talk to the media tonight after getting the loss with four goals allowed on 27 shots. Halak has now lost three of his last four games despite some still very strong numbers.

QUOTE TO NOTE: “They said they blew the whistle and lost sight of the puck. You can't really argue that. I tried to tell them that last year against this very team Crosby scored one against Khudobin and they counted it. It was very similar to me. It was sitting on the goalie’s chest and we knocked it in…no goalie interference. But once they blow the whistle there’s no challenge on my end.” –Bruce Cassidy, on the no-goal call on a play in the second period where it looked like Sean Kuraly knocked a live puck off Casey DeSmith’s chest into the net. 

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