Pastrnak, Marchand shutout, Swayman outing wasted, and more: 3 reasons why Boston Bruins lost 2-1 to Pittsburgh Penguins

The Boston Bruins dropped a hard-fought 2-1 decision against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night at the TD Garden.

The low-scoring affair featured a goal from Charlie Coyle at 1:24 of the first period. That would be all the scoring the Bruins could muster on the night. Rickard Rakell tied the game for the Penguins with a second left in the second period. Then, Philip Tomasino got his first goal as a Pittsburgh Penguin at 7:26 of the third period to notch the win for the Pens.

Let’s take a look at the three reasons why the Boston Bruins lost against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night.

3 reasons why Boston Bruins lost against Pittsburgh Penguins

#3 The power play was shut down again

A recurring theme this season for Boston has been their largely ineffective power play. Entering Friday night’s contest, the Boston Bruins’ power play was ranked dead last in the league at 12.4%. The 0-for-3 outing against the Penguins did nothing to improve that total.

While the Bruins’ penalty kill went 2-for-2, the Bruins’ lack of offensive firepower with the man advantage proved to be a major factor in their defeat on Friday night.

#2 The Bruins wasted a great performance by Jeremy Swayman

Swayman was brilliant on Friday night, stopping 34 of 36 shots for a .944 SV%. Swayman’s performance was enough to earn him the game’s third star despite the loss.

It’s worth pointing out that Swayman, like backup Joonas Korpisalo, has had strong outings this season. However, the lack of offensive support has led the Bruins to drop low-scoring games. In Swayman’s last outing against the Vancouver Canucks, he gave up one goal on 14 shots and lost the game 2-0.

#1 The Bruins’ top scorers went silent once again

The Boston Bruins' big guns were out of ammunition on Friday night. David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, Elias Lindholm, and Charlie McAvoy all failed to register on the scoresheet. While Pastrnak had seven shots on goal, he could not find the back of the net.

Similarly, Marchand had three shots with Lindholm getting just one. McAvoy got two shots on goal while playing a team-high 24 minutes. Moving forward, the Bruins’ top scorers will need to get back on the scoresheet in order to support their goaltenders’ strong performances.

The Bruins will get their next chance to flex their offensive muscles against the Montreal Canadiens at the TD Garden on Sunday night. The Bruins will be looking to make up ground on the third-place Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division.