Game 41: Bruins 4, Penguins 2

The Good

• Sticking with it One can't entirely fault the B's effort in this game; in fact, it could be argued that they deserved to be in a better position than down two goals going into the third period. However, they kept at it, stuck with it, whatever you want to say, and got rewarded in the end. Zdeno Chara called this victory a "great character win," and it's hard to argue with that.
• Who was the throw-in again? Gregory Campbell was called a "throw-in" in the Nathan Horton trade by some, an added spare part to help get the deal done. I'm not going to claim Campbell is a better hockey player than Horton, but he's certainly been far more consistent this year. Campbell had three points in the last four minutes of the game last night: an assist on Chara's PPG, an assist on Brad Marchand's tying goal and an empty-netter to seal the deal. Campbell now sports a stat line of 4G-8A-12PTS and is a +3 on the year. For those keeping score, Campbell had as many points in the final four minutes of last night's game as Horton's had since Dec. 15. Just sayin'...
• Marchand and Bergeron ...are becoming the B's two most consistent players. In a season that seems to be rife with up-and-down play throughout the lineup, these two players have been fairly consistent bright spots. Bergeron has turned it up a notch lately and has quietly taken over the team lead in points, passing Milan Lucic. Bergeron had his second-straight two-point night last night, and has recorded six points in his last five games. Bergeron has points in nine of the B's last 12 games. Marchand, meanwhile, may not be putting up the same point totals as Bergeron, but he's making his impact felt in other areas. The youngster is responsible with the puck, tenacious on the forecheck and a very hard worker. He also has quietly recorded at least a point in five of his last eight games.

The Bad

• Rupp's goal The first Penguin goal is one that Tuukka Rask simply can't allow. Not only did it come from a grinder in Mike Rupp, but it came on a backhand that was nearly below the goal line. Those are the saves a goalie has to make.
• Haven't you done enough, Cooke? One could very convincingly argue that Matt Cooke has already done enough to Marc Savard. So why, then, did Cooke feel the need to take himself out of position and try to check the pivot during the B's game-winning power play last night (top-right of the screen at around 1:50)? Cooke's eagerness to throw a hit left Michael Ryder wide open in the slot; Ryder fired the puck on net, and Mark Recchi eventually batted it in for the game-winning strike. Cooke cost his team on that one.
• Where are you? Did the Bruins top-guns even play last night? David Krejci: no points, no shots; Milan Lucic: no points, three shots; Savard: no points, one shot (and an incredibly lazy slashing penalty). Not good enough.

The Rest

• The Penguins' second goal was a sublime display of skill from Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. Malkin's saucer pass across the ice was a thing of beauty, only to be outdone by Letang's absolute laser beam of a shot. Rask had no chance on that one. The Pens will need Malkin to step up his game while Sidney Crosby's out with a concussion. Letang is quickly becoming one of the league's best young defenseman, as the 23-year-old has 37 points and is a plus-20 on the season so far.
• All in all, a decent big-league debut for Matt Bartkowski. The Pittsburgh (or technically Mt. Lebanon), PA, native had a lot to deal with in his first NHL game: short notice, a high-powered opposing offense, oh and yeah it's in your hometown. Good luck, kid! Bartkowski did fairly well, though he did get spun around pretty badly on Mike Rupp's goal and tagged with a somewhat lazy hooking penalty. The Ohio State product finished the night with no points and a minus-1 in 9:53 on the ice. Not perfect, but not bad for a kid's first game in the NHL.

Attaboy: Campbell. He seemed to be everywhere the B's needed him to be in the last four minutes of this game, and had a couple of great chances earlier on as well.

Providence Shuttle: The B's best players. WHERE ARE YOU? The All-Star break isn't for a few weeks, I think you guys went on vacation a little early.