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Pens try to bounce back in Game 3 at Boston

Jun 5, 2013 - 4:40 PM (Sports Network) - After getting thoroughly outplayed in the first two games of the Eastern Conference finals on home ice, the top-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins will try to rebound on the road as they visit the Boston Bruins for Wednesday's Game 3 at TD Garden.

Boston has picked the Penguins apart so far in this series, winning a 3-0 decision in the opener on Saturday before slamming Pittsburgh in Monday's 6-1 rout at CONSOL Energy Center.

Of course, the task of getting back into this series becomes more difficult for Pittsburgh with the best-of-seven set shifting to Boston for Games 3 and 4. The Penguins had identical 18-6-0 records at home and on the road during the regular season and is 3-2 as the guest in these playoffs.

Meanwhile, the fourth-seeded Bruins are 5-2 in Beantown in this postseason after posting a 16-5-3 mark at TD Garden during the 2013 campaign.

Boston grabbed the lead just 28 seconds into Game 2, as Brad Marchand turned a Sidney Crosby turnover into a breakaway goal. Crosby tried to whack a bouncing puck at the right point and missed it shortly after the opening faceoff. The disc was picked up by Marchand in the neutral zone and he went in on a clear break, snapping the puck into the left corner for a 1-0 lead.

The Bruins soon would push their lead to 3-0 before heading into the first intermission with a 4-1 advantage.

Marchand wound up with two goals and his linemate Jaromir Jagr added two assists. Nathan Horton, Patrice Bergeron and Johnny Boychuk each contributed a goal and an assist to the blowout.

David Krejci also added a goal for the Bruins and leads all skaters in the playoffs with 20 points (8G, 12A). Horton is second in the NHL with 17 points on seven goals and 10 assists.

The Bruins also received another strong outing from goaltender Tuukka Rask, who turned aside 26 shots.

"We had all of our guys making some great plays out there tonight," said Boston head coach Claude Julien. "Tuukka has been in the zone for a while and he's got a lot of confidence right now. That puck looks huge to him."

Rask has turned aside 55-of-56 shots in two games against the Penguins, who were averaging an NHL-best 4.27 goals per game heading into this series. Pittsburgh is still leading all playoff teams in goals per game, but has seen that number slip to 3.69 after the first two tilts of this series.

Brandon Sutter had the lone goal on Monday for the Penguins, who lost consecutive home games for the first time since dropping their first two home tilts of the season.

Tomas Vokoun, who made his ninth straight start in goal for Pittsburgh, was pulled less than 15 minutes in after giving up three goals on 12 shots. Marc- Andre Fleury, who was replaced by Vokoun in the quarterfinals and playing for the first time since May 7, gave up three goals on 17 shots in relief.

"We're going to Boston and we have to win Game 3," said Pittsburgh head coach Dan Bylsma. "This team has won a lot of hockey games and it's a good team. We certainly didn't play anywhere near what we're capable of and that's got to be our focus."

Bylsma had been quiet regarding which goaltender will get the start tonight, but following Wednesday's morning skate it was revealed Vokoun would be starting Game 3.

This is the first series between Boston and Pittsburgh since 1992, and the Bruins are aiming to eliminate the Pens from the postseason for the first time since 1980. The Pens and Bruins have split four all-time series in the postseason.

Game 4 of this series is scheduled for Friday in Boston.