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Iginla, Bruins renew rivalry with Penguins

Oct 30, 2013 - 2:48 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - Jarome Iginla will return to the city he briefly called home, as his Boston Bruins visit the Pittsburgh Penguins in Wednesday's battle at CONSOL Energy Center.

Iginla was the longtime face of the Calgary Flames franchise before being dealt at last season's trade deadline to the Penguins, who beat out the Bruins for the star player's services. Pittsburgh sent a 2013 first-round draft pick and a pair of collegiate prospects to the Flames for Iginla, but he wound up signing a one-year, $6 million deal with Boston after the lockout-shortened campaign.

The 36-year-old winger had five goals and six assists in 13 regular-season games last season and added 12 points (4G, 8A) in 15 playoff tilts for the Pens, who were swept by Boston in the Eastern Conference finals. Iginla, the owner of 532 career goals and 1,114 points, has two goals and six assists in 10 games with the Bruins this season.

"They're going to be very motivated to play us extremely hard and that's just the way it goes, you know?" Bruins captain Zdeno Chara told his team's website of his expectations for Wednesday's rematch. "Usually we play each other hard anyways but with the history of playoff series, it usually means teams get extra jump for the other teams."

Iginla will try to help the B's get back in the win column Wednesday after the club had its longest winning streak of the season halted on Saturday. The New Jersey Devils scored two power-play goals in the last 68 seconds to earn the win in Boston and halt the Bruins' four-game winning streak.

Boston also had taken seven straight and 11 of its previous 12 games against the Devils before Saturday's 4-3 setback.

Iginla, Torey Krug and Milan Lucic scored for the Bruins, while Tuukka Rask made 28 saves in defeat.

"Obviously we had the lead and momentum, but we let it slip by. We let this one get away from us," said Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron.

Boston scored the game's first two goals, grabbing a 2-0 lead on Iginla's marker at 9:19 of the first period. The Bruins led 3-1 after 20 minutes, but were unable to get another one past Martin Brodeur the rest of the way.

The Bruins have yet to lose two straight at any point this season, but Boston could be headed for its first slide of the season if the club's recent regular-season history against the Pens is any indication.

Pittsburgh has taken six straight and eight of the last nine meetings against the Bruins. The Pens also have claimed three in a row on home ice.

While Boston aims to rebound from a loss, the Pens try to build off their first win in four games. Pittsburgh went 0-3-0 from Oct. 21-26 before notching Monday's 3-1 victory at Carolina.

Jayson Megna, playing his second game, was credited with a goal after Sidney Crosby's shot went in off his skate and the Pittsburgh Penguins snapped their longest losing streak in almost two years.

Megna, who was called up from the AHL last Thursday, recorded the first two points of his NHL career on Monday, adding an assist in the victory.

Crosby had two assists and is leading the league with 20 points this season. His shot from the slot in the third period deflected off Megna to give the Penguins their 3-1 lead.

"I think he'll remember it (as) top-shelf a couple years from now," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma deadpanned about Megna's goal.

Chris Kunitz also scored and Brooks Orpik had three assists for the Penguins, who snapped their longest skid since a six-game slide from Dec. 29, 2011-Jan. 11, 2012.

Marc-Andre Fleury faced few shots early on and made 20 saves to record the win.

Wednesday's tilt marks the start of a brief two-game stay in the Steel City for the Pens. Pittsburgh, which will also host Columbus on Friday to kick off a home-and-home series, is 5-2-0 at CONSOL Energy Center this season.

Boston, however, is a perfect 4-0-0 on the road so far.