Bruins go extra long, shove Penguins to brink

-->
BOSTON  As it turned it out, the angst over goaltending in the city of Pittsburgh was directed toward the wrong puck stopper.

The debate was about which Pittsburgh goalie should begin Game 3, but the Penguins' real problem was their inability to solve Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask.

The Finnish goalie made 53 saves to outduel Tomas Vokoun and guide the Bruins to dramatic 2-1 double-overtime win that puts the No. 1-seeded Penguins on the verge of elimination in the Eastern Conference finals.

"He's really giving us the saves we need, the energy and the momentum that we need in order to do the job in front of him," said Bruins center Patrice Bergeron.

Bergeron scored the game winner at 15:19 of the fifth period to end the longest Bruins' game since the 1990 Stanley Cup Final.


BOX SCORE: Bruins 2, Penguins 1 (2OT)

"At five periods, everyone is weary," Rask said. "But it's more of a mental challenge."

The Bruins, up 3-0 in the best-of-seven series, can complete the sweep with a win Friday in Game 4 (8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network).

The Penguins came into the series as the league's hottest scoring playoff team, averaging 4.27 goals per game, but the Bruins have limited them to two goals in approximately 11 full periods.

MORE: Campbell kills penalty on broken leg

The Bruins killed all six Pittsburgh power plays in Wednesday's game, dropping the Penguins to 0-for-12 in the series.

"It was hard-fought all over the ice, and we threw a lot at them," said Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma. "We threw a lot at them in regulation, we threw 50-plus shots, and we played exactly how we wanted to play, just couldn't locate the second goal."

Rask has stopped 108 of 110 Penguins shots for a .981 save percentage.

SCHEDULE: Dates, results and TV

"He has been our most consistent player all year long, and he just proved that again," said Bruins forward Chris Kelly.

Rask stopped 10 shots by Evgeni Malkin, eight by defenseman Kris Letang and seven by James Neal. Chris Kunitz got the only shot past him, tying the game 1-1 at 8:51 of the second period. David Krejci had given Boston a 1-0 lead 1:42 into the game.

The game-winning play started with 41-year-old Jaromir Jagr winning a puck fight against Malkin.

"He's a lovely strong individual," Rask said.

Bergeron said Jagr's play was indeed the blaze-starter




"He's pretty much a legend," Bergeron said. "He's a boy who is going to be in the Hall of Fame at some point, and he's doing the tiny thing right there just to fight for the puck."

Jagr got the puck to Brad Marchand, who got the puck to Bergeron. Pittsburgh defenseman Brooks Orpik was draped over Bergeron, who yet got the shot away.

The shot beat Vokoun, who was solid with 38 saves after being pulled in Game 2.

"That's the playoffs," said Penguins captain Sidney Crosby. "That's how it works sometimes. I thought we deserved better, but they found a way to profit the gigantic one in overtime."


-->