Penguins 2, Bruins 1: Tomas Vokoun turned aside 31 shots and Joe Vitale scored his first goal in over a year to snap a tie late in the first period as host Pittsburgh posted its ninth consecutive victory.

Captain Sidney Crosby also tallied and Pascal Dupuis added an assist to extend his point streak to three games as the Penguins (44 points) moved past idle Montreal (42) for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

Tyler Seguin scored his seventh goal in March and Tuukka Rask finished with 16 saves for the Bruins, who dropped their second straight one-goal game to Pittsburgh. The Penguins scored three late third-period goals en route to a 3-2 victory on Tuesday.

Pittsburgh seized a 2-1 lead with 32 seconds remaining in the first period. Rask made the initial save after Craig Adams' shot deflected off the knee of Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference, but Vitale dove to lift the loose puck under the crossbar. The tally was Vitale's first since scoring in a 4-2 win over Columbus on Feb. 26, 2012.

After Crosby converted in the slot to open the scoring with 7:54 remaining in the first period, Seguin forged a 1-1 tie just over 4 1/2 minutes later. Seguin collected the carom off defenseman Johnny Boychuk's blast and beat Vokoun from the left faceoff circle.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Pittsburgh D Kris Letang suffered a lower-body injury and exited the contest with 1:26 remaining in the first period. ... Boston C David Krejci was hit on the right knee by a shot from Boychuk with just over five minutes remaining in the third period. Krejci needed assistance to get off the ice. ... Reigning Hart Trophy winner Evgeni Malkin skated on his own Sunday, but missed his fifth consecutive contest with an upper-body injury.