National Hockey League
Pittsburgh 4, Boston 3
When: 12:30 PM ET, Sunday, January 19, 2020
Where: PPG PAINTS Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Referees: Francois St. Laurent, Kelly Sutherland
Linesmen: Steve Barton, Derek Nansen
Attendance: 18655

Bryan Rust's tiebreaking goal in the third period capped the Pittsburgh Penguins' comeback from an early three-goal deficit Sunday to give them a 4-3 victory over the visiting Boston Bruins.

At 12:35 of the third period, Rust, from 12 feet, converted a pass from behind the net from Evgeni Malkin, who picked up his 50th point on the assist.

Dominik Simon, Teddy Blueger and Jack Johnson also scored, and Sidney Crosby had two assists for Pittsburgh, which picked up its NHL-leading 18th home win while playing in front of the 600th consecutive home sellout, including playoffs.

Penguins goaltender Matt Murray made 34 saves.

David Pastrnak had a goal and an assist, and Patrice Bergeron and Anders Bjork also scored, all in the first period, for the Bruins, who have lost three of four. The lone victory in the stretch was a 4-1 decision against the Penguins on Thursday at home.

Goalie Jaroslav Halak made 18 saves for Boston.

The Penguins played down a forward for the second and third periods after winger Dominik Kahun left with an injury. In addition, Simon left for parts of the second and third periods.

Bergeron struck 11 seconds into the first period, putting the puck under Murray's pads from the right circle for a 1-0 Boston lead.

At 2:02 of the first, Bjork made it 2-0 on a shot from the hash marks that sailed past Murray's glove.

Boston pushed it to 3-0 at 15:07 of the first when Pastrnak's shot from a sharp angle went in off the stick of Pittsburgh's Johnson in the crease.

Simon got Pittsburgh on the scoreboard 1:27 later to cut it to 3-1 off a feed from behind the net by Crosby.

The only goal of the second period came 33 seconds in. Blueger, just out of the penalty box, joined a three-on-two. He roofed a shot after Crosby's backward, between-the-legs pass.

Johnson atoned for his inadvertent own goal when he tied it 3-3 with his first career short-handed score at 1:41 of the third. Coming in as the trailer on a two-on-two, he scored on a short-side blast from the top of the left circle.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Boston   Pittsburgh
David Pastrnak 2 Points Sidney Crosby 2
David Pastrnak 1 Goals Teddy Blueger 1
David Pastrnak 1 Assists Sidney Crosby 2
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals Jack Johnson 1
Jaroslav Halak .818 Save Percentage Matt Murray .921
Jaroslav Halak 18 Saves Matt Murray 35
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Boston 38 3 0-2 2-2 6 37
Pittsburgh 22 4 0-2 2-2 6 27
Upcoming Games
  • Pittsburgh will play their next game on the road against Philadelphia. The Penguins have a W/L % of .633 after a win and .632 after a loss.
  • Boston will play their next game at home against Vegas. The Bruins have a W/L % of .690 after a win and .381 after a loss.