Bruins at Penguins: Shorthanded Pens Blue Line Takes on NHL's Hottest Club

Pens come alive and not a moment too soon. Still, Boston appears to be heading out of town with points in 15 straight. Pens definitely did not have their best tonight. Philly Thursday.

Joe Vitale finds Matt Cooke on a 2-on-1 break and its 3-1 Boston. First good thing to happen for the Pens all night, and it appears that one-third of the opening crowd stayed here to witness it. Now the Pens scrum it up in front and Vitale fights Campbell. Pens finally responding. Vitale with the decision. Crowd is back.

Nothing dirty about the hit Paille puts on Geno, just unfortunate and Geno's lip split due to that bird cage on Paille's melon.

Crosby hurt after colliding with Chris Kunitz. Still on the bench but slumped over. Not a head injury, so there's that.

Seguin on the PP and its 3-0. In other news, TSN's Bob McKenzie has tweeted that the NHL Board of Governors has approved the new four-division realignment plan, one in which the Penguins would only have to play against the Bruins twice a season as opposed to the current four.

McKenzie tweet here.

Pittsburgh's power play is of the 2011 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals variety. Terrible showing.

A pair of minors on Boston give the Penguins two full minutes of 5-on-3. They registered 0 shots in their first 5-on-3.

Pens announce 222nd straight sellout.

Brooks Orpik giveaway leads to a chance and Benoit Pouliot puts one past Fleury. 2-0 Bruins. The Pens had an extended 5-on-3 go to waste as old PP habits, which seem to be made of indecision and nicotine, again come to the surface. Letang's absence is being felt.

Boston scrums it up in front of Fleury and finally pokes one in. 1-0 Bruins from Gregory Campbell. Pens still getting little going offensively as pretty passes continue to find Bruins sticks. Just as soon as its over, Matt Niskanen and Brad Marchand get into a welterweight bout. Niskanen got his arm (very) free and rid Marchand of his helmet. The scrum came about after Marchand appeared to slewfoot Niskanen behind the net, and Pens go to the power play.

Good, chippy first period between Pens and Bruins as they're still scoreless. These teams put on a few barnburners the last few years but so far we've had a defensive battle. As mentioned, Pens 7th in goals against and 2nd on PK, Bruins 1st in goals against and 5th in PK percentage. Nineteen combined shots in the first.

Pens appear to be playing too cute a home game, at times bypassing clear shots on Thomas in search of the perfect play, while Bruins appear willing to shoot from anywhere. Good for Fleury to get some work in early and find a groove, but Pens will need to answer Bruins chances by getting deep, using their speed (which I still believe to be superior to Boston's) and just firing on Thomas whenever available.

A little more 90s for you.

Haven't seen a team all year take so many point shots as the Bruins have in one period tonight. Lost count awhile ago.

This is a Penguins' power play that has James Neal, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Steve Sullivan. Boston PK may be exceptional, but that power play wasn't. Pretty clear that Kris Letang is the straw that stirs the man-advantage drink in Pittsburgh.

Second time in a row Bylsma answers PK with Crosby and Malkin on a line, and again they create a scoring chance. Not a bad strategy if you don't mind taking a penalty every five minutes

Bylsma one-hands a flying puck, tosses over the glass to a kid and receives the biggest cheer of the night. Staal an absolute beast on PK forecheck, hounding Joe Corvo. The Pens PK looks strong early.

Now Despres gets two for slashing. Pens were very disciplined to start the year but have gotten into plenty of penalty trouble of late.

For all that Boston does well, power play scoring is not on that list. Pens put on a clinical penalty kill and come back with 14-87-71 line, which creates a few scoring chances in response. Great atmosphere at CONSOL tonight. They know this is a huge game.

Home crowd thought Chara interfered with Pascal Dupuis on that rush but the zebras tag Dupuis for holding. Fine job by the 9' 30" Chara to sell that call.

The Bruins have already fired a few from the blue line, letting their big guys get low and fight for rebounds with young Pens defense. Huge test for the kids down low.

The Bruins appeared to have an early one there but it's immediately waved off due to contact with the goaltender. No penalty on the play, still 0-0 with just a few minutes gone.

Looks like Fleury versus Thomas tonight. Two of the best goalies in hockey, both at the top of the wins list. Pens have gotten to Thomas in the past, but with Boston leading league in goals scored, Fleury's going to need to put on a show.

The pregame arena music has been up and down. Metallica, Queens of the Stone Age, Rolling Stones—up, up, up.

Breaking Benjamin: not up.

School's in session:

Rookie Simon Despres will make his third straight appearance for Pittsburgh. Despres has averaged just over 10 minutes TOI in his first two NHL contests
Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

The official Pens injured report lists Deryk Engelland as day-to-day with an unspecified lower-body injury. Engelland was injured late in Saturday's game against the Carolina Hurricanes. Alex Picard has been recalled to take his place.

Zbynek Michalek and Kris Letang have been diagnosed with concussions and have not appeared since the overtime win in Montreal two weeks ago. Letang has been placed on seven-day injured reserve retroactive to November 26. The team can recall Letang at any time. As noted by Penguins Report, the move was made to accommodate Picard's move into the lineup.

Richard Park (lower-body) is a game-time decision, and Jordan Staal is active for Monday's action after taking a puck below the eye against Carolina.