For the first time since 2006, the Bruins and Penguins are both non-playoff teams. They meet up tonight for the penultimate game of the season.
Who: Boston Bruins (32-39-9, 73 points, 8th place Atlantic Division @ Pittsburgh Penguins (33-35-12, 78 points, 7th place Metropolitan Division)
When: 3:30 p.m. ET
How to Watch: truTV, TNT, SportsNet Pittsburgh+ and streaming on Max
Pens’ Path Ahead: Just one game left in the season after this as the Penguins prepare to wrap up the 2024-25 campaign at home against Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Thursday.
Opponent Track: The Bruins recently tumbled to the bottom of the Atlantic with a 10-game losing streak before alternating wins and losses through their last four games. Most recently Boston dropped a 5-2 decision to the Chicago Blackhawks at home on Thursday.
Season Series: The Pens and Bruins have split the season series so far. Philip Tomasino scored the third-period game-winner and Tristan Jarry made 30 saves in a 2-1 road win on Nov. 29. The Penguins were then unable to come back from an early deficit on March 1 in a 3-2 loss at home.
Getting to know the Bruins
Projected lines
FORWARDS
Morgan Geekie – Elias Lindholm – David Pastrnak
Pavel Zacha – Casey Mittelstadt – Fabian Lysell
Marat Khusnutdinov – Fraser Minten – Riley Duran
Cole Koepke – John Beecher – Jakub Lauko
DEFENSEMEN
Nikita Zadorov / Henri Jokiharju
Mason Lohrei / Andrew Peeke
Michael Callahan / Parker Wotherspoon
Goalies: Jeremy Swayman and Joonas Korpisalo
Scratches: Mark Kastelic (upper body), Ian Mitchell, Vinni Lettieri
IR: Charlie McAvoy (shoulder), Hampus Lindholm (knee)
- Former Providence College standout and 2020 sixth-rounder Riley Duran made his NHL debut during Thursday’s loss to the Blackhawks. Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco said Saturday that the Bruins’ hope is to use the remainder of the season to “keep the group energized and create some competition with each other internally,” and Duran could be one of the players looking to earn a roster spot next season.
Player stats
(via hockeydb)
- The Bruins have had a lot of issues this season, but David Pastrnak isn’t one of them. He recorded his 100th point of the season on Tuesday against the New Jersey Devils, joining Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito as the only Bruins to record three straight 100-point season.
- It’s hard to overstate how good Pastrnak has been for an underperforming Bruins team this season. As of Tuesday, he had factored in on 47.2 percent of the Bruins’ goals, per WEEI’s Scott McLaughlin. That’s the highest single-player percentage in the NHL. If the Bruins were a contender, that could be enough to earn him Hart Trophy consideration.
But the Bruins are not a playoff team. For the first time since 2006, both the Bruins and Penguins are out of the playoff picture. (For the first time in NHL history, the New York Rangers are, too.)
- The Bruins’ offseason decisions range from deciding on a permanent head coach (Sacco was given an interim tag when he took over for Jim Montgomery in November) to reimagine a lineup that could look completely different in 2025-26.
The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa recently pointed out what the Bruins lineup would look like with only players who are currently under contract for next season:
TBD – Pavel Zacha – David Pastrnak
TBD – Casey Mittelstadt – TBD
TBD – Elias Lindholm – TBD
TBD – TBD – Mark Kastelic
TBD – Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm – TBD
Nikita Zadorov – Andrew Peeke
Jeremy Swayman / Joonas Korpisalo
The Bruins will have to make decisions regarding with RFAs including Mason Lohrei and Morgan Geekie this summer.
And now for the Pens
Projected lines
FORWARDS
Ville Koivunen – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust
Danton Heinen – Evgeni Malkin – Rickard Rakell
Connor Dewar – Kevin Hayes – Valtteri Puustinen
Joona Koppanen – Vasily Ponomarev – Philip Tomasino*
DEFENSEMEN
Matt Grzelcyk / Kris Letang
Erik Karlsson / Conor Timmins
Ryan Graves / Ryan Shea
Goalies: Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic
Potential Scratches: Vladislav Kolyachonok, Tommy Novak (lower body, out for season), Boko Imama (bicep surgery, out for season), Philip Tomasino (concussion), Blake Lizotte (out for season), Noel Acciari (out for season), Rutger McGroarty (foot, out for NHL season)
Injured Reserve: P.O. Joseph (upper body)
*Tomasino, who has missed three games with a concussion, wore a full-contact jersey for the latter part of Saturday’s practice. Mike Sullivan said he’s going to be a game-time decision this afternoon.
- The Penguins haven’t finished with a points percentage below .500 since Sidney Crosby’s rookie 2005-06 season. The team currently has a points percentage of .488 and will officially finish below the .500 mark if they lose either against the Bruins or Caps.
In terms of long-term aspirations, that mark won’t matter nearly as much as the Penguins’ draft position. Pittsburgh Hockey Now’s Dave Molinari still checked in with Bryan Rust about how he felt about breaking the streak.
“I’m not sure too many people in here have thought about it,” Rust told Molinari. “But once it’s brought up, we’d like to probably finish .500 or better.”
- Speaking of draft position: the Pens head into Sunday with a 6.0 percent chance at the top pick and 6.2 percent chance at No. 2, per Tankathon.