Despite heading into the third period with the lead, the Pittsburgh Penguins lose their fifth straight game.
Even when there isn’t a roof over their heads, the Pittsburgh Penguins struggle to close out third period leads.
The Penguins dropped the 2023 Winter Classic to the Boston Bruins despite heading into the third period with a 1-0 lead.
It's not just a loss at Fenway Park, but a defeat that extends their losing streak to five games.
The Penguins entered the game playing with an abnormal lineup, icing 11 forwards and seven defensemen but finished the first period with their backup goalie in net.
With just under five minutes left in the opening frame, starting goalie Tristan Jarry exited the game with what looked like a lower-body injury.
Casey DeSmith came in to finish the game and went on to make 19 saves on 21 shots.
Through the remaining of the first period and the entire second, DeSmith kept the Bruins off of the score sheet while the Penguins took a 1-0 lead.
Both Kasperi Kapanen and Danton Heinen have been healthy scratches for multiple games this season but connected for the Penguins lone goal.
Heinen found Kapanen alone in front of the net, the exact place Kapanen wants to be to find continued success.
Those two shots missed by DeSmith came in the third period off of the stick of Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk, also around the net front.
The Penguins were only able to muster that one goal from Kapanen, despite having a decent rush for themselves in the closing seconds of the game.
Had it not been for the clock running down, Evgeni Malkin would have tied the game for the Penguins as a puck squeezed through Linus Ullmark just after the closing whistle.
Outdoor hockey is never an easy game given the ice conditions, and that seemed visible; both teams looked a step slower and struggled to make clean plays.
With this loss, the Penguins fall to 19-12-6 on the season and are yet to win since returning from the Christmas break.
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