{"id":494159,"date":"2026-03-09T04:23:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T04:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/494159\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T04:23:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T04:23:09","slug":"blown-lead-road-loss-breaking-apart-the-bruins-loss-in-pittsburgh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/494159\/","title":{"rendered":"Blown Lead, Road Loss: Breaking Apart the Bruins\u2019 Loss in Pittsburgh"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Sunday marked seven straight road losses for the Boston Bruins.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bostonhockeynow.com\/2026\/03\/08\/bruins-blow-three-goal-lead-fall-in-overtime\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Bruins (35-22-6) saw a three-goal lead vanish as they fell 5-4 in overtime<\/a> to the <a href=\"http:\/\/pittsburghhockeynow.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> (32-17-4) on Sunday. <a href=\"http:\/\/puckpedia.com\/player\/pavel-zacha\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Pavel Zacha<\/a> scored a hat trick, and <a href=\"http:\/\/puckpedia.com\/player\/david-pastrnak\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">David Pastrnak<\/a> scored for the first time since January 27, but that meant little to them given the result.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHaving a two-goal lead going into the third, and playing really, overall, solid defense, and you just give it up in the third period. Not happy about that,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=GJuNJueHIQ8\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Marco Sturm said<\/a> after the game. \u201cAt the end of the day, it\u2019s a good point for us. Something we have to learn and move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Whether it is a good point for the Bruins can be debated; they led 3-0 late in the second period. On the other hand, they are now three points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Pavel Zacha scored a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NHLBruins\/status\/2030753650159583232?s=20\" rel=\"nofollow\">power play goal<\/a>, and he added <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NHLBruins\/status\/2030767692613910538?s=20\" rel=\"nofollow\">one more<\/a> in <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NHLBruins\/status\/2030784221938130993?s=20\" rel=\"nofollow\">each period<\/a> for his second hat trick of the season. Zacha is now on a five-game point streak with three goals and four assists in that span.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was a good feeling in the moment,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ZUYxb_rROdA\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Pavel Zacha said<\/a> about the hat trick. \u201cI think after [the] loss, you don\u2019t really think about it anymore. You know, we\u2019re leading most of the game, so it was a good feeling. I was able to score the third goal, but after the game, it kind of goes away if you don\u2019t win.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>David Pastrnak also buried a goal, his first in nine games. He intercepted a pass from <a href=\"http:\/\/puckpedia.com\/player\/arturs-silovs\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Arturs Silovs<\/a> behind the net, wrapped it around, and banked it off the Penguins\u2019 goalie and in.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/ZUYxb_rROdA?si=pqE6cGsw-LympjzR&amp;t=129\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">he said<\/a> when asked if he was relieved to score.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, the Penguins controlled this game, and even more so after Pastrnak extended the Bruins\u2019 lead.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Penguins generated 61.54% of 5-on-5 shot attempts, winning the battle 64-40. They poured 39 shots on <a href=\"http:\/\/puckpedia.com\/player\/joonas-korpisalo\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Joonas Korpisalo<\/a>, who stopped 34. The Bruins only had 28 shots on net.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28724\" class=\"wp-image-28724 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20252026-21002-cfdiff-5v5.png\" alt=\"Shot attempts for Bruins v Penguins March 8 2026\" width=\"751\" height=\"350\"   loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-28724\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.naturalstattrick.com\/game.php?season=20252026&amp;game=21002\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Image Courtesy of NaturalStatTrick<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Penguins also won the physical battle, outhitting the Bruins 24-17.<\/p>\n<p>A 5-on-3 power play allowed <a href=\"http:\/\/puckpedia.com\/player\/yegor-chinakhov\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Egor Chinakhov<\/a> to get on the <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/penguins\/status\/2030771453730165099?s=20\" rel=\"nofollow\">scoresheet<\/a> in the second period.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Then, in the third period, things quickly got out of hand. The Penguins <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/penguins\/status\/2030780934245511665?s=20\" rel=\"nofollow\">scored<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/penguins\/status\/2030782380689006832?s=20\" rel=\"nofollow\">twice<\/a> in 33 seconds and tied the game at three.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/puckpedia.com\/player\/connor-dewar\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Connor Dewar<\/a> spun around Jonathan Aspirot for the Penguins\u2019 second goal. <a href=\"http:\/\/puckpedia.com\/player\/anthony-mantha\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Anthony Mantha<\/a> got away from Aspirot for the third goal, moving in all alone on Joonas Korpisalo.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>What was a three-goal lead disappeared in a matter of 11 minutes and 51 seconds.<\/p>\n<p>Marco Sturm called a timeout after the third Penguins\u2019 goal.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe didn\u2019t handle those moments very well, and we didn\u2019t do it again,\u201d Sturm said about calling the timeout. \u201cThat\u2019s why we got the second goal (of the third period), and I just wanted to calm the bench down. That\u2019s all. Guys responded, but again, we just need to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Zacha\u2019s hat-trick goal regained the lead right after the timeout, but the Penguins quickly <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/penguins\/status\/2030784060176334858?s=20\" rel=\"nofollow\">responded<\/a> and forced overtime with the tying goal. Anthony Mantha was left unmarked at the crease and buried a rebound.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Overtime did not last long.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/puckpedia.com\/player\/thomas-novak\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Tommy Novak<\/a> scored <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BR_OpenIce\/status\/2030789365673201759?s=20\" rel=\"nofollow\">17 seconds<\/a> into the extra period, but not without controversy. <a href=\"http:\/\/puckpedia.com\/player\/erik-karlsson\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Erik Karlsson<\/a> stepped into the lane, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SNPittsburgh\/status\/2030789831786209652?s=20\" rel=\"nofollow\">setting a pick<\/a> on David Pastrnak and sending him to the ice.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI mean, it is a penalty,\u201d David Pastrnak said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been playing 3-on-3 for some time now, and these picks happen all the time. But, to me, it\u2019s clear he stepped in my lane. Didn\u2019t get called, cost us a point unfortunately.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the end of the day, we won the faceoff, we shouldn\u2019t be in that position. And we were up 3-1.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For the Bruins, the struggles away from home continue. Their last road win was <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonhockeynow.com\/2026\/01\/18\/breaking-apart-bruins-sixth-straight-win-blackhawks\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">January 17<\/a> in Chicago. They have gone 0-3-4 since then.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah, no, of course we want to win, and we had a really good opportunity today,\u201d Sturm said about the recent road struggles. \u201cThe difference today was [that] they didn\u2019t stop skating. Pittsburgh, they played last night; they didn\u2019t stop. That got us a little bit in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe made too many mistakes, too, a little bit, in the third. A few guys were just probably not sharp today like they are used to. But again, we got to move forward, that\u2019s how I see it, and it\u2019s a very big point for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While the road is a struggle, home ice is not.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Bruins will look to add to their 12-game home winning streak on Tuesday night at the TD Garden. Marco Sturm and the Bruins will host his old club, the Los Angeles Kings (25-23-14). They are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games, but 15-8-7 on the road this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/x.com\/jackstudley13\" rel=\"nofollow\">FOLLOW @JACKSTUDLEY13 ON \ud835\udd4f<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/x.com\/boshockeynow\" rel=\"nofollow\">FOLLOW @BOSHockeyNow ON \ud835\udd4f<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sunday marked seven straight road losses for the Boston Bruins.\u00a0 The Bruins (35-22-6) saw a three-goal lead vanish&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":494160,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5113],"tags":[95,2178,58,5,4,7610,118,1469,100,5216],"class_list":{"0":"post-494159","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-penguins","8":"tag-boston-bruins","9":"tag-david-pastrnak","10":"tag-featured","11":"tag-hockey","12":"tag-nhl","13":"tag-pavel-zacha","14":"tag-penguins","15":"tag-pittsburgh","16":"tag-pittsburgh-penguins","17":"tag-pittsburghpenguins"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116197314523751853","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=494159"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494159\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/494160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=494159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=494159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=494159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}