Penguins Silence Bruins And Their Fans With Fleury's First Shutout Of The Season, 3-0

Who's the beeeatch now?

With hatred and revenge in the air before what everybody in Boston felt was the most anticipated and most important game of their Bruins' season last night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Penguins dominated the lifeless B's all over the ice and notched a 3-0 victory behind Marc-Andre Fleury's 17 saves.

Hosting NHL Vice-President Colin Campbell and Director of Officiating Terry Gregson in the stands to closely observe the proceedings -- and in the presence of 4 of the league's most veteran on-ice officials -- the Bruins got at least some measure of revenge against wanted man Matt Cooke last night, but quickly showed that all the talk from the players and coach Claude Julien leading up to the game to how important it was to get the two points was nothing more than lip service.

After Boston enforcer Shawn Thornton challenged a more-than-willing Cooke to a bout 5 seconds after #24 first took the ice 2+ minutes into the opening period -- and then scored a victory by taking Cooke down with 2 right hands -- the Bruins forgot to play the rest of the game and the Penguins took advantage.

Coming off a miserable game the night before against the New Jersey Devils when he was a -3, Tyler Kennedy scored the Penguins' first goal about 7 minutes in by carrying the puck into the Boston zone on a 2-on-1 before beating Bruins' netminder Tuuka Rask high, top-corner glove side.

It was TK's first goal in 19 games.

Pittsburgh carried that 1-0 lead into the first intermission, then came out of the gate in the second period and dominated, ringing up the first 12 shots and causing the Bruins' faithful to boo their club mercilessly.

Boston Captain Zdeno Chara tried to get his team going later that period by engaging Pens' winger Mike Rupp in a fight at center ice, but that, too, failed to give his club any energy, and Pittsburgh responded by upping their lead to 2-0 about 15 seconds before the period ended when Alexei Ponikarovsky tipped a point shot from Kris Letang past Rask just seconds after a power play expired.

That marker was Ponikarovsky's first goal in 7 contests, and his second as a Penguin.

In the third period, the Bruins failed to get a shot for the first half of the frame and then Rupp finished them off by beating Rask to the far side after taking the puck down the wall into Boston's zone on a semi-breakaway.

At the other end, Fleury was hardly challenged in registering his first shutout of the season.

With the win, and a shootout loss by the Devils to the Toronto Maple Leafs last night, the Penguins were able to move back into first place in the Atlantic Division -- and the 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference that goes with it.

Their lead over the Devils is at one point, and New Jersey does still have a game in hand.

Meanwhile, with their loss, all the Bruins' bloodthirsty fans got was a dose of disappointment, as these pieces make glaringly plain:

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/hockey/bruins/view/20100318bruins_retaliate_against_matt_cooke_lose_to_penguins/srvc=home&position=2

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/hockey/bruins/view/20100319revenge_but_no_victory_shawn_thornton_pounds_matt_cooke_as_bs_fall/

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/hockey/bruins/view/20100319matt_cooke_penguins_laugh_it_off/

The Pens' next game is tomorrow afternoon back at home against the Carolina Hurricanes (1:00 PM EST) -- a team they have yet to beat this season in three tries.

It's important the Penguins get on a little bit of a roll again, especially with games coming up next week at Detroit and at Washington.

More over the weekend.


NOTES:

Penguins' center Evgeni Malkin missed his second straight game last night with a bruised foot sustained on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Like he did the day before, Malkin went out on the ice early in the day, but stayed only briefly before adjorning back to the locker room. I think he's going to be out until next week, at least.

Enforcer Eric Godard returned to the lineup against the Bruins last night -- and not a game too soon, at least as a deterrent factor. While he didn't have to drop the gloves, it was still good to have him in the lineup in case. Godard took the lineup spot of Max Talbot, who was a healthy scratch.

Pittsburgh announced yesterday that CEO Ken Sawyer will retire effective August 31. Sawyer, who first joined the team as an Executive Vice President and COO in 1999, and who became President in 2003 before becoming CEO in 2006, will be replaced as CEO by current team President David Moorehouse.