Bruins' Win Streak Snapped at Seven

The Boston Bruins held the second place spot in the Eastern Conference heading into last night's clash with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and they were in pursuit of their eighth straight victory. Unfortunately for Boston, the Penguins overcame a late Bruins' rally to stun the home squad, 3-2, in overtime.

Patrice Bergeron and Steven Kampfer were both out of action last night. Kampfer has a mild concussion that will keep him out a couple of weeks, while Bergeron was absent for "personal reasons." The loss of Bergy certainly showed in the team's play, which was lackluster for the majority of the game offensively.

Personally, I would have liked to see Claude Julien slide Tyler Seguin straight into Bergeron's spot between Brad Marchand and Mark Recchi. That way, you give the kid a chance to play on a higher line, but additionally, you keep your other three lines intact. Those are the lines that have won you 7 straight games. But instead, Julien slid Seguin up to the third line wing beside Michael Ryder and Chris Kelly, and he moved Rich Peverley up to center with Recchi and Marchand. Why didn't I like this decision? Because now you've got two set of guys who have never played together as a unit. The alternative could have limited that to one minor difference.

Still, the Bruins were able to erase a 2-1 deficit in the final minute of the game with their goaltender pulled. Tomas Kaberle had a huge blocked shot on an empty net attempt, a last-ditch effort that would need some magic on the back end of it. A few seconds later, Boston had established possession below the goal line. Milan Lucic found David Krejci in the slot, and Krejci wasted no time ripping the goal over Marc-Andre Fleury's shoulder. A point a piece, and the two sides were headed for OT.

Pittsburgh tallied a goal on a bad Dennis Seidenberg turnover in the neutral zone, giving them the 3-2 win and snapping the Bruins win streak at 7 games. Still, the B's collected a point and remain 3 points ahead of Tampa Bay for the second spot in the East. They are 5 points ahead of Montreal in the Northeast Division with a game in hand.

The loss isn't any type of cause for panic, but it did open our eyes once again to reality -- Boston just doesn't seem to be able to endure the loss of a key centerman in their line-up. David Krejci's injury last season led to a full-on implosion, and the loss of Bergeron last night was clearly evident in the entire offensive system. So let's hope for good health and good fortune to go along with the good roster this Bruins team has to work with moving forward.