Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury not only helped the Pittsburgh Penguins snap a two-game losing streak, he also personally joined some elite company. Fleury made 27 saves and Evgeni Malkin scored his second goal of the game 32 seconds into overtime in the Penguins' 3-2 victory against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Monday. With the win, Fleury became the third-fastest (547 games) and third-youngest (29 years, 361 days) goaltender to earn 300 NHL victories. Jacques Plante and Andy Moog are the only goaltenders to reach that milestone in fewer games, and Martin Brodeur and Terry Sawchuk are the only ones to do it a younger age. Malkin's second goal finished off a 2-on-1 with Sidney Crosby. Malkin also scored the game-tying goal on a power play 9:42 into the second period for the Penguins. Malkin and Crosby don't usually play together at 5-on-5, but coach Mike Johnston decided to put the two centers on the ice together during the 4-on-4 overtime. The Bruins have lost two in a row after winning three straight games. Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask made 30 saves on 33 shots. But the Bruins felt like they deserved a better fate. The Bruins had two goals waved off on the ice and by the situation room. The first one came at 10:00 of the first period with the Bruins behind 1-0. Defenseman Kevan Miller took a wrist shot from the left point that Patrice Bergeron tipped on Fleury and then batted the rebound out of the air with a backhand swipe. The goal was waved off on the ice after a "group huddle" by the officials, and the situation room upheld the ruling that Bergeron's contact with the puck was above the crossbar. The Bruins increased their total of waved-off goals in the past five games to four at 10:43 of the third period, when officials ruled that Carl Soderberg directed the puck into the net with his glove. The situation room confirmed the ruling and the game remained tied 2-2. Crosby got the Penguins on the scoreboard first after a strong shift down low by his line, including Patric Hornqvist and Craig Adams. Crosby backhanded a rebound of Adams' shot past Rask 3:33 into the game for a 1-0 lead. The Bruins, who were shut out 2-0 by the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, got a goal that did count at 1:43 into the second period when Milan Lucic flipped the puck into an open net after a nice setup by Loui Eriksson. Boston grabbed the lead 28 seconds later on defenseman Joe Morrow's first NHL goal. Morrow's wrist shot went through a screen and past Fleury at 2:11 to give Boston a 2-1 lead. The Penguins evened the score 2-2 on Malkin's power-play goal and then closed it out in the extra period. It was a solid bounce-back performance for Pittsburgh after they were swept by the New York Islanders in a home-and-home series. Fleury was covered in shaving cream after he was pied by his teammates. Morrow was drafted in the first round by Pittsburgh in 2011.
Pens Quotes
Marc-Andre Fleury: "It's tough to realize, maybe, but it's something I'm happy and proud. I've been fortunate to play with good teams too."Mike Johnston: "We tried it a couple games ago and I really liked them together. I was hesitant earlier in the year, I wanted to get a little bit of balance, but I thought, 'Geez, they had some great chemistry when they are out there with 4-on-4.' And they're dangerous on the rushes you saw. It was a great play from Sid to [Malkin]. They're [the Bruins] a good team, a solid team. It's always a nice place to win, here in Boston. Those two losses were tough to take, but I think everybody stepped it up tonight, and we got a big two points."
Opposition's Excuses
The Odious Brad Marchand: "I thought we had a pretty good game overall. That's how it goes sometimes. Sometimes you have bad games and you win and have good games and lose. We did get one point. We want to continue to build."Claude Julien Whined and Opined: "On that first goal, the closest referee calls it a goal. And then it's no goal because the three furthest ones think it's a high stick, so I guess that's what's frustrating in my mind. I don't know what the League looked at. When I looked at the replay myself it looked more inconclusive. Now, they may contradict me and say they had a better angle from where they were, but that's how it looked to me. I think that's a little frustrating, especially the number of goals that we've had turned back on us this year."
Joe Morrow: "At first I thought [Gregory] Campbell touched it. But I guess it didn't and it was a good feeling, a good thing to get that out of the way. First point too, so hopefully I can kind of do something offensively out there for once and contribute that way too."
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