The Boston Bruins will fight for a chance at the Stanley Cup Finals in game four as they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins Friday. Boston leads the Eastern Conference finals three games to none.
The Bruins are coming off a 2-1 overtime victory that featured a game winning goal from Patrice Bergeon; veteran Jaromir Jagr contributed a vital assist in the second overtime when he outmuscled Evgeni Malkin for the puck along the boards before dishing it off to Brad Marchand. "Jags is a future Hall of Famer who has come into our locker room and bought into our system, which is not always an easy thing to do and he has done it and done a great job at that," said Boston forward Chris Kelly.
Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference added, "He's come a long way, he's changed his game a bit, obviously, not only as the years have gone on, but in coming to our team. I think that guys have a lot of respect about who he was in the past, but I think now we're seeing how hard he pushes himself to be better and how he's not too good to develop into what we need him to be."
"He's pretty much a legend, he's a guy that's going to be in the Hall of Fame at some point, and he's doing the little thing right there just to fight for the puck, and you notice that as a teammate," said Bergeron. "It goes a long way, as I said, and we all need to do that."
While Jagr and the Bruins have triumphed, the Pittsburgh Penguins have increasingly portrayed their achilles heel throughout this series. Once hailed as the favorites to win the Stanley Cup, the Penguins have been dismantled physically by the Bruins and their porous defense has been unable to contend with the strength of their opponents. Despite the odds, the team is optimistic about its chances at taking it one game at a time.
"We stick with it. We can't get three wins with one game. We have to find a way to get back there and get back to that same level we had tonight, and hopefully capitalize on our chances. But I don't think there's too much we would change going into Game 4. If we can play the same game, and put those pucks in the net, then we can give ourselves a chance," said Penguins Captain Sidney Crosby.
Prediction: Boston manages the sweep with a 4-1 win.
Start Time: 8 PM EST
TV: NBCSN