BOSTON -- The Penguins did a lot of things to try to break their 10-game losing streak at TD Garden.
Kris Letang opted for a new slant on personal grooming, reducing his facial hair to a simple mustache, and donned a suit that Zach Aston-Reese described as "pretty flashy."
Other guys tinkered with their game-day routines, like buying their pregame coffees from a new place.
"A lot of guys changed things up," Aston-Reese said. "Definitely, we were trying to do everything we could to snap that streak."
It's safe to assume that none of that hurt the Penguins' chances, but it also is unlikely that any of it had an impact on the outcome of their game against Boston at the Garden Thursday night.
So what did make a difference, did make their 4-1 victory over the Bruins possible?
Lots of things, actually.
The way the Penguins defended all over the ice, using their sticks as effectively as they have at any time this season.
Scoring the first two goals of the game, and never having to play from behind.
Consistently getting pucks behind the Boston defense, then establishing a robust forecheck.
Jason Zucker converting an Evan Rodrigues setup in the third period, less than two minutes after Boston had pared the Penguins' lead to 2-1.
And that's just a sampling, because everyone in a Penguins sweater, with the probable exception of backup goalie Maxime Lagace, left at least a few fingerprints on this victory.
"It was a team effort, from throughout the lineup," Mike Sullivan said. "We were getting contributions from everyone."
And they were getting them all over the ice, whether it was clearing rebounds and tying up Bruins sticks in the defensive zone or using their advantage in speed to generate scoring chances against Boston goalie Dan Vladar.
Although Zucker's goal might have been the most important in the game because of when he scored it -- "It was a big goal at that point in the game," Zucker said -- the most spectacular of the evening was authored by Mike Matheson.
The Penguins were up, 1-0, when Matheson collected the puck inside his blue line and carried it into the neutral zone before accelerating down the right side. He got around Boston defenseman Jeremy Lauzon, then cut across the front of the net before tossing a shot past Vladar at 13:12 of the second period for what proved to be the game-winner.
Matheson said the sequence was triggered when "I just took a look up and saw that there was some open ice."
Lots of defensemen could have seen that open ice. Very few could have taken advantage of it the way Matheson did.
His goal showcased the skating and offensive skills that convinced former general manager Jim Rutherford to gamble that he was worth acquiring from Florida after last season, despite defensive flaws that surface in his game occasionally.
Sullivan deftly ducked a question asking whether Matheson's goal spawned memories of one Robert Gordon Orr -- that kind of heresy can get a person tried for witchcraft in some parts of Massachusetts -- but did allow that "it sure was an impressive rush."
And an important part of an impressive victory.
It was the Penguins' fifth in a row and lifted them into a three-way tie with Washington and the New York Islanders for first place in the East Division, although the Penguins sit third in that cluster because of tiebreakers.
No less important is that they are nine points ahead of the fourth-place Bruins, who have four games in hand, and 12 up on Philadelphia and the New York Rangers, who are tied for fifth.
That means the Penguins' magic number for securing a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs, which would extend a streak that began in 2007, is 31. The Flyers, who have played one fewer game than the Rangers, could finish with a maximum of 80 points; the Penguins already have 50.
The chances of the Penguins returning to the playoffs obviously are pretty good, especially if they don't stray from the commitment to team defense they have shown in recent weeks.
They have allowed two or fewer goals in 13 of their past 14 games (and actually won the one in which they allowed three, a 6-3 decision over the Islanders last Saturday), and it's not only because goalies Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith have been performing so well.
"We're playing defense first," Aston-Reese said. "It's all the cliches you talk about. Defending hard. Playing in front of your net. Blocking shots, and things like that. We're doing all the little cliches."
Their willingness to continue investing so much energy in playing defense if/when skilled forwards like Evgeni Malkin and Kasperi Kapanen return to active duty ultimately could determine how successful their season is.
There is a temptation to rely on superior talent when it is present; the decision to put forth the effort relentless defense demands is a lot easier to make when trying to outscore opponents isn't practical.
"Sometimes, when you go through some adversities, from an injury standpoint, it may heighten the awareness and the importance of, and the necessity of a commitment to team defense, overall defense," Sullivan said.
There's no word on when Malkin or Kapanen will return, but Brandon Tanev was back after a six-game absence. And his presence was hard to miss for reasons that went far beyond him setting up Aston-Reese for the first goal of the game.
"He gives us a huge boost," Sullivan said. "I think our guys feed off his energy. ... He plays the game so hard, and I think his energy is contagious. He makes us faster, he makes us more physical, he makes us harder to play against."
It sure looked that way Thursday night, when the Penguins left the Garden with a pair of points for the first time since Nov. 24, 2014
And they were well aware of the streak they had ended.
"It was definitely a topic of discussion," Matheson said.
The team he plays for should be becoming one around the league, too.
MORE FROM THE GAME
• The Penguins' team defense was historically good during the opening period, when Boston was held to two shots on DeSmith. That's the fewest the Bruins ever have recorded in a non-overtime period against the Penguins in 215 all-time meetings. "I loved the start we had," Sullivan said. "I thought we had great energy in the first period."
•Zucker had a breakaway in the first period but missed the net with a backhander after struggling to maintain control of a pass from Jared McCann, a failure he attributed solely to himself. "That's just bad hands, to be honest," Zucker said. "It was a perfect pass from McCann. ... That was really just a mistake on my part."
• There were only three power plays awarded in the game, with the Penguins getting one. Neither team scored with the extra man.
• DeSmith finished with 30 saves, and was beaten only by a sensational shot by Boston's Brad Marchand at 11:14 of the third period. "It was too bad we gave up that goal in the third period, didn't get him the shutout, because he really deserved it," Matheson said.
• Although the Penguins ran up an early 8-3 advantage on faceoffs, Boston ended up with a 35-26 edge, thanks mostly to Patrice Bergeron's 17-7 record. It included three consecutive wins against Sidney Crosby after the Bruins had replaced Vladar with an extra attacker in the waning minutes of regulation.
• Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo, playing in his second game since returning from a concussion, left the game in the first period and did not return. Boston coach Bruce Cassidy would say only that he suffered an upper-body injury.
THE ESSENTIALS
THE THREE STARS
As selected at TD Garden:
1. Mike Matheson, Penguins
2. Casey DeSmith, Penguins
3. Zach Aston-Reese, Penguins
THE INJURIES
• Goalie Tristan Jarry is "day to day" with an unspecified upper-body injury sustained March 30.
• Center Evgeni Malkin is "week to week" because of an unspecified lower-body injury sustained March 16.
• Center Teddy Blueger is out "longer term" with an unspecified upper-body injury sustained March 15, but is skating.
• Defenseman Mark Friedman is day-to-day with an unspecified upper-body injury sustained March 4, but has been skating.
• Forward Kasperi Kapanen is week-to-week with a lower-body injury sustained March 24 and hasn't skated yet.
THE LINEUPS
Sullivan’s lines and pairings:
Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Jason Zucker-Jared McCann-Evan Rodrigues
Zach Aston-Reese-Frederick Gaudreau-Brandon Tanev
Sam Lafferty-Mark Jankowski-Anthony Angello
Brian Dumoulin-Kris Letang
Mike Matheson-Cody Ceci
Marcus Pettersson-John Marino
And for Bruce Cassidy's Bruins:
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-David Pastrnak
Nick Ritchie-David Krejci-Craig Smith
Anders Bjork-Charlie Coyle-Zach Senyshyn
Anton Blidh-Trent Frederic-Karson Kuhlman
Jeremy Lauzon-Charlie McAvoy
Matt Grzelcyk-Brandon Carlo
Jakub Zboril-Connor Clifton
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins are scheduled to practice at the Bruins' training facility Friday at 1:30 p.m. before facing Boston again Saturday at 1:08 p.m. at TD Garden.
THE CONTENT
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