BOSTON — The Boston Bruins defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 to win this year’s Winter Classic in front of 39,243 fans at Fenway Park on Monday.
Winger Jake DeBrusk scored two third-period goals, including the game-winner with 2:33 left to break a 1-1 tie.
“This is an event that’s a dream come true and we don’t want to waste it,” said DeBrusk, who now has 16 goals on the season. “You don’t want to be thinking after a game like tonight that you wish you’ve done more. Because it’s very rare that you get another chance to do it.”
With the victory, the Bruins moved to 4-1 all time in NHL outdoor games, while the Penguins dropped to 2-4. Boston has the best record in the NHL this season at 29-4-4. The Penguins are now 19-12-6.
Boston goalie Linus Ullmark made 26 saves for the win.
The Penguins changed goaltenders with 4:30 remaining in first period, as an injured Tristan Jarry left for the locker room and backup Casey DeSmith took over the net. Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said that Jarry was being looked at for a lower body injury but offered no further details.
“It was uncharted territory,” DeSmith said. “Just jumping in cold into an outdoor game carries a few more challenges than a regular game.”
The Penguins took the lead with 11:20 left in the second period, as winger Danton Heinen fed linemate Kasperi Kapanen for a point-blank shot that beat goalie Ullmark. The goal came soon after the Bruins had killed four minutes of Penguins’ power-play time after minor penalties on forward David Pastrnak and defenseman Hampus Lindholm.
According to Bruins coach Jim Montgomery, it was after the second period when veteran forward Nick Foligno asked to address the team and gave a confidence-boosting speech. Boston was reminded about its prowess as a third-period team, where it now has a plus-41 goal differential.
“He just got everybody in and talked about our team through the year and what we’ve been able to do,” DeBrusk said.
The Bruins tied the game with 12:14 left in the third period. Winger Brad Marchand found DeBrusk on the side of the Penguins’ net and his wraparound beat DeSmith just six seconds after a Pittsburgh penalty expired.
DeBrusk’s game winner came after a great stickhandling move to the net by linemate Taylor Hall. DeSmith made the save, but DeBrusk knocked the puck in on the rebound.
“He scores some big goals. He has over the years,” Bruins forward Charlie Coyle said. “When he plays with that confidence and he skates, the puck seems to find him sometimes. He made it happen.”
The Penguins came close to tying the game at the end of regulation on an Evgeni Malkin shot, but the puck crossed the line after the final buzzer. Ullmark raised his arms in the air in celebration as the Bruins surrounded him, while Pittsburgh’s players momentarily remained on the bench until the no-goal was confirmed.
“It was a lot of chaos at the end. But for some reason, it felt like we had it under control,” Ullmark said. “It was just pure joy and happiness afterwards. It’s something that I dreamt about for 14 years ever since I saw the first one at home in Sweden. I was always very jealous of the people who played before in them, that had that opportunity. And now we had that opportunity.”
Pittsburgh was without defenseman Kris Letang, who returned to Montreal to be with his family after the death of his father.
“It was a real competitive hockey game. It was a pretty even game,” Sullivan said. “There’s a fine line between winning and losing, and we ended up on the wrong side of it tonight.”
By Winter Classic weather standards, Monday was ideal: Cloud cover making glare off the ice a non-factor and game-time temperatures around 51 degrees.
This was the second Winter Classic to be held at Fenway Park. The Bruins defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 in overtime in the 2010 Classic, the third edition of the NHL’s outdoor game and the first one to feature a fight.
One major change between the two games: The rink for this year’s edition ran parallel to the Green Monster in left field, with a replica baseball diamond hockey rink built in between. Penguins and Bruins players stood on the “baselines” of that rink for a ceremonial “first puck pitch” before the game, as Boston hockey legend Bobby Orr shot a puck to former Boston Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek.
Coyle, a Massachusetts native who attended the 2010 game as a Bruins fans, said it was hard not getting caught up in the moment.
“You don’t grow up thinking you’re gonna be playing a hockey game at Fenway Park,” he said. “To play hockey in there was really special and we’re glad we took advantage of the opportunity in front of us.”
As has become an NHL outdoor game tradition, both teams arrived at the Classic wearing attention-grabbing attire. In recognition of the game being at Fenway, the Penguins dressed in throwback Pittsburgh Pirates gear while the Bruins wore retro Boston Red Sox uniforms.
“It gives our team a chance to tip our caps to all the great players and the great teams that have played in this stadium,” Sullivan said.