Penguins 4 - Bruins 5(SO): Shootout Woes Continue

Sidney Crosby and the Penguins lost a toughie 5-4 to the Bruins in the bonus-point shootout.

Sidney, once again, was stuffed and seems to be having an awful time in shootouts this season. He's now 0-4 after missing tonight. I know shootouts are a bit 'random', but it's strange that Crosby continues to get denied during shootouts while a guy like Josh Green scores on his only try!

On the night, Crosby finished with a lone assist, EVEN, 4 shots on goal, and 10 for 20 on faceoffs in 23:00 of ice time.

Game recap from NHL.com:

Phil Kessel stole the spotlight from Sidney Crosby's first game in Boston this season.

In his sixth game back after missing nearly a month following surgery for testicular cancer, Kessel scored a winning goal in the shootout to lead the Boston Bruins to a 5-4 victory over Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night.

"He is a great player - fast and has a great shot," Crosby said. "I know he's been through a lot of adversity, so that says a lot about his character."

Hannu Toivonen recovered from a shaky first two periods to record his first win in three months for the Bruins. Toivonen, whose last win came on Oct. 19 against Calgary, allowed four goals on 21 shots through two periods before saving 12 shots in the third to force overtime.

After allowing Erik Christensen to score on Pittsburgh's first shootout attempt, Toivonen turned back Evgeni Malkin, Crosby and Sergei Gonchar to make way for Kessel.

"I thought it was the right moment, the stage was set," Boston coach Dave Lewis said. "I had a lot of choices, so I can't take credit."

Kessel faked left and went right to beat Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and lead the Bruins to just their third win in 10 games.

Kessel, the fifth pick of the 2006 NHL draft, also scored the game-winner in a 4-3 shootout win over Tampa Bay on Nov. 30. He also had two goals in Boston's 6-3 loss at Buffalo on Wednesday night.

The Bruins overcame a two-goal game from Malkin, who leads NHL rookies in goals and points, to climb back from deficits of 2-0 and 4-3 and beat the Penguins for the ninth straight time. Pittsburgh's last win against Boston came on Nov. 1, 2003, and its last win in Boston was Feb. 8, 2003.