Jake DeBrusk scores with two minutes left to give the Bruins the lead. (0:26)
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.
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 goaltender 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.
The Penguins took the lead with 11:20 left in the second period, as winger Danton Heinen fed linemate Kaspari Kapanen for a point-blank shot that beat goalie Linas 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.
The Bruins tied the game with 12:14 left in the third period. Winger Brad Marchand found forward Jake DeBrusk on the side of the Penguins’ net and his wraparound beat goalie Casey DeSmith just six seconds after a Pittsburgh penalty expired.
DeBrusk’s game-winner came after a great stick-handling move to the net by linemake Taylor Hall. DeSmith made the save, but DeBrusk knocked the puck in on the rebound.
The Penguins came close to tying the game at the end of regulation, but the puck crossed the line after the final buzzer.
Pittsburgh was without defenseman Kris Letang, who returned to Montreal to be with his family after the death of his father.
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 inside 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.
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 old-timey 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,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said.