Going into a two-game set Monday and Tuesday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, a lot has happened for the Penguins and Boston Bruins since they last met.
The Penguins are happy about the changes; the Bruins, not so much.
The Bruins swept two games against Pittsburgh, one in overtime, at home in late January, the third week of the season. Boston since then has seen its play level off, while the Penguins are surging following an extended stretch of inconsistent play.
Pittsburgh, which is 11-2-0 at home, has won five straight games overall and, after sitting below the four-team playoff cutoff in the East Division, has moved three points ahead of the Bruins into third place.
The Penguins are coming off a sweep of two games at Buffalo, including Saturday's 3-0 shutout by backup goaltender Casey DeSmith, and are finally feeling as if their play is representative of the talent they have.
"We've been playing the hockey we want," said winger Jake Guentzel, whose goal opened the scoring Saturday. "It's been a full 60 minutes, and we've been playing simple, just getting pucks in (the offensive zone) and not playing too high-risk."
Defenseman Brian Dumoulin agreed, noting, "We're definitely trending in the right direction."
It's netting results.
"We've put some wins together here, which is great for the players, great for us," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "I think it starts with their consistent compete (level), their consistent intensity, and we're getting contributions throughout our lineup, from our goaltender on out.
"I think that's what it takes to win in this league."
It is likely that Tristan Jarry, who has started 12 of the past 15 games, and DeSmith will split the two games against Boston.
For Boston, goaltender Tuukka Rask has been arguably the team's best player. He is 8-4-2 in 14 starts.
The Bruins led the East early but are 4-6-2 in their past 12 games. They have not stacked together back-to-back wins since a five-game winning streak over the first two weeks of February.
Their 4-0 loss Saturday at home against the New York Rangers emphasized their displeasure with themselves.
"We need to make sure we bring it every night," defenseman Matt Grzelcyk said.
Boston coach Bruce Cassidy, who slammed his dry erase board to the floor of the bench during one of his team's five failed power plays Saturday, could not hide his frustration in his public comments.
"You're not always going to have your A game, but you'd better have your damned B game. We were down the alphabet," Cassidy said.
"You're not going to win every game. No team does. You're not going to always look great. But the effort has to be there in the response."
Boston has a few personnel questions heading into the two-game miniseries at Pittsburgh.
Jake DeBrusk missed Saturday's game after he was put on the COVID-19 protocol list, so his status is unclear. Cassidy said top-line winger Brad Marchand "is playing hurt."
On a brighter note, defenseman Kevan Miller, out since Feb. 18 because of knee pain, is expected to travel to Pittsburgh, although it's not clear whether he will play.
