Like the rest of the Boston Faithful, the Bruins seemed to have their mind on Superbowl Sunday. They came out slowly, never caught up to the Pens, and gave up two goals to arguabally the two most maligned Penguins.

Evgeni Malkin scored a powerplay goal with 9 seconds left in the first period, giving Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead. The goal came moments after Malkin was slashed by Rich Peverley. After scoring the goal, Malkin was clearly pumped, giving the Penguins some momentum in the locker room.

Midway through the second period, the infamous Matt Cooke (he laid out Mark Savard 2 years ago) scored on a rebound that got past Tim Thomas. Cooke, who was booed each time he touched the puck, was booed even louder after he gave the Penguins a 2 goal lead.

The Bruins offense had their chances, especially late the game, but did not generate that many good scoring opportunities. Part of the reason why the Bruins struggled was due to the brilliant play of Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury stopped 28 shots and rarely gave up any rebound chances.

The Bruins only goal came in the third period, on Joe Corvo’s wrister from the point. It was only his 3rd goal of the season. Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand had assists.

Clearly this was not the Bruins’ day offensively. Arguably, the turning point came when the Bruins failed to score on a 4 minute man-advantage, after Pascal Dupuis received a double minor for high sticking.

The Bruins are now 4-5-1 in their last 10 games, as their flawless play in November and December seems like a distant memory.