Tuukka Rask stifles Penguins’ offense, Bruins take Game 1 with 3-0 win

A shot deflected off a sprawling defenseman. A puck in mid-air, falling through raised gloves and right onto David Krejci's stick. Nathan Horton left all alone to put home a rebound.

That's how the Boston Bruins' offense succeeded during their 3-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 1. They got their bounces and capitalized on them.

They were also aided by Tuukka Rask, who held the Penguins high-flying offense to zero goals on 29 shots.

The criminally underrated David Krejci increased his NHL-best points total to 19 with a pair of goals that helped give the Bruins a 2-0 lead early in the second period. His second of the night dropped from the sky and onto his stick like Kramer's Junior Mint:

That second period would end with fireworks as the teams engaged in a big scrum that featured Evgeni Malkin and Patrice Bergeron dropping the gloves:

The captains, Sidney Crosby and Zdeno Chara, also jawed at one another before the teams separated and went to the locker rooms.

Boston would get the last laugh when Horton increased the lead to 3-0 as the Penguins were shutout for the first time in 96 games. The line of Krecji, Horton and Milan Lucic were involved in all three goals.

"We seem to know where each other are on the ice," said Horton to NBC Sports Network's Pierre McGuire afterward.

The Penguins had their chances, but Rask denied them all night to earn his first career playoff shutout. While their offense might have been stifled in Game 1, the Bruins know they need to be even better in Game 2.

"We had the lead. We gave up a lot of chances. That's not the way we want to play," said Horton.

"We don't want to play run and gun with them."

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy