PITTSBURGH — Conor Sheary is in the midst of a career-best stretch – and he enjoyed another big game against his hometown team.
The Pittsburgh forward scored two goals, Sidney Crosby added his league-leading 28th and the Penguins won their fourth straight game, 5-1 over the Boston Bruins on Sunday.
“It’s fun to play against your hometown team,” said Sheary, a native of Winchester, Massachusetts. “There’s a lot of people watching and you kind of get up easy for these games. It’s fun to be a part of.”
Sheary scored his 17th goal and has nine goals in nine games. The 5-foot-8 forward, who signed with Pittsburgh as an undrafted free agent in July 2015, equaled a career-best four-game point streak.
“I felt strongly that Conor could be a good player in this league,” Penguins Coach Mike Sullivan said. “I’m not going to suggest that I thought he’d have 17 goals halfway through the season, but I knew he could be a solid player at the NHL level.”
Pittsburgh led 2-1 through two periods before breaking out in the third with three goals in a span of 2 minutes, 57 seconds.
Bryan Rust added his 12th and Patric Hornqvist his 11th for the Penguins, who have won a season-high seventh in a row at home. Pittsburgh, the NHL’s best home team, is 13-0-1 in its last 14 home games.
Evgeni Malkin had two assists for a season-best seven-game point streak. Crosby added two assists for a three-point game.
Matt Murray made 44 saves to win his fourth straight game. Murray has stopped 90 of 93 shots in his last three starts.
David Krejci scored his 11th goal for the Bruins, who have lost four straight and five of their last six. The Bruins hadn’t lost in regulation in their previous nine games at Pittsburgh and had won their last seven before Sunday’s loss.
Tuukka Rask stopped 20 of 22 shots for Boston before he left the game in the second period because of a migraine. He was replaced by Zane McIntyre, who stopped 11 shots.
“We got away from being on our toes for a few shifts and you can’t do that against them because they’re going to make you pay,” Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron said. “We had the start we wanted, but not the result.”
NOTES: Sullivan said defenseman Brian Dumoulin, a Biddeford native, may play before the All-Star break. He has missed 10 games because of a broken jaw. … Murray is 13-0-2 in his last 15 home starts. … Boston scratched forward Jimmy Hayes and defenseman Kevan Miller, while Pittsburgh sat forward Tom Kuhnhackl and defenseman Steve Oleksy.
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