The Sharks kicked off their season long 6-game
road trip in Boston on Thursday night, going toe-to-toe with the Bruins for 20
minutes before regressing to the bad hockey team that has planted them firmly
in the NHL's basement. The Bruins scored a pair of goals early in the 2nd
period then cruised to a 3-0 win at TD Garden. Jeremy Swayman made 26 saves in
the shutout to lead Boston.
The contest played out like yet another
lesson for a Sharks team that is learning how to compete at the NHL level. They
did that for a period before the wheels fell off.
The Sharks turned in
a pretty decent opening period. They look organized on both sides of the puck,
generating a handful of decent scoring chances, while also keeping the Bruins
from putting any real pressure on goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood who made 10
saves in the period. The Bruins held a slight edge in shots at the close of the
period 10-9.
The Bruins turned things upside down in the middle frame,
out-shooting San Jose 18-6 in the frame.
Boston drew first blood 1:38
into the 2nd period after San Jose turned the puck over in the right corner.
Matthew Poitras scooped up the turnover then fed Danton Heinen on the doorstep
for the quick conversion. The goal was Heinen's 3rd of the season.
Nikita Okhotiuk took a hooking penalty 69 seconds later to put the Sharks into
another hold, but Bruins captain Brad Marchand bailed San Jose out by taking
his own hooking infraction 51 seconds later.
The Bruins doubled their
lead at 8:10 on a Jake DeBrusk tally. Okhotiuk was lured into chasing the puck
and leaving his half of the defensive zone unattended. DeBrusk sprinted up the
vacant left side as Pavel Zacha fed him. With a clear lane to the net, DeBrusk
pulled the puck to his right side before drawing it back and slipping it
between goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood's pads for the 2-0 lead.
The
Bruins leveraged some suspect officiating from referee Justin Kea, who was
baited into calling a high sticking penalty on Kyle Burroughs. Burroughs was
trying to corral Poitras in the left corner, when the Bruins forward jerked his
head back, convincing Kea that Burroughs committed a high stick. Givani Smith
and Derek Forbert were sent off for extracurricular activity, but Boston left
with a power play chance that went unconverted.
The shenanigans would
continue to the last 30 seconds of the period when Brad Marchand sucker punched
Fabian Zetterlund just as Charlie McAvoy was plowing Marion Ferraro from
behind. Rouging and boarding calls gave the Sharks a 5-on-3 that carried over
to the 3rd period.
The Sharks would parlay the 2-man advantage by
practicing their puck movement, but failed to generate a single shot on goal.
A Matt Benning slashing penalty at 5:43 would lead to a third Bruins
goal. Zacha collected a David Pastrnak feed as he streaked toward the right
post, then lifted the puck past Blackwood for his 8th of the season. The goal
was the 22nd allowed by San Jose in 82 penalty kill chances, which helps
solidify the Sharks ranking as the 3rd worst on special teams in the league.
There was little bite from the Sharks from there on out. They would
outshoot Boston 11-8 in the final period, but couldn't challenge Swayman who
recorded his 11th career shutout.
Game Notes: * Tomas
Hertl made his return to the lineup after missing Monday's game with what
turned out to be a Kidney stone. Hertl did not participate in the morning
skate, and he was noticeably winded having not skated for the last 4 days.
* San Jose elected to wear their teal helmets on top of their white
road sweaters. The look is quite sharp, but unusual for a team that has
traditionally worn white helmets on white jerseys.
* The win snapped a
3-game losing streak for Boston.
* Word on the street is that former
Shark Timo Meier will be a game time decision as he nurses an injury. San Jose
will get a quick turnaround as they play the New Jersey Devils on Friday night.
* San Jose has scored 6 goals in 10 road games this season. It's no
mystery why they dropped their 10th game away from SAP Center. Hard to win when
you don't score.
