By: Tom Calautti | Follow me on Twitter/X @TCalauttis
The Boston Bruins had their 13-game home winning streak snapped last night as the San Jose Sharks came into TD Garden and toppled the Black and Gold 4-2. William Eklund and Tyler Toffoli both notched a goal and an assist, while goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic notched 39 saves en route to the victory.
The unfortunate part of tonight’s contest was that the Bruins were the better team for the majority of this game. By the time the horn sounded, Boston had out-attempted San Jose 78-46, outshot them 41-28, and out-chanced them 34-28. They just couldn’t find a way to solve Nedeljkovic before the game got out of hand.
“Yeah, I mean their goalie was the best player on the ice tonight,” said Nikita Zadorov following the loss. “He made a couple good saves. We didn’t capitalize on our chances; they capitalized on theirs, so that was the difference.”
The scoring started a little over five minutes into the opening frame when Eklund and former second-round pick Michael Misa created a two-on-one at Boston’s defensive blueline. Charlie McAvoy lost his footing via incidental contact with Misa (which he seemed none too happy about following the play), and that left Jonathan Aspirot alone to defend the two speedsters. They executed their passes perfectly, beat Jeremy Swayman, and opened the scoring.
San Jose added a power play goal late in the second when Macklin Celebrini snapped a shot that struck a net-side Toffoli, who was able to tap home the rebound. Despite having the better of the chances, Boston found themselves in a 2-0 hole.
“You know, for sure, it’s frustrating. You don’t want to lose,” said head coach Marco Sturm following the loss. “You know, they were not extremely good tonight, but they were smarter than us, and maybe we were better when we were a little bit more under pressure.”
He continued, “For some reason, we didn’t make it hard enough for the goalie, too. He played really well. He did. But we didn’t make it tough from around the front (of the net)…We fortunately left some points behind.”
Despite being down 2-0, the Bruins still had a chance to get back into the game. San Jose’s Barclay Goodrow took a hooking minor three minutes into the third, and Boston’s power play had a chance to cut the deficit to one.
A power play that’s been anemic since returning from the Olympic break continued to struggle, and eventually disaster struck. The Sharks capitalized on a blue line turnover, and Massachusetts’ own Colling Graf snuck behind the defense and beat Swayman on a breakaway to make the game 3-0.
The power play wasn’t effective all night, and it wasn’t until Sturm juggled the lines that the Bruins were able to really find their stride on offense. Boston’s bench boss made multiple tweaks to his trios, but the most glaring were reuniting David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie as well as exchanging Elias Lindholm for Fraser Minten.
“I feel like all the lines got a little bit stuck. I needed a little bit of push,” said Sturm of the line shakeup. “Guys tried, but it was just not good enough. (Your) top guys need to be your top guys.”
San Jose added its fourth and final goal of the night when William Eklund beat Andrew Peeke wide on a one-on-one rush. The young forward made a power move to gain leverage, slipped a puck under Peeke’s stick, got a shot on Swayman, and then batted the rebound out of mid-air to give the Sharks a 4-0 lead.
The Bruins would get on the board late as Fraser Minten knocked down a puck in the slot and whipped a turnaround wrister through traffic that beat Nedeljkovic five-hole. Pastrnak added a one-timer with under a minute left, but by that point, the damage was done, and the Bruins lost their first home game in their last 14 tries.
For once, the out-of-town scoreboard was favorable, allowing them to maintain their spot in the second wild card position. Detroit fell 4-1 to Tampa Bay, and Columbus lost in OT, so although the Blue Jackets gained a point, they’re still behind the Bruins in the standings.
Boston will now go on a three-game road trip, taking on the Washington Capitals, New Jersey Devils, and Montreal Canadiens before returning home to play Toronto. This could be a season-defining stretch for the Bruins.
Game Notes:
- Fraser Minten’s goal was his 15th of the season and his first since January.
- With McAvoy’s assist on the Pastrnak goal, he now has points in five straight games and has notched 2-4-6 in that span.
- There were plenty of Sharks fans in attendance last night. That’s probably because San Jose dressed three different players who hail from Massachusetts (Graf, Will Smith, and Adam Gaudette).
- Elias Lindholm and Morgan Geekie have both had tough stretches since the Olympic break. They’ve combined for 3-3-6 over their last eight games.
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