The Boston Bruins went head-to-head with the highly-talented San Jose Sharks Tuesday night and came out on top, beating the Sharks by a score of 5-3. This outcome was a surprise to most given the Bruin’s slow start and San Jose’s early success. The Black and Gold were able to find victory by focusing on the little things, and playing Boston-Style hockey.
Brad Marchand kicked off the night’s scoring with his power-play goal almost 14 minutes into the first period. Marchand’s goal was the result of a good forecheck. The Bruins got the puck deep, moved it around, and were able to set up a snipe that Patrick Kane would be proud of. The ‘Little Ball of Hate’ has been reeling lately, and his goal, if not anything else, could be a sign of the Bruins power play finding their form.
The Bruins’ special team success continued with Torey Krug’s power play goal almost 7 minutes into the second period. David Krejci lost the offensive zone face-off, but the Bruins wingers were able to beat the Sharks along to boards to win the puck and send it to a waiting Krug. The 23 year-old defenseman is known for his shot and buried the scoring opportunity.
The Bruins were not perfect however, they blew their 2-1 lead and found themselves trailing after Logan Couture and former B’s captain Joe Thornton found twine. This point of the game has been the Achilles’ heel for the Black and Gold this season. They have hung their heads and stuck their tail between their legs after losing a lead, but Tuesday night was different. The Bruins found the fire in their bellies that they have been searching for and rallied back to score three unanswered goals, including rookie Seth Griffith’s game-tying first career goal.
While Boston did have the lead, they had to be aggressive in the games’ final minutes. Veteran center, and key penalty-killer Patrice Bergeron found himself in the penalty box late in the game for a double-minor, high-sticking penalty. The Bruins were able to step up and kill off Bergeron’s penalty with key blocked shots and finding ways to clear the puck. Chris Kelly answered the call coming up with many of these clutch plays.
The Boston Bruins have been known around the league as a team that is very hard to play against, and even harder to beat. This was the case once again Tuesday night. After stumbling out of the gate, the Bruins found their game and were able to grind out a win against a top-five San Jose Sharks team. Some pieces may still be missing from the Bruins Stanley Cup puzzle, but it is clear that the strong nucleus the feared Boston Bruins is still in place.