The Boston Bruins earned their first four-game win streak of the season with a 2-1 road win over the San Jose Sharks.
The Boston Bruins knew they were going to be rusty. They were coming off the bye week and would have to scrap that rust off quickly if they were going to beat the leaders of the Pacific Division, the San Jose Sharks. It took more than the sixty minutes of regulation to decide it, but the Black and Gold earned a 2-1 win in overtime.
NHL teams haven’t done well playing their first game back from the CBA mandated off-week. Boston is one of only four teams that have been able to find a win after a five or more day off break this season.
“Obviously it’s been well documented that teams coming out of the break haven’t been winning, so it was good to get this one,” offered up Torey Krug(who played in his 300th career NHL game) to the media after the game. It was Krug’s pass to Brad Marchand that helped set up the overtime winner for Boston.
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“This is a really hard building to win in and they’ve been playing well lately,” said Marchand about the B’s break and their win. “With five days off, it’s not easy to come back here and feel good. It wasn’t always pretty, but we got the two points. That’s all that matters.”
Marchand earned his 25th goal of the season, putting him in a tie with David Pastrnak for the most goals on the team. Marchand is also on the verge of his second straight 60-point season.
The win gives the Bruins their longest win streak of the season. It also put them back into third place in the Atlantic division after the Toronto Maple Leafs briefly usurped that spot earlier in the afternoon.
The Bruins remain undefeated under interim head coach Bruce Cassidy who replaced long-time head coach Claude Julien on February 7.
Cassidy was on the ice thanking and congratulating every player as they headed off the ice. It was a classy gesture by the Bruins interim head coach.
Jimmy Hayes earned his 100th career NHL point with his assist on Ryan Spooner‘s goal in the first period. The B’s snapped their eight game streak of scoring a goal on the power play.
The Bruins still aren’t safe. There are five teams within four points of the Black and Gold. Toronto, the Florida Panthers, the New York Islanders, the Philadelphia Flyers, and even the Buffalo Sabres are breathing down Boston’s neck right now. They’ll need to continue to play every game like it was the last of the season (although not like the way they’ve actually played the last game of the season these last few years).
The Bruins continue their road trip on Wednesday as they take on the Anaheim Ducks.