Game Preview: Bruins Look To Extend Point Streak Against Sharks
By Erin Walsh
The Boston Bruins will look to extend their point streak on Monday night when they take on the San Jose Sharks.
The Bruins have already picked up four points on their Western road trip with wins against the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings over the weekend. As of late, the B’s secondary scoring has come alive helping propel them to victory.
Boston has defeated San Jose in each of it’s last four meetings.
Here is a preview of what to expect during Monday’s matchup with the Sharks.
Bruins Projected Lines
Marchand-Bergeron-Heinen
DeBrusk-Krejci-Kuhlman
Nordstrom-Frederic-Backes
Kuraly-Acciari-Wagner
Chara-McAvoy
Krug-Carlo
Grzelcyk-Miller
Rask
Halak
Scratched: John Moore, Steven Kampfer
Injured: David Pastrnak (thumb), Peter Cehlarik (lower body)
Red-Hot B’s Look To Extend Point Streak
The Bruins are on a 10-game point streak, going 7-0-3 through that span. The B’s have gotten some secondary scoring as of late from players like Jake DeBrusk and Danton Heinen who haven’t produced much all season long.
DeBrusk has finally managed to work his way onto the stat sheet by scoring three goals in his past three games. Similarly, Heinen has managed to record five points in his past five games while playing alongside Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.
With David Pastrnak sidelined at least two weeks, Boston’s lineup has needed to step up and make a difference to keep the B’s in the win column.
Boston has seemed to benefit from the Pastrnak injury, giving other players the opportunity to step up in key situations. Young players are finally starting to get their confidence back up.
Marchand is the Bruins leading scorer with 70 points (23 goals, 47 assists) and has recorded nine points (four goals, five points) over his last five games.
Patrice Bergeron is third in Bruins scoring with 55 points (21 goals, 34 assists) through 43 games. Bergeron has tallied eight points (2 goals, six assists) through his last five games including a goal and an assist in Boston’s win over the Kings on Saturday.
Goaltender Tuukka Rask has won each of his last five starts while going 11-0-2 with a 1.93 goals-against average, .933 save percentage and two shutouts in his past 14 games.
The Bruins are 21-12-5 lifetime against the Sharks.
🎥 Patrice Bergeron on tonight's game with San Jose: "We know it's gonna be a tough game and a fast, high-paced game. We've got to be ready for that." pic.twitter.com/vx31D6djwx
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) February 18, 2019
Sharks Projected Lines
Meier-Couture-Pavelski
Kane-Hertl-Donskoi
Sorenson-Thornton-LaBanc
Radil-Goodrow-Karlsson
Simek-Burns
Classic-E. Karlsson
Dillon-Braun
Jones
Dell
Scratched: Joakim Ryan, Tim Heed
Injured: None
Third-Place Sharks Look to Continue Success
Brent Burns has been the Sharks best defenseman for years. The San Jose defenseman is leading the team with 64 points (11 goals, 53 assists). The 33-year-old has tallied six points ( one goal, five assists) over his last five games.
Joe Pavelski leads the Sharks in goals with 31 while Thomas Hertl and Evander Kane both have 26. Pavelski has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in his past nine games.
Peter DeBoer will coach his 800th NHL game tonight so the Sharks will be looking to get him another win in San Jose. He is 389-303-107 with the Sharks, New Jersey Devils and Florida Panthers.
Martin Jones is 28-11-4 this season and 4-1-0 over his last five games. Jones has been playing better as of late for San Jose with a 2.88 goals against average and a .899 save percentage on the season.