BSJ Game Report: Bruins 2, Sharks 1 - Heinen to the rescue

Everything you need to know from the Bruins' win over the Sharks on Thursday night at TD Garden.

HEADLINES

Heinen gets on the board — twice: Danton Heinen scored his first two NHL goals to help the Bruins to victory. This is his second stint with the Bruins this season after he was recalled from Providence and both times he's taken full advantage of his opportunity. In four games, he has two goals and three assists for five points. He became the fourth Bruin to score his first NHL goal this season, joining Jake DeBrusk, Charlie McAvoy and Anders Bjork.

Heinen was one of the last cuts at the end of the preseason and he accepted it and continued his development with the P-Bruins with a positive attitude. As a result, he was recalled for the team's first road trip of the season and played well, but was sent back to Providence. He was recalled again and proved crucial against the Sharks.

"I would love to say I knew (the goals) were coming and we penciled him in for that reason, but he played well here and we talked about that," said Bruce Cassidy. "He went down (to Providence) and worked hard on his game, got some more points and played well. He's realizing his (bottom six) role and he's accepting it and it hasn't effected his offense."

After the game, Cassidy said he would consider moving Heinen up to a top-six role, but the coach likes what he's seeing from DeBrusk and Bjork, too.



Khudobin on his game: Even though Tuukka Rask was cleared to play after missing three games with a concussion, the team thought it best to give him another full practice before his next start on Saturday. So, Anton Khudobin was given another start and he performed well. He finished with 36 saves. Unlike other games, including last Saturday’s loss to the Sabres after Boston held a 4-1 lead, Khudobin wasn’t erratic in the third period and settled down en route to victory. He was tracking the puck better and was fundamentally sound in the third period. It also helped that the defense was solid in front of him. He also came up big when San Jose had a power play late in the period. Another indication he was calmly focused was he was staying in his crease when the Sharks would rim the puck late in the game.

"Dobby's always going to have a bit of energy, for lack of a better word, and more movement than most, but he was very composed and under control for his game," Cassidy said. "Puck play was solid and he was very focused. He was taking care of the little details, in terms of positioning. He's not your typical, technically robotic goaltender, but it was a very good bounce-back game for him. He got us points again -- every start."

TURNING POINT

During training camp, Cassidy made sure to focus on special teams, especially the penalty kill. Given his style of up-tempo, high-paced play, he knew the Bruins would find themselves in the box more often than not. The trick would be to successfully kill those penalties at crucial moments. That was the case against the Sharks. Boston went 5-for-6 on the PK and are now 28-for-34 overall this season. On Thursday, the Bruins also killed off a 5-on-3 for 40 seconds, which gave the bench a major boost.

CHIRPIN’ POINT

Some readers believe I have an issue with Joe Thornton. I don’t. He’s a great player. He’s a future Hall of Famer. While I was shocked when the Bruins traded him 12 seasons ago, it was the right move. Should the Bruins have received more in return? Of course they should have, but, as I wrote today, that trade opened the door for Patrice Bergeron to become the franchise player and lead the organization to a Stanley Cup championship in 2011. Thornton did reach a milestone with his power-play goal on Thursday, tying Jari Kurri for 20th all-time in the NHL with 1,398 points. I just don't think he'll ever have his name on the Stanley Cup, which is a shame for a player of his talent and accomplishments.

NOT ON THE SCORE SHEET

On Saturday, Brandon Carlo made a poor decision and it cost the Bruins the game during a 5-4 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres. He was in the box in the waning minutes of regulation and when his penalty expired, the Sabres had possession in the offensive zone. Instead of engaging in the play, Carlo went to the bench and gave Buffalo an extra 13 seconds on the man-advantage and the Sabres capitalized and scored the game-tying goal.

On Thursday against the Sharks, it was a similar situation. Boston had a 2-1 lead when Carlo was given a slashing penalty at 17:28 of the third period. This time when his time expired, he quickly jumped into the play in Boston's zone and provided a huge blocked shot to help stifle San Jose's attack with its goalie pulled for the extra attacker.

"The good part about making that mistake is you learn from it and that's what I did," Carlo said. "I came out (of the box) and it worked out well. I was in the right position, knew what to do and I wasn't panicking."

During a stoppage in play, veteran David Backes skated over to the box and told Carlo exactly what to do once his penalty expired and it worked to perfection.

"(Carlo) went right over to where he was supposed to -- low forward," explained Cassidy. "That's the second layer. He did his job and got the big block. But, yes, David with the good leadership there and that's why he's got an 'A' on his shirt."

UP NEXT

The Bruins host the Los Angeles Kings at 7 p.m. on Saturday at TD Garden. Tuukka Rask, who was medically cleared on Thursday after missing three games with a concussion, is expected to start for Boston.