BSJ Game Report: Bruins 6, Sharks 5 (OT) - McAvoy’s OT goal lifts Bruins to 6th straight win in slugfest taken at SAP Center (Bruins)

(Photo by Brandon Magnus/NHLI via Getty Images)

Bruins

BSJ Game Report: Bruins 6, Sharks 5 (OT) - McAvoy’s OT goal lifts Bruins to 6th straight win in slugfest

By Conor Ryan

Feb 19, 2019 • 2:40 am

0comment-bubble

SAN JOSE — Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 6-5 overtime win over the Sharks in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis…

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

Never say die: The Bruins have been on a roll as of late, yes, but if you’re looking for a way to throw a damper on the B’s six-game win streak, you can glance at wins against both the Ducks and Kings at the start of this West Coast swing — four points in the standings against teams currently wallowing at the bottom of the Western Conference.

Monday was going to be the real test for this Bruins club — entering enemy territory against a loaded Sharks club without their leading goal scorer in David Pastrnak and a top-six contributor in Peter Cehlarik.

Sixty-four minutes of play, 58 shots on goal and 11 combined goals later, Boston passed another hurdle as it continues to establish itself as one of the top contenders in the Eastern Conference, with an OT tally from Charlie McAvoy handing Boston a 6-5 victory at SAP Center.

There’s quite a bit to parse through in a back-and-forth slugfest like this, but upon quick review — it’s pretty absurd that Boston ended up getting two points out of a game like this, especially against a foe that has only relinquished two goals or fewer in six of its last seven games entering tonight.

After jumping out to a commanding 3-0 lead, the writing was on the wall for a heartbreaker on the road, with a hat trick from Joe Thornton (of course) set to lift the Sharks to a come-from-behind 5-4 win off of a go-ahead goal with a little over six minutes left on the clock. 

But Boston rallied — with Chris Wagner batting the puck out of the air and past Martin Jones with 1:49 left in regulation to force overtime, setting the stage for McAvoy to bury his second game-winner in as many matchups for the B’s.

Someway, somehow, this Bruins team continues to churn out points. Against teams like Anaheim and Los Angeles, sometimes all you need is your “B” game to come away with a win. When you let a three-goal lead slip away, go close to 19 minutes without a shot on goal — AND still manage to win the game, especially against the Sharks?

Now, that’s impressive for the Bruins — who have now taken points in 11 straight games.

B’s nearly avoid disaster: It was shaping up to be the Bruins' most dominant performance of the year on Monday— as the B’s were set to enter the first intermission with a comfy 3-0 cushion against one of the top teams in the West.

But Boston let San Jose hang around all night, usually a fatal mistake against a team with plenty of talent both up front and on the blue line.

What should have been a knockout punch at the end of the first period instead resulted in the Sharks snagging some momentum, with Thornton lighting the lamp with just three seconds to go in the stanza to give his team some life.

Tallies from Thornton and Joe Pavelski had the Sharks smelling blood in the water during the second period, with San Jose eventually securing the equalizer in the final minute of play in the second — as Logan Couture beat Tuukka Rask on a penalty shot after getting taken down on what looked to be the 11th shorthanded goal Boston has relinquished this year.

Add in Thornton’s hat trick at 13:32 of the third, and the Bruins were on track to lose their first game all season in which they had held a three-goal cushion at one point. There’s plenty of positives to take away from a win like this, but also quite a bit for Bruce Cassidy and his staff to scrutinize on video over the next couple of practices.

THREE UP

Chris Wagner: McAvoy might have been the hero in overtime, but Wagner kept Boston alive, tallying his eighth goal of the season (a new career high) at 18:11 in the third. After getting a goal waved off earlier in the night (trust me, we’ll get to it), it was a fitting result for Wagner to get rewarded late. The Walpole native continues to be a huge pick-up for the B’s.




Jake DeBrusk:
One way that the Bruins have continued to roll without Pastrnak? DeBrusk deciding to become one of the hottest scorers in the league. DeBrusk was at it again on Monday, beating Jones on the power play off a saucer feed by
Danton Heinen
for his fourth goal in as many games. Don’t look now, but the 22-year-old winger is on pace for a 25-goal campaign, while he also set up McAvoy’s OT winner on a sweet set-up with
David Krejci
.




Karson Kuhlman:
You automatically get a spot on here if it’s your first NHL goal, right? Even taking away his tally in the final minutes of the first period, the rookie held his own in a top-six role with Krejci and DeBrusk, using his speed to keep up with the pace that his linemates usually look to set. Is Kuhlman a viable top-six contributor for this team? Not likely, but his hard-nosed style of play was a welcome addition to that line on Monday.




TWO DOWN


The video-review folks at the NHL/Refs:
Cassidy was NOT thrilled midway through the first period, and for good reason. Wagner appeared to knock a puck past Jones with 12:28 left in the period, but
Marc-Edouard Vlasic
fished it out of danger at the last second to keep the game scoreless. After Boston asked for a review, it received the same result. Upon review — uhhhhh?






Bergeron line:
On a night in which numerous contributors stepped up for the B’s, Boston’s top line of
Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand
and
Danton Heinen
was pretty quiet — only generating one shot on goal during 5v5 play with a pair of secondary assists during power-play tallies.


PLAY OF THE GAME


McAvoy buries it in overtime, off of some fantastic passing from DeBrusk and Krejci.




PARTING THOUGHT


Jake DeBrusk will never turn down a chance to celly hard, even when it’s not his own goal:




LOOKING AHEAD


The Bruins will leave The Golden State and head to Sin City for their next matchup, with the B’s set to battle the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday. Puck drop is set for 10:00 p.m. The defending Western Conference champions are currently in the playoff picture, but are stuck in a bit of a skid with a 3-7-0 record in their last 10 games.

Show Comments
Loading...
Loading...
0
Show comments for this article