BSJ Game Report: Bruins 5, Sharks 1 - B's get scoring from 11 different players in beatdown

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 5-1 win over the Sharks in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis…

Box Score

TOP TAKEAWAYS

Bruins are pummeling lesser competition: Just a couple days after absolutely pantsing a horrid Rangers club, the red-hot Bruins turned their attention to a Sharks team featuring a sieve in net in Martin Jones and a porous D corps in front of him. Wanna guess what happened? Despite their impressive track record for over a decade, this Sharks team is no longer the cream of the crop of the Western Conference — as one could infer following Boston’s 5-1 victory on Tuesday night. 



But even if Boston is steadily collecting points against teams it should be beating, it’s still very hard to tilt the ice in your favor as decisively as the B’s have done over the last two games. 

Yes, Boston opened the scoring in the first period on the power play — with (guess who) David Pastrnak tallying his 12th goal in as many games — but it was far from the usual suspects that put the Sharks on the ropes in this bout. 

By the end of the second period alone, Boston’s roster already featured 11 different players that had recorded at least one point in the contest — with the B’s leading in shots on goal, 34-12.

Even if the third period more or less divulged into a scrappy goonfest (78 total PIM in the game) —highlighted by a heavyweight bout between Brett Ritchie and Barclay Goodrow — the damage had already been done by the B’s, who very well could have dropped a 10-spot on this Sharks club.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1189354325010722818

With David Krejci hitting the ground running (1 goal, 1 assist) and the duo of Charlie Coyle and Anders Bjork continuing to mesh, Boston’s offense seems to be turning a corner – with the Bruins closing out the game with a commanding 41-17 edge in shots on goal. 

Krejci looks ready to roll: Krejci has been one of the most vital cogs in the Bruins’ lineup for over a decade now, with the veteran pivot often being the primary driver of offense, especially as of late, away from the B’s dominant top line.

With Krejci picking up right where he left off after missing the previous five games with an upper-body injury, all the pieces started to fall into place for this B’s lineup on Tuesday. Krejci’s one-time bomb on the power play gave a bit of a spark to a PP2 unit that doesn’t often get many reps, while the pivot also set up Coyle’s second goal in as many games at 5:21 in the second.

With Krejci back in the fold, Coyle was able to settle back into the third line and drove a forward trio that thrived against San Jose, with Boston holding a 6-1 edge in scoring chances during that line’s 7:19 of 5v5 ice time. Add in another suffocating forechecking effort from an overhauled fourth line of Chris Wagner (1 goal, 1 assist), Sean Kuraly (13:51 TOI) and David Backes (1 assist) — and Bruce Cassidy shouldn’t have any issues at all with his club’s effort tonight. On to the next one.

FOUR UP

David Pastrnak: What a month for Pastrnak — who closes out October with 12 goals and 24 points over 12 games played. Pastrnak already holds the Bruins’ record for most points in the first month of an NHL campaign — while only 16 players in league history have ever hit 24+ points in October. The last to do it was Steven Stamkos in 2017-18.

David Krejci: Looks like that extended time off did Krejci some good. A bit rusty out of the gate this season while recovering from a lower-body injury, Krejci looked no worse for wear after sitting out of game action since Oct. 14 — as the center logged 19:19 of ice time while chipping in with two points. 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1189337359738908673

Chris Wagner: Along with tallying his first goal of the season on a breakaway in the second stanza, Wagner set the tone on the fourth line — landing a pair of hits while helping to drive a trio that held a 75.00% shot share during their 4:28 of 5v5 ice time. 

Charlie Coyle: Looks like Coyle is starting to heat up. Along with scoring a goal for the second game in a row, a line of Bjork-Coyle-Ritchie generated four hi-danger scoring chances during 5v5 play. Cassidy might have something with this crew. 

ONE DOWN

Evander Kane: Just about the only drawback in this game? That the refs prevented Zdeno Chara from getting a few licks in against Kane, who was asking for a fight after catching Charlie McAvoy up high multiple times in the third period. Kane was more than happy to muck things up and cause havoc, but when the time came to drop the gloves, he was quick to get between a ref and the B’s captain.

https://twitter.com/BruinsCLNS/status/1189347819334885376

A friendly reminder as to what happened the last time that Kane and Chara dropped the gloves at TD Garden: 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1100578825103175680

PLAY OF THE GAME

There were a ton of deserving candidates for this selection, but we’ll go with this sweet set of moves by Chris Wagner on the breakaway. 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1189339194168152065

PARTING THOUGHTS

On "Hockey Fights Cancer" night, here’s a stick tap for Quinn “The Mighty Quinn” Waters, who dropped the puck to start off the contest.

https://twitter.com/NHLBruins/status/1189330804339548160

LOOKING AHEAD

For the second week in a row, the Bruins are staring at another extended layoff, with the B’s set to resume game action on Saturday night with a matchup against the lowly Senators. Puck drop at TD Garden is set for 7 p.m.