BSJ Game Report: Bruins 3, Sharks 1 - Swayman finishes strong, Marchand lifts B’s to 4th straight win

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 3-1 win over the Sharks, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

HEADLINES

Marchand lifts Boston to fourth-straight victory

Given the lopsided shot totals, you ideally would have liked the Bruins to have buried a middling Sharks team without much of a hassle. Of course, Boston instead made things pretty tough on itself, outshooting San Jose by a 36-9 margin with less than 10 minutes to go in the game — but only clinging to a one-goal lead.

But with a revitalized Brad Marchand back in the lineup, the Bruins did enough to skirt by the Sharks and post a 3-1 win at SAP Center. Marchand gave the Bruins a lead they would not relinquish with a two-goal showing, with Patrice Bergeron adding a dagger with his 14th goal of the season at 19:20 in the third. 

It wasn’t exactly pretty for most of the night, but the Bruins did just enough to keep the ball rolling and continue to build momentum as they head into the final stretch of the 2021-22 campaign. With Saturday’s win, the Bruins have also moved past the Washington Capitals and sit in the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. 

B’s snuff out Sharks

Yes, the Bruins might have peppered James Reimer in net, but they sure didn’t do enough to give themselves some breathing room by generating Grade-A chances against San Jose. 

However, as frustrating as some of Saturday’s contest was, you can’t knock the Bruins for their efforts down the other end of the ice. Granted, the Sharks are just treading water at this point of the season, but Boston gave them close to nothing for most of the night — with San Jose’s 16 shots on goal standing as the fewest the club has generated in a single game in at least two seasons. 

Swayman stands tall down the stretch

The Sharks might have been dead in the water for most of the night, but they made a spirited push down the stretch. Over the final nine minutes of play, the Sharks outshot Boston, 7-1, but they couldn’t push across the equalizer.

That was due in large part to the play of Jeremy Swayman, who continues to stake his claim as Boston’s No. 1 netminder moving forward. Despite the lack of shots in the early going (and a pretty ugly goal given up to Timo Meier on the power play), Swayman locked things down in crunch time, keeping San Jose off the board with a number of Grade-A stops. 

After an up-and-down first few months, Swayman seems to be hitting his stride at the perfect time for this Bruins team. 

FOUR UP

Brad Marchand: After a very rusty return to game action on Thursday up in Seattle, it was good to see Marchand get back on the scoresheet with his two-goal performance. Also encouraging to see Jake DeBrusk continue to produce with the primary feed on Marchand’s first tally. DeBrusk is now up to five points (four goals, one assist) in his last four games. 

Jeremy Swayman: Despite a pretty slow start, Swayman made up for his power-play goal against with a fantastic finish against a spirited Sharks surge. Over his last five games, Swayman is now 4-0-1 with a .964 save percentage.

Patrice Bergeron: Bergeron’s case for a record-breaking fifth Selke Trophy continues to look better and better. In Bergeron’s 9:28 of 5v5 ice time Saturday, the Bruins held a 19-1 edge in shot attempts. That’s just bananas. Add in his third-period goal and a 67 percent showing in faceoffs, and it was another strong night at the office for Bergeron.  

D-zone play: All in all, a very strong showing from Boston’s defense in this one, especially in the early going when the Sharks struggled to generate much of anything down low. Charlie McAvoy (26:27) was once again a workhorse, while Brandon Carlo has looked a bit more engaged and stingy in the D-zone over the last couple of games. Good to see.

ONE DOWN

Power play: One way the Bruins can make things a little easier on themselves in these games is to start clicking on the power play. With an 0-for-3 showing on the man advantage Saturday, the Bruins are now just 1-for-22 on the power play over a pretty significant stretch of action.

PLAY(S) OF THE GAME

 Just an absurd stop by Swayman on (future Bruin?) Tomas Hertl in crunch time. 

 Also, we need to include this feed from Taylor Hall. 

LOOSE PUCKS

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will continue their six-game road trip on Monday with a matchup against the suddenly red-hot Los Angeles Kings. Puck drop is set for 10:30 p.m. EST.