All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Bruins' win over the Sharks, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
HEADLINES
Shutout a matter of teamwork: Linus Ullmark seemed on his way to his third shutout of the season when, midway through the third period, he needed teammate Jeremy Swayman to step in for a few minutes while Ullmark attended to an equipment malfunction. Ullmark's skate blade came loose in the final period, leaving him on his knees in his crease and desperate for a whistle. Eventually, he was pulled off the ice and got the skate repaired while Swayman took over for a few minutes, making a big breakaway stop on San Jose's Matt Nieto. The B's dominated from start to finish, so the scoring chances were few for the Sharks, but Ullmark -- and, when he was called upon, Swayman, too -- made all the necessary stops.
Garden dominance continues: With the victory, the B's improved to 22-1-3 at TD Garden. Coach Jim Montgomery credited the support of the fans at the Garden for the team's superb play at home. Boston has played 26 of its 41 home games already, and won't be back on home ice until Feb. 11, when they'll host Washington. In between, the Bruins will play their next five on the road, followed by the All-Star break and then a bye week. It's not that the Bruins have performed poorly on the road -- their 15-4-1 mark away from home is also the best in the NHL -- but the next two weeks will provide the team with a good test, especially given the quality of some of the opponents (including Tampa Bay, Carolina and Toronto).
Defense activated: Since he was hired over the summer, Montgomery has preached the importance of defensemen joining the rush and contributing to the offense. With both Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk injured at the start of the season, it took some time for that plan to come to fruition. Lately, though, Montgomery has finally seen the results. The Bruins got goals from Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm, marking the second time in the last three games that the Bruins have gotten at least two goals from their blueliners. As a bonus, both goals Sunday from the D were things of beauty -- Lindholm cleverly stepped around a San Jose defender for the first, while McAvoy made a daring rush from center ice and skated through and around three Sharks for his goal.
THREE UP
Brandon Carlo: Only a couple of days ago, there were some doubts about Carlos' availability for Sunday night after he missed a good chunk of Thursday's win over the Rangers following a shot block. But not only did Carlo return to the blue line, he also got the B's energized with a fight with the Sharks' Timo Meier just 27 seconds into the game.
A.J. Greer: Greer, a member of the fourth line, is usually tasked with playing a physical game and providing energy with his rambunctious style of play. But Sunday, he also got into things offensively, even attempting a spin-o-rama move in the middle period. He was relentless on the forecheck and helped the B's dominate play with a strong puck control game.
Nick Foligno: Like Greer, Foligno was a buzzing presence in the offensive zone and showed a goal-scorer's touch with his picture-perfect redirect of a shot from Lindholm for his seventh goal of the season.
ONE DOWN
Power play unit: For a struggling team, the Sharks' PK unit is actually pretty strong -- third in the league coming in -- but even given that, the Bruins' power play looked less than smooth at times, though they did convert on one of their four chances.
PLAY OF THE GAME: Charlie McAvoy invoked some comparisons to a certain Bruins defenseman who wore No. 4 with his second-period goal, splitting the defense, beating another San Jose defender, then burying a backhander.
QUOTE OF THE GAME: "Scoring goals is the funnest thing in the game. It takes you back to when you're a Mini Mite. It doesn't matter whether you're five years old or 25 -- scoring goals is fun.'' Charlie McAvoy, who scored his second goal in the last three games.
UP NEXT: The Bruins begin a five-game road trip that will take them to the All-Star break, with the first game taking place at the Bell Centre against the rival Montreal Canadiens.