Boston Bruins Return to Form in 3-0 Win Over San Jose Sharks

The Bruins improved to a 15-4-3 record and Jeremy Swayman posted a 26-save shutout Thursday night at TD Garden.

BOSTON – It took a sluggish opening 20 minutes, but the Boston Bruins found themselves in a two-goal second period against the San Jose Sharks Thursday night at TD Garden and broke their three-game losing streak in the eventual 3-0 win.

The B’s regular checking identity began to seep through, puck battles were won, their offensive flair was rejuvenated and Jeremy Swayman posted a 26-save shutout as the team improved to a 15-4-3 record.

“I thought we got better as the game went on. Started to play more the way that we need to to win games. Good step for us, good to get back in the win column,” captain Brad Marchand said.

It was a scoreless first period as the Bruins – once again – took some time to find their legs and some jump. With all the ‘overcoming adversity’ talk, it wasn’t as spunky of a start as one might have imagined, but the B’s prevented the Sharks from capitalizing during a slow start to the matchup.

“I’d like to believe I said something that invigorated them and made them better, but we weren’t happy with our first,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “We didn’t like our compete level in the first, and the players took it upon themselves to raise that.”

The Bruins opened the middle stanza with a goal from Danton Heinen at 1:39, dished to him by Matt Poitras near the top of the right circle. Heinen wristed the puck past Sharks goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood on the doorstep for the 1-0 advantage on his third tuck of the season.

“Danton Heinen is a real good hockey player and he’s playing real good hockey for us. He’s making plays all over the ice, and he’s making those around him better,” Montgomery said.

Poitras was a standout, too. The 19-year-old pivot was seeing the ice really well and finding his teammates in tight pockets. The Marchand-Poitras-Heinen combination proved to be one of the Bruins’ most productive lines.

“I think we started feeling more comfortable as a line as the game went on and started to read off each other well, supported each other well,” Marchand said. “Good start for us and got to keep building.”

Jake DeBrusk doubled Boston’s lead at 8:10 off a crisp sequence from the new-look top line with Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak. Pastrnak chipped the puck to Zacha at the offensive blue line, where he hit DeBrusk all alone on the rush to backhand it home and make it 2-0. DeBrusk, who had a slow start to the season, now has goals in three of his last five games.

Things got chippy at the end of the second period with Trent Frederic and Givani Smith dropping the gloves at center ice with less than a minute on the clock. Charlie McAvoy and Marchand each tacked on a minor at 19:34, and Marchand was dealt an additional five for fighting – alongside Sharks forward Fabian Zetterlund – to close out the middle frame.

Boston killed off the 1:35 remaining on the Sharks’ 5-on-3 power play to start the third period, without allowing a single shot on goal.

“You love it. ‘Freddy’ is a well-respected teammate because he does everything he can to defend his teammates, and also to play the game the right way. His physicality is much needed in our group,” Montgomery said.

The B’s got up 3-0 at 5:43 of the third thanks to a power-play goal from Zacha, marking his eighth tally of the season and second point of the night. Pastrnak carried the puck into the zone and sauced it to Zacha in the slot, who flipped it to his backhand and in. Pastrnak picked up his second apple of the game on the play.

“He just sees the game really well. He can score and I’m lucky to play with him on a line and learn from him,” Zacha said of Pastrnak.

It was an important win for a Bruins team that’s been facing its first hiccup of the 2023-24 season, but it wasn’t a perfect game by any means. Boston will look to build on what went right against the Sharks as it prepares for Saturday’s 7 p.m. road game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“I think there’s still a lot of things in today’s game that we need to sharpen up before Toronto,” Zacha said. “But I think it was a good step forward.”