The Bruins entered last night’s game at 6-2-0, having won their last three, but faced a daunting challenge in the San Jose Sharks, who had a 8-0-1 record, and have yet to lose a game in regulation. They certainy justified that record. However, the Bruins showcased their trademark resilience by sneaking out a 2-1 victory despite being outshot 39-17. After the game, Tuukka Rask said, “We felt like we should have had better legs to start with. They were sitting here waiting for us, so we were expecting to maybe be able to match their intensity at the start. But we obviously didn’t. They had a lot of shots, and some scoring chances there, and after we survived that period, we woke up, and got going.”
After a very emotional moment of silence for the tragic events in Danvers, the game started with a lot of intensity as Jarome Iginla took a roughing minor just 40 seconds in. Two minutes and one scary scramble in the crease later, the Bruins were able to kill of the penalty. The Sharks outshot the Bruins 16-3 in the period, but the score remained at 0-0 thanks to outstanding defense and goaltending in front of the net.
The second period started off with the ice tilted a little more towards the Bruins’ way. However, San Jose regained control and through the midway point, they held a 22-5 shot differential. Then, with the period nearing its long awaited end, a turnover at the blue line gave Boston another possession. As they kept the puck in the Shark’s zone, the puck was worked back to Seidenberg. He let a hard shot go that was tipped by Krejci and glanced hard off the boards, and when it came out the other side, it was right on the stick of Jarome Iginla, who was able to sneak it past Antti Niemi for his first goal as a Bruin at the 18:48 mark of the second. The second period came to an end with San Jose leading in shots, 25-10, but Boston leading in the score 1-0.
The Sharks quickly got the puck into the Bruins zone when the third period began, and Marc Edouard-Vlasic fired a shot on Tuukka Rask that was stopped, but the rebound was buried by Patrick Marleau, tying the score at one. At 4:35, a penalty to San Jose’s Joe Thornton put Boston on the Power Play where they are 4 for 30 on the season (13.3%). The two minutes expired with Boston tallying two shots but no goals. With very little happening through the rest of the period, overtime seemed imminent, but David Krejci had other ideas. With under a minute to go, the Bruins maintained possession in the San Jose zone, and Milan Lucic fed the puck out of the corner to Adam Mcquaid. Mcquaid let one go towards the net, and Krecji tipped it in for his second of the year with .8 seconds on the clock. Time expired and the Bruins escaped with a 2-1 victory, handing the Sharks their first loss of the season in regulation, in the most dramatic fashion.
After the game when Adam Mcquaid was asked whether he saw Krejci or if he was just trying to get the puck on net, he said, “I was pretty much just trying to get it on net. I mean, I saw bodies in front, but I was really just trying to not get blocked because I saw a guy coming at me. I mean at that point, I figured it couldn’t hurt to get rid of it. Coach Claude Julien said, “Yeah, it’s definitely deserving with the way he has played for us, because he should have had one a long time ago with the way he has played, but it is nice to see him get that goal and be rewarded for how hard he has worked all season.
After this heart pounder, the Bruins will be back in action Saturday night against the Devils, where they will be looking to improve on their sterling 7-2-0 record.
Bruins pull a victory from the jaws of The Sharks
October 24, 2013