The Bruins didn’t just survive a tricky night in San Jose - they answered every time the Sharks tried to climb back in. Boston left SAP Center with a 6-3 win Tuesday, riding a six-goal attack, another strong night from Jeremy Swayman and a sharp return from Charlie McAvoy to stretch its winning streak to three.
McAvoy wasted no time making his presence felt in his season debut after serving a six-game suspension. Late in the first period, he jumped into the play and redirected a puck past Yaroslav Askarov to put Boston back in front 2-1 after Jacob Trouba had tied things up. That goal mattered not only on the scoreboard, but for a Bruins blue line that welcomed back one of its most experienced voices as the club opened its longest road stretch of the early season.
Boston’s offense spread the damage around, but Fraser Minten did the most of it. He opened the scoring at 12:55 of the first period, taking a feed from Casey Mittelstadt and beating Askarov from above the right circle. Minten struck again in the third period, burying a chance from Marat Khusnutdinov to make it 5-3 and give the Bruins breathing room after Macklin Celebrini had trimmed the gap to one early in the final frame.
That second Minten goal landed at a huge moment. San Jose had been hanging around all night, generating pressure in waves and making Boston work for every inch. Minten’s finish restored a two-goal cushion with a little over eight minutes left, and that set the stage for Brandon Borgen’s empty-netter to close it out.
Matthew Poitras also chipped in with a goal, and Pavel Zacha added another at the very end of the second period. Zacha’s came with just three seconds left in the frame, capping a two-on-one rush with Morgan Geekie and pushing Boston ahead 4-2. That score felt like a swing goal, especially after the Sharks had pulled even earlier in the period.
San Jose kept punching back. Rookie Ivar Stenberg scored his first NHL goal on the power play to tie the game in the second, and Celebrini later struck again on the man advantage to pull the Sharks within one in the third.
But Boston kept finding the answer. That was the story of the night.
Swayman made sure those responses held up. He stopped 35 of 38 shots, earning his third straight win while San Jose piled up chances, especially in the second period.
At one point, the Sharks recorded the first 10 shots of the frame before Hampus Lindholm registered Boston’s first attempt. Even with two power-play goals against, Swayman and the Bruins defense did enough to keep the game from slipping away.
In the end, the Bruins’ edge came from their ability to respond under pressure. Every time the Sharks nudged themselves back into the game, Boston had a comeback of its own ready to go.
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