The Bruins are rolling again, and Charlie McAvoy’s return gave them another jolt.
Boston opened its four-game road trip with a 6-3 win over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night at SAP Center, extending its run to three straight victories while snapping a three-game skid against San Jose. McAvoy, back from suspension, scored his first goal of the season, while Fraser Minten buried two, and Matt Poitras, Pavel Zacha and Will Borgen also chipped in.
Jeremy Swayman handled 35 of 38 shots and picked up his third straight win.
The Bruins actually thought they had struck first when Mason Lohrei appeared to score at 8:56 of the opening period off a pass from Marat Khusnutdinov, but the play was waved off after Khusnutdinov bumped into Sharks goalie Yaroslav Askarov. Khusnutdinov seemed to be outside the crease, but Marco Sturm chose not to challenge.
Boston didn’t have to wait long for a goal that counted. Casey Mittelstadt fed Minten as he entered the zone, and the 23-year-old let it go from 47 feet out. James Hagens provided the screen, and the Bruins were on the board.
San Jose answered on the power play. Just as Boston’s penalty kill expired, Jacob Trouba scored his first goal as a Shark after the faceoff went the home team’s way and the puck was worked into the zone. Trouba beat Swayman with a point shot.
Late in the period, Boston’s second line went back to work. They forced Barclay Goodrow to play the puck off Askarov’s pad, JJ Peterka collected the rebound, and McAvoy jumped into the play to finish it off and restore the lead.
The Sharks came out flying in the second. Macklin Celebrini drew a penalty on Nikita Zadorov, and on the third power play of the night, Celebrini set up Ivar Stenberg from the left circle for the 19-year-old’s first NHL goal. San Jose’s draft pick, taken second overall this summer, had his first moment on the score sheet.
The Sharks piled on pressure early in the period, outshooting Boston 10-0 over the first seven minutes. Hampus Lindholm finally got the Bruins’ first shot of the period at 7:35.
Boston’s second shot of the frame was a big one. Mark Kastelic worked from behind the net and dropped a pass to Poitras, who slid into space to Askarov’s right and beat him glove-side for another Bruins lead.
From there, things got chippy. Minten and Trouba traded cross-checks after a whistle and both were penalized for roughing. Kastelic knocked Celebrini down, and Will Smith followed with a cross-check on Kastelic that sent him off for two minutes.
Then Boston landed the knockout punch in the final seconds of the period. After Celebrini got tied up with McAvoy, the Bruins turned the other way on a 2-on-1, and Pavel Zacha took a feed from Morgan Geekie and ripped it past Askarov with three seconds left to make it 4-2.
The third period brought another San Jose push, and Boston a penalty it didn’t need. The Bruins were whistled for too many men at 4:53, and Celebrini made them pay 11 seconds into the power play with a blast finished off a setup from Stenberg.
The game turned even nastier after that. Nikita Zadorov and Darnell Nurse dropped the gloves 96 seconds later, and Zadorov landed multiple right hands before taking Nurse to the ice.
Minten wasn’t done. As the Sharks pressed, Boston sprang a 4-on-2 with the second line, and Lohrei-who scored on a similar play Saturday afternoon-kept the rush alive by playing the puck off Luca Cagnoni. It ended up on Khusnutdinov’s stick, and he set up Minten for his second goal of the night with 8:13 left.
Borgen finished it off by firing the puck 167 feet into the empty net for his first goal in a black and gold sweater.
Boston continues the trip Friday with a 10:00 PM ET start against the Anaheim Ducks, then plays the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday at 9:00 PM ET. The Bruins will travel to Anaheim on Wednesday and practice Thursday at the Ducks’ practice facility.
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