The Bruins’ road trip opened the hard way Tuesday night, with a 6-3 win over the San Jose Sharks that didn’t really feel like a six-goal cushion until late in the third period.
Fraser Minten paced Boston with two goals, while Morgan Geekie set the table with two assists. Charlie McAvoy scored in his return, and the Bruins also got goals from Matt Poitras, Pavel Zacha, and Will Borgen, who added the empty-netter. Jeremy Swayman handled 35 shots in the victory.
The scoreboard made it look comfortable. The game flow was anything but. For most of the night, this was a one-goal affair, and Boston only really pulled away in the middle of the third.
Marco Sturm wasn’t interested in pretending otherwise. He pointed to too many turnovers and called the Bruins “a little bit sloppy.”
Even so, the result is the result. Two points are two points.
Two points are two points? Either way.
There was also a first-period play that likely should have counted for Boston. The Bruins appeared to score, only for a goalie interference call to wipe it out.
The overhead view is what really shows the sequence, and while Marat Khusnutdinov does make contact with Yaroslav Askarov’s stick, it happens outside the crease and looks accidental rather than deliberate. Former official Dave Jackson offered some perspective on Twitter, but it still came off as a soft call.
Sturm also wasted no time putting McAvoy right back into the mix. In his season debut, the defenseman logged 24:41.
Special teams remain a problem for Boston. The Bruins went scoreless on the power play, and San Jose cashed in twice on four chances. It was nearly a third power-play goal as well, since the Sharks’ first goal came just two seconds after their man advantage had expired.
For San Jose, Ivar Stenberg, the second pick in June’s draft, scored his first NHL goal in the second period.
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