BOSTON - The Sharks had the kind of night that keeps a team stuck in place: enough offense to stay alive, enough breakdowns to let it slip away.
San Jose scored four times - from Michael Misa, Kiefer Sherwood, Dmitry Orlov and Will Smith - but couldn’t protect a lead in a 6-4 loss to the Bruins at TD Garden. Boston kept pushing, and every time the Sharks appeared to have the game within reach, the Bruins found another answer.
The opening period set the tone for how uneven things would be. Misa gave San Jose an early spark with a hard-working goal that came after he kept the puck alive along the wall under pressure and got it back to Jacob Trouba.
Toffoli’s shot created the chance, Adam Gaudette’s deflection nearly finished it, and Misa buried the rebound to make it count. Earlier, the Sharks had also benefited from a Boston clear that deflected off a Bruin and stayed in the offensive zone.
But the Bruins had already done damage at the other end, and their pressure never really let up. They controlled plenty of the play in the first, and San Jose spent too much time scrambling around its own end.
The Sharks did get a look when Celebrini rang a shot off the crossbar, with Stenberg there for the follow-up, but Swayman came up with a big stop. Later in the period, Khusnutdinov did a strong job denying Celebrini in a one-on-one battle near the end of the frame.
San Jose’s forecheck had some bright spots, too. Graf put together an impressive shift in the first period, including a sequence where he shook Elias Lindholm off in the corner and later found Smith in the slot for a chance. Misa also stood out with his pace and his willingness to keep pucks alive, while Toffoli’s declining speed showed up on one sequence when Boston’s pressure forced a hurried play and Nedeljkovic had to freeze it.
The second period gave the Sharks a chance to settle in, and Sherwood made the most of it. After Boston had grabbed the momentum back, Sherwood scored a short-handed goal that cut right through the Bruins’ rhythm. He jumped on a telegraphed pass from Elias Lindholm and stole it as the F1 on the penalty kill, giving San Jose exactly the kind of lift it needed.
Before that, Misa kept making noise. He drew a slash from Zadorov after another assertive forecheck shift, then battled through Khusnutdinov in the corner on the power play to help San Jose work the puck.
He’s been quietly effective in those kinds of puck battles, and the physical side of his game stood out again. In traffic, though, the quicker decisions are still catching up.
There were also some tense moments defensively. Dickinson made a strong backtrack to erase a 2-on-1, ripping the puck away from Hagens.
Kesselring, meanwhile, had a rougher night trying to move the puck out of trouble, though he did show some backbone after taking a hard board from Kastelic. The hit looked forceful enough that it seemed like a penalty should have come San Jose’s way, but it didn’t.
The third period turned into a scramble. Orlov hammered in a goal with a clapper to keep San Jose in the fight, and then Smith answered later with a beautiful finish after Celebrini danced through pressure and Trouba sent a perfect pass. Smith’s goal showed the Sharks still had life.
But Boston kept matching them. Pastrnak drew a penalty after Smith’s move, then later converted on the counter when Dellandrea couldn’t handle a hard pass in the offensive zone. Hagens scored off the draw on a Boston 2-on-1, and Minten added another late, with Dickinson left as the last man in the play after Lohrei kept the puck in.
The Sharks’ final push wasn’t enough. They left with another late lead lost and another game that slipped away after there was still time to make a stand.
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