Ivar Stenberg picked up his first NHL goal, Macklin Celebrini added another big night, and the Sharks still came up short in a 6-3 loss to the Bruins at SAP Center.
San Jose had stretches where it looked like the game could tilt its way. The energy was there early, the forecheck had life, and the Sharks drew two power plays in the opening period. But the details kept slipping away from them, and Boston kept punishing those little cracks.
The first period set the tone. San Jose had the better of the early push, but not enough finished chances to show for it.
A power play drawn by Celebrini looked disjointed from the start, with the group out of sync on entries and puck movement. The second unit didn’t give them much relief either.
When the Bruins finally broke through, it came on Matt Minten’s goal after the Sharks got hemmed in. Jacob Trouba answered late in the period with a blast from the top that cut through traffic and beat Jeremy Swayman, but Boston quickly restored control when Charlie McAvoy jumped on a loose puck and finished a bang-bang play in front.
San Jose’s best stretch came early in the second, when William Eklund and Stenberg worked a strong forecheck sequence and Will Smith set up Stenberg in the slot. That momentum paid off with Celebrini drawing another penalty, and the Sharks made this one count.
Celebrini created the look, and Stenberg buried it for his first NHL goal. The goal also pulled San Jose back within one and gave the building some life.
But the Bruins answered again. Fabian Zetterlund?
No - Boston’s push kept coming, and the Sharks never quite stabilized after their own good moment. Michael Poitras scored to blunt the Sharks’ attempt at building momentum, then the Bruins added another late in the period on a Zacha goal with three seconds left.
That one stung. San Jose had outshot Boston 25-17 by then, but a bad change and a few late reads left them chasing again.
Through it all, Celebrini kept driving play. In the third period, he turned a too-many-men penalty into another chance for San Jose’s top group, and this time the Sharks cashed in.
Smith worked the right point, Stenberg sent a hard pass across, and Celebrini ripped it home. It was his night too, and it gave Stenberg his first multi-point game.
Still, Boston had more answers. Minten struck again later, finishing off a 3-on-2 after a deflected pass found Dmitry Khusnutdinov. The Sharks had their chances - including a clear-cut odd-man rush from Chernyshov that ended with an intercepted pass to Smith - but the offense never quite matched the effort.
There were bright spots in the middle of all that frustration. Zack Ostapchuk had a strong night along the walls and looked like a force in the ground game.
Cagnoni showed some sharp defensive work at times. Trouba’s goal gave San Jose a needed reset after a rough start.
And Celebrini once again looked like the player the Sharks are leaning on to drive everything.
But the margin for error was tiny, and Boston made sure the Sharks paid for almost every mistake.
In Other News...
Sharks Make Tough Roster Move As Barracuda Need Scoring Help
Alex Barre-Boulet is back off injured reserve, but his next stop with the organization may be a familiar one. The Sharks placed the forward on waivers, a move that gives them the flexibility to send him to the Barracuda if he clears, and it underscores how tightly the club is managing its depth as injuries continue to shape the roster.
For San Jose, the assignment would be less about losing a forward than answering a need down the line in the AHL. The Barracuda are thin at the top of their lineup because of injuries to key forwards, and Barre-Boulet, who has spent most of his professional career in San Jose's system, is expected to slide onto their top line if he makes it through waivers. [Read more 🡒]
Sharks' Biggest Problem Is Getting Harder To Ignore Right Now
The Sharks tinkered with their forward lines again, but the real issue in Tuesdays 6-3 loss to the Bruins at SAP Center was harder to move around: the goals against kept piling up. Boston reached a season-high total against San Jose, and even with Yaroslav Askarov stopping 20 shots, the Sharks spent too much of the night chasing the game instead of dictating it.
There was at least one bright spot in Ivar Stenberg, who logged his first multi-point NHL game and scored his first career goal. But with a six-game road trip up next, San Jose is carrying a familiar problem into a long stretch away from home, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to treat the defensive breakdowns as a short-term slump. [Read more 🡒]
Sharks Could Start Brutal Trip With A Major Blue Line Problem
A bruising night against Boston left the Sharks with a potential problem on the back end before they even get to the opening of a six-game road trip. Darnell Nurse did not play the final portion of the game after a fight with Nikita Zadorov, and the postgame silence from coach Ryan Warsofsky only added to the uncertainty around when, or if, he might be available again.
For San Jose, the timing matters as much as the injury concern itself. A blue line already facing a demanding trip could look even thinner if Nurse ends up on injured reserve, which would sideline him for at least seven days and force the Sharks to sort out their defensive rotation without one of its more important pieces. [Read more 🡒]