BOSTON – David Krejci’s deflection with less than a second to go gave the Boston Bruins a 2-1 win over the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night at TD Garden.
Krejci tipped a Adam McQuaid shot through Antti Niemi with .8 seconds showing on the clock to give San Jose (8-1-1) its first regulation loss in dramatic fashion.
After getting shut out in Detroit on Monday, it took the Sharks more than two periods to score in Boston. Patrick Marleau tied the game at 1-1 just 18 seconds after the faceoff to open the third period, depositing a Marc-Edouard Vlasic rebound.
The Sharks’ four-game winning streak in Boston came to an end.
Boston broke a scoreless tie with Jarome Iginla’s first goal as a Bruin late in the second period. Dennis Seidenberg’s blast went wide, but bounced to Iginla off the end boards. The former Flames captain chopped at the loose puck and it got through Antti Niemi at 18:48.
The Sharks held a substantial edge in shots on goal throughout the game, finishing with a 39-17 advantage. In the first period, San Jose outshot the Bruins 16-3, but Boston did a good job of keeping them to the outside and breaking up passes with their sticks. Tomas Hertl had the best chance to open the scoring, but Tuukka Rask denied the rookie with about two and a half minutes left after Johnny Boychuk misplayed a puck at the side of the net.
The Bruins picked things up in the second. Niemi denied Greg Campbell early in the period on a wrist shot from the circle after Jordan Caron stripped Jason Demers, and later made a spectacular save on Patrice Bergeron on a two-on-one with Brad Marchand.
In a recurring theme in the NHL lately, the game featured yet another questionable hit resulting in a possible head injury. Zdeno Chara drove a forearm high into Tommy Wingels late in the first period, forcing the Sharks winger from the game. He did not return.
Marleau, who had an eight-game point streak snapped in Detroit, scored for the sixth time in seven games. His eight goals is one behind league leader Alex Ovechkin.
The game pitted brothers Freddie Hamilton and Dougie Hamilton against one another. For Freddie, it was his second NHL game after he was recalled due to Brent Burns’ facial injury.
Special teams
The Sharks and Bruins each had just one power play opportunity, and each failed to convert. San Jose’s advantage came just 41 seconds into the game on an Iginla roughing minor. Joe Thornton’s tripping minor with 15:25 left in the third period was the first penalty of the year for the Sharks’ captain.
In goal
In a battle of two Finnish netminders that could end up starting in the Olympics, both Niemi and Rask were on top of their games.
Niemi, the only goalie to play every minute of every game for his team, had 15 saves. Rask, who had the night off in Boston’s 5-2 win in Buffalo on Wednesday, stopped 38.
Lineup
Mike Brown made his Sharks debut on the fourth line with Andrew Desjardins and John McCarthy. James Sheppard was a healthy scratch for the first time.
Burns missed his second straight game, and Dan Boyle also remains out, although Boyle rejoined the team and skated on Thursday morning for the first time since being knocked out on the ice on Oct. 15.
Boston was without forward Loui Eriksson, who suffered a concussion from a dirty hit by Buffalo’s John Scott on Wednesday night.
Up next
A visit to the Bell Centre is next up for the Sharks, as they face the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night. Their first back-to-back continues in Ottawa on Sunday, and the five-game road swing concludes with a game in Los Angeles next Wednesday, Oct. 30.
