Bruins

Brad Marchand’s 2 goals, assist lead Bruins past Sharks, 3-1

Patrice Bergeron also scored for Boston, which beat San Jose for the ninth straight time.

Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand celebrate a goal. Josie Lepe/AP Photo

By BEN ROSS, Associated Press

February 27, 2022

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Brad Marchand had two goals and an assist, and the Boston Bruins beat the San Jose Sharks 3-1 on Saturday night for their fourth straight win.

Patrice Bergeron also scored for Boston, which beat San Jose for the ninth straight time. The Sharks’ last win against the Bruins came on March 15, 2016.

“It’s always nice when you score, but I think I was mostly just happy with the way that I felt,” Marchand said following his second game back from a six-game suspension. “When you play a lot of minutes, missing two weeks is tough. So I was really happy with how things felt in the (two) games.”

Timo Meier scored for the Sharks, who lost for the eighth time in their last nine games.

“They’re a tough team to play against,” San Jose defenseman Brent Burns said. “A lot of skill, great at knocking pucks out of the air.”

Marchand opened the scoring in the first period on a 2-on-1 break, receiving Jake DeBrusk’s pass and beating James Reimer.

Meier scored the equalizer on the power play in the second for his team-leading 24th goal of the season.

🎥 Coach Cassidy on #NHLBruins defensive effort vs. San Jose: “I thought it was excellent…obviously an all-world save at the end there. We needed it. Timing was perfect. There wasn’t much. Even the goal we gave up was not a dangerous shot, just found its way in.” pic.twitter.com/On4h4bouAm

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) February 27, 2022

Marchand responded early in the third with his second goal of the night and 23rd of the season. Bergeron added his 14th with 40 seconds remaining, putting the game out of reach.

Reimer made 34 saves, keeping San Jose in the game despite being outshot 37-16.

“Just (proud of) how we stuck with it,” Marchand said. “Sometimes it’s tough when you’re playing really well and you get a goal scored against you when we easily could’ve had four or five. But just the composure of the group, where earlier in the year maybe we would’ve folded. But we just kept going at it.”

Jeremy Swayman recorded 15 saves for the Bruins, including a pair of key stops in the final minutes as San Jose mounted a furious rally, attempting to force overtime.

“I just think we got a little bit hungrier on the puck there for that 10-minute push,” Sharks center Logan Couture said. “It was unfortunate we didn’t have that for the start of the game, but some really good looks down the stretch.”

Bergy before the buzzer. 🚨 pic.twitter.com/PyFHFednni

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) February 27, 2022

Swayman’s best save came with 3:09 remaining when he lunged to his left and robbed Tomáš Hertl with his glove hand.

“I knew they were going to push,” Swayman said. “I think we all kind of felt that coming. That’s the game of hockey. Teams come in waves. When you’re not seeing a lot of rubber, it’s definitely tough to make sure you’re focused. But that’s what I want to emphasize and I want the team to have confidence in me when it’s not a lot of shots, and no matter what, I’m going to be ready.”

NOTES

Sharks D Mario Ferraro left the game with a lower-body injury in the second period after being pushed awkwardly into the boards by Boston’s Taylor Hall, who was penalized for interference. … C Andrew Cogliano was a late scratch for San Jose due to a personal matter. … Sharks LW Rudolfs Balcers (upper-body injury) missed his second straight game and is unlikely to play Sunday against Seattle. … San Jose D Nicolas Meloche was a scratch after leaving Thursday’s game with an undisclosed injury. … Bruins C Curtis Lazar missed the game with an upper-body injury and is considered day-to-day.