Bruins right their ship

The San Jose Sharks skated onto TD Garden ice tonight a much better team than their 5-15-2 record would suggest, and it took a strong, structured effort from the Boston Bruins to make their superior talent pay off in a 3-0 victory that snaps a three-game debacle streak.

The Bruins showed patience through a stale opening period, finding their full game in the second period where they took control. The second period was also the place where the Bruins would bind as a team in old-time-hockey battle, and Trent Frederic and Brad Marchand both dropped the gloves and fought.

Jeremy Swayman (28 saves) has worked harder for wins this season, but he is well deserving of the shutout, especially on the heels of getting pulled while down 2-0 Monday night in Columbus.

Swayman had won only one of his previous five starts, but tonight he earned his second shutout of the season.

GAME BLOG

This is the kind of game needs to be a correction for the Boston Bruins, whose shoddy play had finally caught up with them when their stellar goaltending no longer could.

A big win tonight would not mean much against the San Jose Sharks, a rebuilding team that happens to be playing a lot sturdier hockey than what they had put on ice over the first month of the season.

What about another loss? That depends far more on how the Bruins play and, to some extend, how they lose.

I write this at the start of the second period with the game scoreless until – bang – Danton Heinen breaks the ice 1:39 into the middle period, firing home a backhand pass from Matt Poitras. It was a strange play, Poitras wrestling the puck away from two backcheckers in the high slot, his rip-away finding Heinen low in the right circle, who one-time his left-hand shot past MacKenzie Blackwood (who had often given the Bruins fits while playing for New Jersey).

Could it be momentum on the horizon with defenseman Nikita Okhotiuk going to the penalty box only 59 seconds after Heinen’s goal.

Well Brad Marchand had a chance from low in the right circle, but the refs didn’t like a hit he made on the powerplay, and it became 4-on-4 hockey for the next minute.

Poitras got a 2-on-1 with Heinen. The defender, Ty Emberson, gave Poitras to Blackwood, who caught the shot aimed for the top corner.

Marchand exited the box almost in time to collect on a Charlie Coyle alley oop with room to make a play on Blackwood.

San Jose defenseman Kyle Burroughs got in between Trent Frederic and the right post, but next shift Pavel Zacha sprung Jake DeBrusk, who deked and slid a backhand under Blackwood at 8:10 to make it 2-0 Boston. David Pastrnak earned the secondary assist.

Hampus Lindholm got a nice look from the right circle, but Luke Kunin made the block and incurred some pain doing so.

Givani Smith ran Poitras for the second time in this game, drawing a boarding call and a jump by Derek Forbort. Burroughs got a high-sticking penalty in the ensuing melee, putting the Bruins on the powerplay.

The inevitable occurred with 53.2 seconds remaining in the second period when Smith and Frederic squared off. Frederic obviously didn’t realize he’d been fed lefts rather than rights, but he made a strong recovery and went to the room to a loud cheer.

Next thing, Charlie McAvoy leaned into Ryan Carpenter on the end boards – Boston’s end of the rink. Carpenter stayed down, and Brad Marchand started a fight in the slot. The Sharks got a two-man advantage out of it, 1:35 of which carries into the third period.

Shots through two periods: 28-15 Boston

The Bruins intercepted two passes and got the kill they were looking for, and immediately after McAvoy had a chance in the high slot but missed the San Jose net.

Burroughs carried down left wing and somehow kept Shattenkirk’s interruption of his 1-on-1 move in front of him, collected and forced Jeremy Swayman for come up with a big save, keeping the Sharks off the scoreboard.

Marchand exited the box at on the first stoppage after the expiration of his total penalty time, and Matt Benning was the ship passing in the night, going to the box for slashing.

Zacha converted on the powerplay at 6:37, taking a Marchand feed and pulling a backhand high over Blackwood’s glove to make it 3-0.