After finding out their last remaining top three center, David Krejci, would be out with an undisclosed injury, the battered Bruins rallied for what is their biggest win of the season to date. This really could be the momentum shift the Bruins needed. As I said below, they needed at least a point, if not more, in the standings, probably more so for their psyche. They worked so hard on Wednesday night and in so many games before but came away with nothing, and to do drop this one against the heavily-favored Sharks would've been crushing.
But the Bruins found a way to not only get that point but also get the win. And folks, that's why Thomas is the reigning Vezina Trophy winner! For anyone doubting him, he still has it, and with Tuukka Rask, the Bruins have one of the most formidable goaltending tandems in the league.
As for Big Z and his shootout goal, about time he lets her rip! That is the only reason he's in there and he blasted the puck by Evgeni Nabokov for the win. Meanwhile, Thomas stopped the NHL's leading goal scorer Patrick Marleau, Dany Heatley, Ryane Clowe and Joe Pavelski.
Honorable mention must also go to Daniel Paille (goal), Shawn Thornton (assist) and Steve Begin for a gritty and skilled performance.
Thanks for joining us here on a late night on the East Coast and check back on Saturday, when the Bruins play the Kings in L.A. at 4 p.m. ET.
End of overtime, 1-1: The Bruins and Sharks are headed to a shootout at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. Let's see who Claude Julien chooses to shoot for his team.
Overtime, 2:30, 1-1: The Bruins are controlling OT so far but no scoring yet. Miroslav Satan is really creating out there.
End of regulation, 1-1: The Bruins and Sharks are headed to overtime and finally this hard-working Bruins squad gets a point for its efforts. Despite giving up 40 shots, the B's can hold their heads high, win or lose, because this was a gut-check game and they passed. Of course, the two points won't hurt!
Third period, 2:18, 1-1: Once again, this gritty Bruins squad has risen to the occasion and finds itself tied with the best team in the NHL at 1 with just over two minutes left. But if they can't come away with at least a point, one has to wonder how much more can this team take. A regulation loss would be devastating!
Third period, 6:00, 1-1: Tim Thomas just robbed Dany Heatley and he is having one of his best games of the season.
Third period, 8:23, 1-1: Did the ref just swallow the whistle for the first two periods and now cough it up? Blake Wheeler is headed back to the penalty box and the Sharks will head on the power play again. They're 0-for-1 and the Bruins are 0-for-2.
Third period, 10:28, 1-1: Patrick Marleau is off to the penalty box for interference after Marco Sturm and Mark Recchi had a 2-on-1 short-handed break.
Marleau hauled down Recchi and broke the play up but will pay the price. Amazingly, after no penalties in the first two periods and just under seven minutes of the third, there have now been three in just under three minutes.
Third period, 11:17, 1-1: Blake Wheeler is in the sin bin for high-sticking and the Bruins' power play once again produces nothing. The Sharks will have 1:46 of power-play time.
Third period, 13:04, 1-1: Dan Boyle has just been whistled for the first penalty of the game (holding) and the Bruins will get the first power play of the game. They were 0-for-2 last night in Anaheim.
Third period, 14:37, 1-1: Hate to be a broken record, but the Bruins' fourth line is just everywhere and Daniel Paille is having one of his best, if not his best, games as a Bruin.
Third period, 16:53, 1-1: A flurry of chances by the Sharks and the Bruins are lucky to be tied right now. I understand the skill level of the first line is better and that's why it is out there with the Sharks' top line, but the size just isn't matching up.
Third period, 19:39, 1-1: Underway in the third period and a great stat by Jack Edwards that Zdeno Chara, Dennis Wideman and Matt Hunwick all had 15:33 of ice time headed into this period. Claude Julien is doing a great job of spreading out the shifts.
End of second period, 1-1: Mark Recchi almost regained the lead for the Bruins with six seconds left in the second period. With some great creativity, Recchi tried to bank the puck off Evgeni Nabokov's back. The Bruins head to the dressing room tied again and have to be happy and confident right now.
The Bruins are hustling out there, and as we said before, the fourth line has been the best line. Daniel Paille's speed and hustle paid off and ditto for Shawn Thornton, who made the goal-scoring play happen.
As for the Sharks goal, the Bruins need to be careful and be conscious that no one is mismatched against the Sharks' big stars.
Second period, 2:43, 1-1: With the exception of the Joe Thornton goal, Zdeno Chara is doing a great job of shutting down the Sharks' Big Three of Patrick Marleau, Thornton and Dany Heatley.
Chara is the only one who is bigger than those three and he's using his size to his advantage.
Second period, 7:44, 1-1: The HP Pavilion has awoke from its slumber and that's not a good sign for the Bruins, as this can be one of the loudest arenas in the NHL. Also, it sounded as if the fans were chanting "Thank you, Boston," after the Joe Thornton goal.
By the way, Dany Heatley is now getting credit for the primary assist on Thornton's goal and Dan Boyle gets the secondary.
Second period, 10:04, 1-1: OK, I'll take the blame for that one folks! Joe Thornton just tipped in a Dan Boyle floater and the Sharks have tied the game.
Second period, 11:44, Bruins 1-0: One would have to agree that surprisingly, Shawn Thornton is winning the battle of the Thorntons so far. He has been a bigger factor than superstar Joe Thornton of the Sharks. No relation, by the way, but right now "The Quiet Man" is winning that battle.
Second period, 14:36, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins obviously came into this game with a plan to shut down the Sharks as much as they could, hang in and take advantage of whatever breaks they could get. Working just fine so far.
Second period, 17:10, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins are amazingly up 1-0 after a great steal by Shawn Thornton, who then fed a streaking Daniel Paille up the middle for the goal.
Once again, the fourth line creates some offensive chances and this time it converts, stunning the Sharks and the HP Pavilion crowd.
Second period, 19:37: Underway in the second period of a scoreless game between the Bruins and Sharks.
End of first period, 0-0: Not a bad period at all for the injury-depleted Bruins, who played great team defense and got solid goaltending from Tim Thomas.
The Sharks are simply amazing at puck possession and cycling the puck, but unlike Wednesday night in Anaheim, the Bruins are doing a great job of clogging up the lanes and the neutral zone.
The fourth line, as it has been so many times, was impressive as well, creating some offense and doing its usual splendid job of forechecking. Also, you have to like the play of Marco Sturm against his former team. He had a solid chance on a sneaky backhander but Evgeni Nabokov made the stop.
First period, 5:44: Have to give credit to Dennis Wideman for playing hurt. I was told early today that he looked and felt doubtful Wednesday night after taking a shot off his knee. He was limping around and was in a lot of pain, but apparently he could tough it out, and while his game has been suspect at best this season, he deserves props for playing.
First period, 8:00: This rash of injuries and difficult road trip could spell disaster if the Bruins don't somehow muster some points tonight and on Saturday. The Rangers are tied with them with 51 points, and the Habs and Sens are one point behind the B's, who are suddenly in danger of falling out of the top eight in the East.
First period, 9:51: Tim Thomas has been up to the task thus far and the Bruins are hanging in with the speedy Sharks. Lots of non-stop action here so far.
First period, 16:24: The Bruins' depth up the middle has really been tested here, and after the job Mark Recchi did playing center on Wednesday, that's just another reason they're lucky to have "The Wrecking Ball".
First period, 19:15: Underway in the first period in San Jose as the MASH crew Bruins try to steal one from the best team in the NHL.
10:25 p.m.: Here's tonight's probable and once again reshuffled lineup:
Forwards
Blake Wheeler–Vladimir Sobotka–Michael Ryder
Marco Sturm–Mark Recchi–Miroslav Satan
Milan Lucic–Steve Begin–Byron Bitz
Daniel Paille–Trent Whitfield–Shawn Thornton
Defensemen
Zdeno Chara–Dennis Wideman
Adam McQuaid–Johnny Boychuck
Matt Hunwick–Derek Morris
Goaltenders
Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask
Evgeni Nabokov will get the nod for the Sharks and Tim Thomas for the Bruins.
10 p.m: And the beat goes on with the Bruins' injury list. NESN Bruins producer Brian Zechello is reporting that center David Krejci is out tonight with an undisclosed injury and will be replaced by Trent Whitfield. Meanwhile, defenseman Dennis Wideman is a game-time decision. Wideman is set to skate in warm-ups, and if he can't go, then Andrew Wozniewski, recalled from Providence, will get the nod.
The Krejci news came out of nowhere as he did not appear to be playing hurt on Wednesday. That leaves the Bruins without their regular top three centers in Marc Savard, Patrice Bergeron and Krejci. Boston's centers now will be Mark Recchi, Vladimir Sobotka, Whitfield and Steve Begin.
4:16 p.m.: The Bruins (22-16-7, 51 points) are in San Jose for the tail end of a back-to-back set to face the best team in the NHL, the Sharks (30-10-7, 67 points). This is the second of a three-game West Coast swing for Boston, which enters Silicon Valley on the heels of another hard-fought game that produced no points in the standings.
"That’s what we need: A little bit of anger, guys getting mad and wanting to do something about it," head coach Claude Julien told the media after Wednesday's game, according to the Boston Herald. "If we can get that same kind of effort and cut down on the mistakes, I think we’ll be on the right track. The effort was there. That’s what’s frustrating. Mistakes ended up costing us in the end, but at the other end we really challenged them."
The problem is that the Bruins are banged up and even one little mistake right now sits on that fine line between winning and losing. And as if they didn't have enough injury problems, NESN.com has learned that Andrew Wozniewski has been recalled from Providence and that defenseman Dennis Wideman is questionable for Thursday's game.
The Bruins will also be facing their former captain Joe Thornton, who since being traded from Boston to San Jose on Nov. 30, 2005, has gone on to be one of the most prolific playmakers in the game. In four-plus seasons with the Sharks, Thornton has won a Hart Trophy, has amassed 448 points and 341 assists (the most of any NHLer during that span), has been in the playoffs every season and has helped lead his team to three playoff round wins. Needless to say, Jumbo Joe has moved on just fine from his days in Beantown. But this is a vastly different Bruins team, as only two players — Patrice Bergeron and Mark Stuart — were in the organization when Thornton called Boston his home. Both of those players are out due to injury at the moment.
The Bruins appear to be on the right path as well, with a solid young nucleus. In this game, they have a chance to get this season on the right path, and they will have to do so against a Stanley Cup contender in San Jose.
We will have more on Wideman's injury status to come.
