The Boston Bruins earned a much-needed two points Thursday night thanks to one of their young forwards.
Danton Heinen, who the B’s called up from the AHL’s Providence Bruins earlier Thursday, scored the first two goals of his career as the Bruins beat the San Jose Sharks 2-1 at TD Garden. B’s goalie Anton Khudobin also played very well. He made 36 saves for his third win of the season.
The Bruins improve to 4-3-1 with the win, while the Sharks drop to 4-5-0.
Here’s how it all went down.
REMEMBER YOUR FIRST
Heinen scored the opening goal while the B’s were shorthanded in the first period. He pounced on a rebound off a shot from David Backes to tally the first goal of his NHL career. Backes and Kevan Miller picked up assists on the goal.
GOOD PENALTY KILLING
Boston’s penalty kill stood tall during a 5-on-3 Sharks power play for about 30 seconds just over four minutes into the second period. That kill was followed by another minute of PK time, which the Bruins also survived. It was an impressive display of penalty killing by the Bruins against a San Jose team that has a ton of high-end offensive skill. The Sharks entered this game ranked 10th in the league in power-play percentage.
JUMBO JOE
Sharks center Joe Thornton tied the game at 10:40 of the second period with a goal in front of the net. Thornton battled around the crease, fighting for position, and his persistence was rewarded with a loose puck in the crease that he was able to put into the back of the net for his second goal of the season. Tim Heed and Brent Burns earned assists on the play.
HEINEN X2
Heinen scored his second goal of the game on another rebound. He perfectly played a shot from Brandon Carlo off the end boards and caught Sharks goalie Martin Jones out of position. Carlo and Tim Schaller were credited with assists.
BACK-AND-FORTH FINAL 20
These teams played a scoreless third period with the Bruins making enough plays in their own zone to prevent the Sharks from tying the score. San Jose did have a power play with less than six minutes left in regulation, but the B’s penalty kill did its job.
The Sharks got another power play with 2:32 remaining, and a good portion of it was a 6-on-4 advantage because San Jose pulled Jones for the extra attacker. Once again, Boston’s penalty kill played great.
UP NEXT
The Bruins host the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET at TD Garden.
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
