Bruins Wrap: Boston Wins Sixth Straight With 6-5 OT Victory Vs. Sharks

It wasn’t easy, but the Boston Bruins won their sixth straight game Monday night.

The San Jose Sharks looked destined to win when Joe Thornton netted the go-ahead goal in the third period, but some late-game heroics from Chris Wagner tied the game at 5-5 to send the game to overtime. San Jose controlled the opening minutes of OT, but Charlie McAvoy sealed the 6-5 victory for the Black and Gold by blasting a slapshot past Martin Jones with 1:01 left in the extra period.

Torey Krug, Zdeno Chara, Karson Kuhlman, Jake DeBrusk, Wagner and McAvoy each tallied a goal for Boston, while Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture and Thornton (three goals) had the tallies for the Sharks.

Tuukka Rask turned away 33 shots while Jones stopped 14 after allowing three first-period goals.

With the win, the Bruins improved to 35-17-8, while the Sharks slipped to 35-17-8.

Here’s how it all went down:

THREE-GOAL FIRST
It was a thrilling beginning to the first period, as the game featured three Boston goals and only two whistles in the first 10 minutes.

The Bruins looked as if they jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when the puck appeared to cross the red line but it was ruled no goal.

The Sharks killed off the Bruins’ first power play, but San Jose went right back on the kill after Evander Kane was whistled for high-sticking and the Bruins weren’t going to let this opportunity go to waste. David Krejci passed to Krug who sent an absolute laser from the point passed Jones for the 1-0 lead.

Boston would double its lead when Chara lit the lamp for his 199th time in his career with a rocket that Jones never had a chance to stop.

Kuhlman got in on the scoring fun in the final two minutes of the opening stanza with his first NHL goal. Krejci flipped the puck from one end of the ice to the other, DeBrusk tracked it down and slid a pass in front of the net that Kuhlman put by Jones to give Boston a 3-0 advantage.

The Sharks wouldn’t go into the second period scoreless, however. Thornton put his team on the board with two seconds left to cut Boston’s lead to 3-1.

Both teams had eight shots on net heading into the second.

SHARK ATTACK
Boston found itself on the penalty kill just 1:40 into the middle period when Kevan Miller went to the box for a delay of game. San Jose took full advantage as Brent Burns ripped a shot that was tipped in by Pavelski to bring the Sharks within one.

The Bruins had a chance to double their lead when the team went on their third power play of the game and did just that thanks to DeBrusk continuing his hot streak. David Backes kicked the puck away from the boards which led to Danton Heinen dishing the puck to DeBrusk who netted his fourth goal in as many games to give the Black and Gold a 4-2 edge.

Thornton brought the Sharks within a goal with his second tally of the game with 3:57 left in the period when he gathered a loose puck at the post and tapped it by Rask.

Boston again went on the power play with 1:29 left in the middle frame, but it was the Sharks that found twine thanks to a Couture penalty shot. Couture deeked out Krug to go on the breakaway before getting denied at the goal line. The goal horn sounded, but it was ruled no goal and Couture was given a penalty-shot opportunity and tied the game 4-4 with 24 seconds left in the period.

San Jose controlled most of the period with 14 shots on net compared to Boston’s four.

JUMBO JOE HAT TRICK
The Bruins were shorthanded just 1:57 into the third period when a delay of game was called, but Boston successfully killed it off despite some early chances for the Sharks.

The B’s struggled mightily to begin the final frame, failing to put a shot on net for more than 10 minutes. And even though they generated some offense in the second half of the third, it was Thornton once again who found the back of the net. With 6:28 remaining, Thornton broke the tie with his first hat trick in eight-plus years to give the Sharks their first lead of the night.

Wagner tied the game with just 1:49 left on the clock, but it looked as if it was going to get overturned as the Walpole, Mass. native raised his stick above the crossbar to knock the puck down and swat it past Jones.

But the goal wasn’t reviewed and the game needed sudden death to decide who would come away with the two points.

MCAVOY WINS IT
With just over a minute left to play, McAvoy netted the game-winning tally after Krejci and DeBrusk passed off the puck to the 21-year-old who completed the tic-tac-toe goal for Boston’s sixth straight win.

UP NEXT
Boston continues its West Coast road trip Wednesday when it takes on the Vegas Golden Knights. Puck drop from T-Mobile Arena is set for 10 p.m. ET.

This Bruins Wrap is presented by Plainridge Park Casino.