The Bruins handed the San Jose Sharks their first loss of the season on Sunday by a score of 4-3, but the game wasn’t necessarily as close as the score-line would indicate.
Boston led 3-1 after the first period, then tacked on another goal in the second frame to head into the final minutes with a healthy 4-1 lead. But two late deflections from the Sharks had things looking a bit dicey.
Netminder Linus Ullmark held on and finished the game with 23 saves, much fewer than the 35 pucks he stopped against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday.
After Sunday’s win, he acknowledged that it wasn’t a perfect showing in his first start for the Bruins at TD Garden.
“It was alright,” he told reporters after the game. “There were some tips in front that made it a little more interesting than it had to be. That’s on me. But overall it was a step in the right direction … Even though we had a 4-1 lead, it didn’t feel like it was stressful. Even though they got their second and a third, it was still very calm and collected throughout the whole period.”
Ullmark has impressed through his first two showings as a Bruin, which is promising considering he had a bumpy preseason.
It remains to be seen if Boston will look to him or Jeremy Swayman between the pipes when it travels to Florida for a Wednesday tip with the Panthers.
