Bruins Wrap: Defense To Offense Fuels Boston Win Vs. Sharks

The Boston Bruins improved their winning streak to five games Sunday night, taking a 4-0 victory from their matchup with the San Jose Sharks at TD Garden.

The Bruins improved their NHL-best record to 37-5-4 with the win, while the Sharks dropped to 14-25-9.

Check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
The Bruins entered Sunday with the best offense in the NHL, leading the league in goals per game (3.8) and goal differential (+78) while ranking top five in assists (288; third), points (459; third), power-play goals (42; fourth) and power-play percentage (47.1%; second).

What makes those numbers so impressive? They’ve had stretches where they didn’t even need any production out of their forwards. Like Sunday, for instance.

Over the course of Boston’s five-game winning streak, Bruins defensemen have combined to score 16 points, including six goals.

Boston’s big dawgs got involved against San Jose, with Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm each scoring sweet goals to get things rolling for Boston.

They didn’t just get it done on the offensive end, either. The defensemen also had a tremendous game on their primary end of the ice. The Bruins allowed just 11 shots through two periods and killed off both Sharks power-play opportunities. By the time the third period rolled around, Boston bled clock to secure its 37th win of the season.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Lindholm finished with a goal and assist in the win. His dominant offensive night brought his point total to 31 on the season, just four points shy of a career high.

— McAvoy had two points of his own, including the sweet goal seen above. He’s up to 29 points on the season.

— Linus Ullmark (kind of) secured his third shutout of the season, which (could) set a new career-best mark. The All-Star netminder had to leave the game with a broken skate blade, missing 2:28 of game time to get the issue resolved. He finished with 17 of Boston’s 18 saves on the night.

WAGER WATCH
DraftKings Sportsbook made the Bruins 1.5 goal favorites over the Sharks, with Boston cruising to cover. The Black and Gold cashed tickets at -140 odds. A $100 wager on the prop bet would have resulted in a total payout of $171.43.

UP NEXT
The Bruins will head up north to begin a five-game road trip Tuesday. They’ll start by taking on the Montreal Canadiens for the first time this season at Centre Bell, with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. You can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.