Bruins stay perfect under Cassidy with OT win over Sharks
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Brad Marchand scored on a breakaway with 2:24 left in overtime and the Boston Bruins picked up where they left off before their six-day bye with a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Sunday night.
Ryan Spooner also scored for the Bruins, who improved to 4-0 under interim coach Bruce Cassidy. Tuukka Rask made 29 saves.
Patrick Marleau scored the lone goal for the Sharks, who have lost six of eight games heading into their bye week. Four of those losses came in overtime and another in a shootout, giving San Jose nine points during the span. Martin Jones made 25 saves.
The winning play started on a faceoff in the Bruins' defensive zone. Patrice Bergeron won the faceoff back to Torey Krug, who sent a stretch pass up ice that Marchand retrieved behind the Sharks defense. He skated in all alone on Jones and beat him for his 25th goal of the season.
While teams coming out of the bye week have struggled this season with a 3-12-4 record coming into Sunday, the Bruins opened the game with much more energy than the Sharks, who were playing for the second straight night after a win in Arizona on Saturday.
Frank Vatrano had a good chance early that Jones stopped but the third line cashed in later in the opening period when Jimmy Hayes took a pass from Adam McQuaid at the point and shot it wide. Spooner recovered the puck off the back boards and tucked it into the open net for the first goal of the game.
The Sharks found their legs in the second period and nearly tied it when Brent Burns hit the post before finally getting the equalizer thanks to a fortunate bounce during 4-on-4 play. Burns' point shot was blocked by Krug and the puck went straight to Marleau, who shot it into the open net for his 21st goal of the season late in the second.
NOTES: Hayes recorded his 100th career point with his assist on Spooner's goal. ... Marleau tied Joe Mullen for 43rd place all-time with his 502nd career goal. ... Krug played his 300th career game.
UP NEXT:
Bruins: Visit Anaheim on Wednesday.
Sharks: Visit Vancouver on Saturday after five-day bye.