Recap: Bruins run away from San Jose in the second period, win 5-1

We had highlights in this one before the game even began, as The Mighty Quinn and his father dropped the puck on Hockey Fights Cancer Night.

Guess who got the scoring started? David Pastrnak blasts home his 12th of the year to make it 1-0 Bruins.

Not to be outdone, the other Czech Dave cashes in on the power play, as David Krejci makes it 2-0 Bruins.

Brent Burns gets a shot through traffic and it beats Tuukka Rask to make it 2-1 Bruins.

Krejci’s goal was good, but his pass on this Charlie Coyle goal may have been even better. 3-1 Bruins in the second.

The Mayor of Walpole, Chris Wagner, toasts Martin Jones on a breakaway to really bust this one open and make it 4-1 Bruins.

When you’re hot, you’re hot, right? The Bruins get some wacky puck luck here, as a Brandon Carlo floater flutters in. 5-1 Bruins

Things started getting a little heated in the third. Evander Kane came up high on Charlie McAvoy, then wouldn’t fight Zdeno Chara. Brett Ritchie eventually threw a hit on Kane, and Barclay Goodrow came calling.

Aside from a scrum or two at the end of the game, that was the end of that! A 5-1 win for the Bruins, their 4th in a row, and 8th-straight game with a point.

Game notes

• Yikes! Sure, this game was 2-1 for a decent stretch, but in the second period, that seemed like a memory from long ago. The Sharks got pasted in this game, allowing the Bruins to run roughshod over their defense for what seemed like minutes at a time. The Bruins outshot San Jose 41-17, out-attempted the Sharks 62-34 in all situations, and out-attempted them 35-18 5v5, via Natural Stat Trick.
• David Krejci looked pretty good in his return from injury. In the locker room postgame, Krejci said he had shifts where he felt fine, and others where he felt like he lost the puck without any pressure. He was confident that he’d get it all back with time.
• The referees deserve some criticism for nearly letting this game completely fall apart. After the initial Zdeno Chara-Evander Kane scrum, everyone knew what was coming next. There was more stickwork, more borderline hits, and eventually a fight. They should have started tossing out misconducts right after that first scrum, but they let it go.
• Timo Meier’s hit on Matt Grzelcyk late was pretty crappy. It was probably within the rules, but it was a completely unnecessary hit to make with 18 seconds left in a 5-1 game. He was hitting to hurt in that instance, and while it doesn’t look like it work, it should be viewed as what it was.
• Brent Burns had himself a tough night. At 5v5, Burns had a CF of 7 and a CA of 21. That’s a CF% of 25%, for those of you who like math.
• Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, and Patrice Bergeron all had CF’s of 0 at even strength. That means each didn’t allow an unblocked shot attempt the entire time they were on the ice at 5v5. Impressive stuff.
• Chris Wagner’s breakaway goal was a thing of beauty. At his postgame press conference, Bruce Cassidy acknowledged that he may have to consider using Wagner in a shootout in the future, especially against goalies who tend to commit to dekes. He did note, however, that the minute he uses Wagner over Pastrnak, the assembled media would be ripping on him. He’s not wrong.
• It was nice to see Charlie Coyle get a goal on the night that The Mighty Quinn dropped the puck. Coyle visited the Quinndow a few weeks ago, and, like Quinn, is from Weymouth. A cool moment for sure.
• Martin Jones had a weird one, which seems to be the standard for Martin Jones. He allowed 5 goals. Most of them weren’t really his fault, but then he allowed that fluttering goal to Carlo. In between, he made 4 or 5 stellar saves, robbing Wagner and Coyle, among others, of another goal each. It’d be a stretch to say he played well, given the final score, but he certainly wasn’t the reason the Sharks lost.

The Bruins now have another weird layoff, with no games until Saturday. See ya then!