Four in the Third: Bruins Storm Back to Beat the Sharks 6-4
Down a goal in the third period on home ice? No problem. The Bruins scored four times in the final 20 minutes at TD Garden on Saturday night and beat the San Jose Sharks 6-4.
San Jose went ahead 3-2 on a Dmitry Orlov power-play goal early in the third. Boston answered with David Pastrnak and James Hagens 40 seconds apart, Fraser Minten added a power-play goal, and Will Borgen sealed it into an empty net. Here's how it went down.
Stat of the Night
40 seconds
That's how long it took Boston to go from down 3-2 to up 4-3. Pastrnak tied it at 8:27 of the third and Hagens put them ahead at 9:07.
- 4: Bruins goals in the third period
- 35-27: Boston's edge in shots on goal
- 23: saves for Jeremy Swayman, who got the win
First period: Mittsy strikes first
Casey Mittelstadt opened the scoring at 3:08, set up by Elias Lindholm and Hagens. That's Mittelstadt's fourth goal of the year. San Jose tied it on the power play at 5:54 when Michael Misa scored his second, with assists from Tyler Toffoli and Jacob Trouba.
Second period: Marat the rat at it again
Marat Khusnutdinov put Boston back in front at 8:20, his third of the season, with Morgan Geekie and Minten picking up the helpers. The Sharks tied it again at 13:34 when Kiefer Sherwood scored a shorthanded goal, unassisted. It was 2-2 after 40, and Boston already had the better of the play.
Third period: the comeback
Orlov's power-play goal at 4:03 (from Ivar Stenberg and Mason Marchment) gave San Jose its only lead of the night. It didn't last long. At 8:27, JJ Peterka found Pastrnak for his seventh of the year and a 3-3 tie. Then at 9:07, Lindholm set up Hagens for his fourth, and the Bruins led 4-3.
At 12:00, Minten scored on the power play, his fifth, from Peterka and Mittelstadt. Will Smith got one back for San Jose at 12:27, but Borgen found the empty net at 19:32 to finish it 6-4.
In net
Swayman stopped 23 of 27 shots and got the win. Alexandar Nedeljkovic made 29 saves on 34 shots for San Jose.
Our takeaways
Hagens keeps knocking on the door. A goal and an assist tonight, plus three shots and a +2. Every game, it feels like he gets closer to a breakout like we've never seen.
Mittsy's best game of the season. A goal, an assist, three shots and a +3. He was dangerous all night.
Marat the rat was at it again. Khusnutdinov's goal in the second was exactly the kind of hard-working play he brings every night.
The top line had a quieter night. Pastrnak had the big tying goal on five shots, and Lindholm and Peterka each had two assists. Some nights the depth carries it, and that's a good sign for this team.
Down late, never out. Four third-period goals to win it on home ice. Let's go, B's. 🐻