Boston Bruins

Boston Bruins

Boston Bruins

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - DECEMBER 28: Brad Marchand #63 of the Boston Bruins skates against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on December 28, 2022 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

  • Not every game is going to be a masterpiece.

    Saturday was a perfect example of that for the league-best Bruins, as the Bruins made their own life more difficult than it needed to be before pulling away from the Sharks in a 4-2 final at San Jose’s SAP Center.

    With the win, which saw the Bruins go with an 11-forward, 7-defenseman look for the first time this season, the Bruins extended their point streak to 13 games, as the Bruins have posted a 10-0-3 record since their Dec. 11 win in Las Vegas.

    The Bruins also captured their 10th straight victory over the Sharks dating back to February 2017, and they put an end to defenseman Erik Karlsson’s 14-game point streak in the process.

    Here are the 98.5 The Sports Hub (dot com) 3 Stars of the night from a win in The Bay

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  • No. 3 Star: Linus Ullmark

    Jan 7, 2023; San Jose, California, USA; San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl (48) and Boston Bruins defenseman Derek Forbort (28) battle for position in front of Boston Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) during the second period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard/USA TODAY Sports

    Jan 7, 2023; San Jose, California, USA; Sharks center Tomas Hertl (48) and Bruins defenseman Derek Forbort (28) battle for position in front of Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) at SAP Center. (Neville E. Guard/USA TODAY Sports)

  • Nothing too sexy from Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark in this one, but it didn’t need to be, which has been a theme of Ullmark’s increasingly and undeniably otherworldly season.

    Peppered with 30 shots in this contest, Ullmark made 28 saves, and one of the goals that beat him was really some butt-goal, friendly fire from Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm.

    Ullmark was especially good against the Sharks’ man advantage, with six saves on as many shots with the Bruins down a man, and the Bruins really leaned on Ullmark for prolonged stretches in a game that frequently saw the B’s stuck in the mud in their defensive zone.

    Oddly enough, Ullmark has been so good this season that his 28-of-30 performance actually worsened his season numbers, particularly on the goals against average and save percentage front.

  • No. 2 Star: David Pastrnak

    Jan 7, 2023; San Jose, California, USA; Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) shoots and scores during the third period against San Jose Sharks goaltender James Reimer (47) at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard/USA TODAY Sports

    Jan 7, 2023; San Jose, California, USA; Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) shoots and scores during the third period against San Jose Sharks goaltender James Reimer (47) at SAP Center at San Jose. (Neville E. Guard/USA TODAY Sports)

  • You know life’s pretty good for Jim Montgomery when the Bruins can lose top-line winger Jake DeBrusk for four weeks (at least) and replace him with David Pastrnak.

    In his second full game back with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, Pastrnak once again thrived to the tune of another two-goal outing, bringing him up to 29 on the year. That’s the third-most in the NHL, with only Tage Thompson (31 goals) and Connor McDavid (33 goals) ahead of him around the halfway mark of the NHL season.

    Pastrnak was creating all over the ice in this one, too, and led all Boston shooters with seven shots on goal, and was credited with eight individual scoring chances for (per Natural Stat Trick), which was more than double the next closest Bruins in the victory (Brad Marchand and Craig Smith each had four).

  • What more can be said about Pastrnak’s big year?

    As previously mentioned, Pastrnak currently sits with the third-most goals in the NHL, and his 54 points through 39 games rank sixth among all NHLers. Pastrnak has also managed goals in 24 of his 39 games to date, and has recorded at least one point in all but six of the Black and Gold’s games to date.

    He is also currently paced for what would be a 60-goal season for the B’s. Phil Esposito is the only player to score at least 60 goals in a single season for the Bruins, accomplishing the feat four times from 1970 through 1975.

    The price tag on the pending free agent isn’t going down, that’s for sure.

  • No. 1 Star: Brad Marchand

    Dec 27, 2022; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) looks up the ice during a break in the second period against the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers/USA TODAY Sports

    Dec 27, 2022; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) looks up the ice during a break in the second period against the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre. (Marc DesRosiers/USA TODAY Sports)

  • Bruins winger Brad Marchand admitted that it was going to be a slow build to get him back to 100 percent after undergoing double hip surgery last offseason.

    Well, I gotta say, if the first two games of this California swing have told us anything, it’s that it’s beginning to look a lot like 100 percent is finally here. And that’s straight-up horrible news for the rest of the league.

    Just ask James Reimer and the rest of the San Jose Sharks, who were victimized by Marchand dancing end-to-end en route to a game-opening strike barely a minute into Saturday’s contest.

  • Sweet fancy Moses.

    But Marchand didn’t call it quits after the goal, and instead added two helpers by the night’s end, giving him his fourth three-point effort of the season. It also extended Marchand’s point streak to five games, with three goals and nine points over that spell, and with Marchand looking like a man possessed since his unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the second period of Thursday’s game in Los Angeles. (The rest of the league is going to curse out referee Furman South for the remainder of the season for what he did, I’d have to imagine.)

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