Game Preview: Bruins At Sharks
A difficult road stretch has yet to yield a victory for the offensively troubled Boston Bruins.
Getting one on the third stop on their four-game trip won't be any easier of a task, as the San Jose Sharks look to match their longest win streak of the season Thursday night.
Boston (14-11-1) fell victim to hot goaltending in the first two games of its West Coast swing, tallying 34 shots in a 3-2 loss to Anaheim on Monday and 31 the next night in a 2-0 loss at Los Angeles.
The Bruins fell to 10-4-0 when they log 30 or more shots.
"It's like quicksand," winger Milan Lucic told the team's official website. "You know, the harder you try, the more you fall in.
"It's difficult to not get frustrated. It's difficult to stay cool and I guess not cheat - but I think if you look at how things go, if you start cheating and start trying to find ways by not playing the system to try to get results, it usually doesn't work out for you."
The inability to consistently score has grown from an annoyance to an alarming trend. The Bruins have managed more than two goals only once in their past 10 games, touting the NHL's least productive offense since Nov. 12 with 1.50 goals per game. They've been shut out twice in their past five after being blanked only once all of last season, and they're scoreless on the power play in eight consecutive games - they haven't had a longer drought since 2001.
Boston's stars have done little to right the team's ship, highlighted by the struggles of Patrice Bergeron. The 11-year veteran, coming off a career-high 30-goal season, has scored five through 26 games and been held without a point in five straight.
Brad Marchand is the only Bruins player among the NHL's top 100 in goals with six.
"We keep stressing as a team that to score goals in this league, it's not an easy thing," center Gregory Campbell said. "They're going to happen in ways that aren't very pretty and most of the goals scored nowadays are from around the net, so when we start getting hungrier around the net, I think the goals will start to come more."
San Jose's current upturn promises another challenge to the Bruins. The Sharks (12-10-4) have enjoyed back-to-back victories following a four-game skid.
Logan Couture scored twice Saturday in a 6-4 win over Anaheim, and Antti Niemi blanked Philadelphia for the final 54 minutes of Tuesday's 2-1 win.
"This team has always been streaky," forward Tommy Wingels said. "When we win a couple, streaks build on top of each other. This team can reel off five, six, seven, eight in a row. That's what we're going to try to do here."
Niemi owns a 1.99 career goals-against average against the Bruins despite losing the teams' first meeting this season, 5-3 in Boston on Oct. 21.
Tuukka Rask made 31 saves in that victory and is 3-0-0 with a 1.33 GAA against San Jose.
The Sharks may be without Couture after he left Tuesday's game with a possible head injury and did not return. Couture leads the club with 22 points.
The Bruins have taken the last three meetings with the Sharks and have won three of four in San Jose.
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