BOSTON — The game was billed as a Stanley Cup preview. The top two teams in the NHL squaring off on national television, across the United States and Canada.
The Bruins had the chance to finally silence the doubters. Instead, they fueled their fire.
On Joe Thornton's second return to the TD Banknorth Garden ice, the San Jose Sharks proved they are the best team in the National Hockey League, delivering a four-goal third period to pound the Bruins 5-2.
Boston still sits atop the NHL, leading the Sharks by four points. But San Jose has four games in hand.
"I'm really mad right now," said center Marc Savard. "We had a chance to make a statement tonight and we didn't. We were all excited for this one. Since Christmas it's been circled on our calendars. For 40 minutes we were ready, and the last 20 we didn't play our game. We sat back and, when you do that against a team like that, they have too many weapons so they'll score, and they did."
Despite leading the Eastern Conference since the start of the season, the Bruins still need to prove themselves after a string of first-round playoff exits, even as the top seed.
In a town that has become accustomed to championships, a first-place team simply isn't flashy enough. Instead of putting themselves atop the sports landscape, they looked like the same old Bruins, sending a packed house of 17,565 home disappointed.
"You have to play the same regardless of the score," said defenseman Andrew Ference. "We got away from our aggressiveness. We just sat back and watched. You can't do that with the lead."
It's not like the Bruins didn't have their chances. Trailing by two goals in the last ten minutes, they had two power plays but barely penetrated a ferocious San Jose penalty kill.
The Bruins went a combined 0 for 5 with the man advantage, while the Sharks capitalized on their only opportunity.
"We had no energy, we lost our jump," said P.J. Axelsson. "We were way too soft on our power play. We need to generate more shots and create more chances."
The Sharks ripped the game from Boston's hands, scoring three times in the first 9:48 of the third period as the Bruins looked on in awe.
"It serves no purpose to sit back and watch the other team play," said Aaron Ward. "If we learn anything from this, hopefully it teaches us a lesson in playoff hockey."
The Sharks won the faceoff battle 33-15, outhit the Bruins 39-25, and dominated the final 20 minutes, outshooting the B's 12-7 (31-30 for the game) with four of Boston's seven shots coming on its two power plays.
"Getting shots, getting guys to the net, we weren't doing any of it," said Milan Lucic, who netted both Bruin goals. "We need that killer instinct to extend a lead. We need to push.
Lucic continued, "They're the best team we've faced all year."
The Bruins were forced to go with a short bench after both Petteri Nokelainen and Chuck Kobasew went down with injuries. But that's no excuse. Good teams find a way to persevere.
"We got thin pretty quick and in the second period, with not many whistles, I think our guys got a little tired at that point," said head coach Claude Julien. "We came out in the third and the same thing happened. We basically had three lines all night and against a team that's pretty big and pretty strong and with a full lineup, I think at the end we just didn't have enough to continue to compete against a team like that."
If the Bruins and Sharks are to meet again, it won't be until the Stanley Cup Finals. But if the B's string together efforts like last night's third period, there won't be any rematch.
"It would be nice to get another shot at them" Julien admitted. "With both teams being healthy, hopefully we can work our way there. But that's a long ways away and there are a lot of things to be done before we can even think about that."
Nokelainen sent to ER
After taking a high stick to the face in the first period, Petteri Nokelainen left the game with blood gushing from his right eye. Immediately rushed off the ice, the winger was taken to a Boston hospital.
No penalty was called on the play.
"The explanation is that nobody saw it and they thought that it was the puck that hit him in the eye," Julien said. "So, that's the explanation I got.
"He's at the hospital, it's an eye injury and I don't think it's looking very good right now."
Nokelainen has been known to wear a half-shield over his face at times, but was playing with no mask.
Chuck Kobasew, who missed 11 games earlier this season with a broken leg, missed portions of the second and third period with two different injuries.
"One was upper body and the other was lower body," Julien explained.
They could find themselves added to an infirmary that already includes Michael Ryder, who had surgery to repair a broken bone in his face on Monday.
