Sharks again come up empty in Boston
Defensemen Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy scored highlight-reel goals, Linus Ullmark earned the shutout and the NHL-leading Boston Bruins beat the visiting San Jose Sharks for the 11th straight time, 4-0 on Sunday night.
The Bruins won their fifth straight game and improved to 22-1-3 at home this season, including a victory at Fenway Park as the “home” team in the Winter Classic.
Ullmark, named a first-time All Star, made 17 saves and improved his record to 25-2-1. He had a relatively easy game before leaving 8:01 into the period with a skate-blade issue, and backup Jeremy Swayman made one stop in relief before Ullmark returned 2:28 later.
David Pastrnak had his teamleading 36th goal and Nick Foligno also scored for Boston, which hasn't lost to the Sharks since falling 3-2 at home on March 15, 2016. Brad Marchand added two assists.
James Reimer stopped 18 shots for the Sharks, who were shut out for the first time this season.
Lindholm took a pass from Marchand near the blue line and cut down the center, shifting around Michael Eyssimont before firing a wrist shot over Reimer's left shoulder to make it 1-0 at 7:16 of the first period.
In the second, McAvoy charged down the slot, flipped the puck past forward Timo Meier and collected it himself before shifting to his right and slipping it around Reimer at 4:08.
Foligno redirected Lindholm's shot to make it 3-0 at 6:46 of the second. Pastrnak's goal came on a power play.
Playing the second of an eightgame trip, the Sharks didn't reach double digits in shots on goal until late in the second.
Meier and Boston defenseman Brandon Carlo fought 27 seconds into the game. Carlo headed straight to the locker room after the fight, pointing to his left shoulder area when telling the linesman he needed to leave. He did return shortly and served the rest of his 5-minute major.
Before the game, the Bruins surprised 10-year-old Tanner Dikan, who was diagnosed with interstitial lung disease, with a one-day contract, making him an honorary team member. He also got to announce the starting lineup to the players in the dressing room before the game.
Kings 2, Blackhawks 1: Jaret Anderson-Dolan scored a pair of goals as visiting Los Angeles defeated Chicago. Kevin Fiala had two assists and Pheonix Copley stopped 18 shots to help the Kings snap a four-game losing streak.
Defenseman Ian Mitchell scored his first goal of the season for Chicago, spoiling Copley's shutout bid with 3:15 remaining. Petr Mrazek finished with 25 saves.
Devils 2, Penguins 1: Dougie Hamilton scored in overtime on the power-play and Vitek Vanecek made 24 saves to lead host New Jersey.
Jets 5, Flyers 3: Axel Jonsson-Fjällby, Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele gave visiting Winnipeg an early three-goal lead that held up.
Coyotes 4, Golden Knights 1: Clayton Keller had a hat trick as Arizona defeated Vegas. Keller has 18 goals.
Fired: The Vancouver Canucks have fired coach Bruce Boudreau and hired Rick Tocchet as his replacement.
The move comes midway through another underwhelming season in the Pacific Northwest. It's the second consecutive season that the Canucks have fired their coach.