The San Jose Sharks looked in good shape, a lead heading into the third period on the road against the Boston Bruins. And then, it all got away from them.
Boston scored three times in the final period and Milan Lucic suddenly went all playmaker on everyone with the hat trick in assists, as the Bruins came back for a 5-3 win. In a back-and-forth contest, the Sharks grabbed the lead on goals from Logan Couture and Joe Thornton just 37 seconds apart late in the second period.
But the Bruins, on only nine third-period shots, took it back. Seth Griffith, a fifth-round pick of Boston’s from 2012, scored his first NHL goal to tie the game early in the final period.
The loss concluded a five-game road trip through the Eastern Conference for the Sharks. It started off just fine, two wins in the first three games. But it ended with back-to-back losses, in which San Jose was outscored a combined 9-3.
“That’s a game we needed to get at least a point,” Couture told the San Jose Mercury News.
“We kind of let that one slip away. Those goals that we gave up, they were very preventable. It’s not like they were making great plays -- we were giving them their chances.”