BOSTON – For the first time since December 23, the Boston Bruins skated off home ice without two points.

The Bruins’ (36-23-6) 13-game win streak came to a close on Thursday night with a 4-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks (31-26-6). The Bruins put 41 shots on Alex Nedeljkovic, and he stopped 39. 

“I mean, their goalie was the best player on the ice today,” Nikita Zadorov said after the game. “He made a couple of good saves. We didn’t capitalize on our chances. They did on theirs.”

Nedeljkovic finished with 1.42 goals saved above expected, per NaturalStatTrick. He stopped ten high-danger shots from the Bruins, with only five coming at 5-on-5. 

Fraser Minten and David Pastrnak were able to beat Nedeljkovic, but both goals came after the Bruins went down 4-0 in the third period. 

“Yeah, it’s nice,” Fraser Minten said about tallying the goal. “Nice to have them go in, but it would have been better if it contributed to a win.”

Minten’s goal came at the 8:30 mark of the third period, Pastrnak’s at 19:07. 

Those goals came too late for the Bruins, though. 

“We know when we score one, we are going to get the crowd going and we can change the game,” Marco Sturm said after the game. “But then, especially after that third goal… that was… I think that was a tough one.”

The third goal killed the Bruins – and it highlights a newer problem.

The power play.

Although it was one of the Bruins’ greatest strengths this season, since they returned from the Olympic break, they have gone 4-for-28 (14.2%). They have also allowed two shorthanded goals in that span. The one tonight was the third goal of the game, the one Sturm referenced, and it was Lincoln, MA, native Collin Graf who scored it. 

The Bruins went 0-for-2 on the man-advantage Thursday. 

“Yeah, I think it’s just got to be direct,” Marco Sturm said about the power play. “We got to have that attitude, the shooting mentality, kind of going towards the net. It’s just sometimes a little slow. I think the last few games, it got a little bit better, but again, more on the outside than inside. We wanted to be more on the inside today. We did it once or twice, but that’s about it.”

“That’s something we have to be better at because that’s a big part of our game, our power play. We need them, big time. Going back to our best players, they just have to get it done.”

Marco Sturm harped on that in the postgame press conference. He put the forward line combinations into a blender during the game, looking for a jump from anyone. 

He moved around all of the lines, but did not disassemble the second line until the final period.

“I was just trying to get something going,” he said about the line changes. “I feel like all the lines, a little bit, got stuck. Needed a little bit of [a] push. I thought David (Pastrnak) had a little bit of something, just didn’t get enough help.”

“Top guys need to be your top guys. And you know, that’s why in those kinds of moments, you need them even more. And we just, unfortunately, we just didn’t really have it today.”

Marco Sturm on the line changes: “I was just trying to get something going. I feel like all the lines, a little bit, got stuck. I needed a little bit of push.”

“It was too flat for me today.”

“Top guys need to be your top guys. And you know, that’s why in those kind of moments,… pic.twitter.com/IWFEMCelrd

— Jack Studley (@jackstudley13) March 13, 2026

The Bruins’ next three games come on the road, where they have not performed well recently. 

Struggling on the road did not faze Marco Sturm. That conversation is for Friday. 

However, Hampus Lindholm offered some insight.

“I think the starts and you’re playing a tight game, road game, you always try to simplify it a little bit more,” Hampus Lindholm said after the game. “On the road we’ve been playing a little too loose, try to make those seams, and just try to play a little too loose. I think we need to get back to even more playing our identity and being harder to play against and frustrate teams at home.”

The Bruins practice at Warrior Ice Arena on Friday morning at 11:30 AM before heading to Washington, DC, for the first of three road games. The Bruins will face the Washington Capitals (33-27-7) – on ABC again – before heading to Newark, NJ. The trip ends in Montreal.

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