SAN JOSE – Despite what was technically their sixth loss in the last eight games, the Sharks seemed to put more stock in the point they gained in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Bruins on Sunday night at SAP Center, rather than the one they left on the table.
They have that luxury.
The Sharks will enter their bye week five points ahead of Edmonton and Anaheim for first place in the Pacific Division, and figure they're due for some time off after a short summer followed by a World Cup for some, and a brutal condensed NHL schedule for all.
"[We've] showed up and played hard," Joe Pavelski said. "We've been in a lot of games. Games we've lost, we've battled. There hasn't been any cheat in [our] game. Defensively, we've been strong. There's a lot of good areas in our game that we like right now."
Playing in the second of a back-to-back against a Bruins team had was coming off of its own bye week, the Sharks fell behind 1-0 on a first period goal by Ryan Spooner, but notched a Patrick Marleau equalizer in a second period in which they outshot the Bruins 16-9. An evenly played third period gave way to overtime, where Brad Marchand scored on a breakaway to give the Bruins their fourth straight win since changing head coaches.
The Sharks spoke before the weekend about finishing the final two games strong before the respite. They ended up gaining three of four points, including Saturday's 4-1 win in Arizona, and were pleased with their effort against the Bruins as they capped off 10 games in 20 days since the All-Star break.
"It was an important push into this break," Pete DeBoer said. "To go in up [five points] on the next closest team is a real testament to our group."
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Paul Martin said: "I thought we played pretty well, considering the back-to-back with some travel, and a team that was waiting for us."
Perhaps the most encouraging performance came from Martin Jones, who was one of a number of Sharks players that was looking particularly fatigued lately. The goaltender entered the game with a 1-0-2 record, 4.46 goals-against average and .837 save percentage in his last four starts, including getting pulled after the first period in Boston just 10 days ago.
Jones was impressive, though, making a vital pad stop on the dangerous David Pastrnak in front of the net midway through the third period to keep it a 1-1 score.
"It was a good game. Two teams playing hard," Jones said. "We can take a lot of positives from that one. It was a good hard game, just didn't go our way tonight."
Overtimes have been an issue lately, though. The Sharks have lost their last four games decided during the three-on-three, all coming within the last two weeks. As satisfied as they are with their cushion in the division, it could have been cushier.
Against the Bruins, Tuukka Rask denied Brent Burns on a two-on-one in overtime, and Marchand scored off of the ensuing faceoff, blowing the zone past Pavelski and Marc-Edouard Vlasic and corralling a long toss from Torey Krug before sliding it home.
"We get to overtime, shootouts – we expect to get that extra point," Pavelski said. "We haven't found it lately. We'll just keep looking for it."
DeBoer said: "The points are critical, they're valuable. I don't read a lot into [overtime decisions], we've won our share over the time I've been here. We had a chance to win tonight, too. … I concentrate on the effort, and I thought we got better as the game went on."
Being focused and energized, as they have been most of the season to this point, shouldn't be a problem when the season resumes next Saturday in Vancouver. The Sharks are in prime position to win their first division title since 2010-11, and a return trip to the Stanley Cup Final is a distinct possibility.
Losing six of eight won't be nearly as acceptable coming out of the break as it apparently is going into it, but that's not something to worry about now, even after another defeat.
"There are some games you wish you could get back and get those points, but we're still in a good spot," Marleau said.
