The San Jose Sharks’ frustrations against the Boston Bruins continued on Monday afternoon.
What was shaping into a storybook homecoming to Boston for several Sharks turned into another bitter defeat, as Charlie Coyle scored two goals less than six minutes apart in the third period to help propel the Bruins to a 6-3 win at TD Garden.
Will Smith had a goal and an assist in his New England homecoming, and goalie Yaroslav Askarov made 27 saves, but the Sharks have now lost 14 straight games to the Bruins dating back to the 2015-16 season.
After Coyle scored the go-ahead goal with 5:49 left in regulation time, Brad Marchand and Elias Lindholm added empty-net goals to seal the win, as the Sharks lost for the sixth time in seven games.
Fabian Zetterlund and Barclay Goodrow also scored for the Sharks, now 0-12-2 against the Bruins since March 15, 2016. San Jose’s last win in Boston came on Nov. 17, 2015.
With the Sharks trailing 2-1 midway through the second period, Smith poked the puck off the stick of Jonathan Beecher to himself in the neutral zone, worked a give-and-go with Mikael Granlund, and beat Bruins goalie Joonas Korpisalo with a wrist shot to the short side.
Then, after the Sharks killed a penalty to Cody Ceci, Smith got the puck off Parker Wotherspoon’s stick and poked it ahead to Zetterlund. With Granlund driving toward the net, Zetterlund had his first shot stopped by Korpisalo but collected the rebound and scored at the 15:18 mark of the second period to give the Sharks a 3-2 lead.
The Sharks had chances to build on their lead but could not convert on a third-period power play. Defenseman Jake Walman fanned on a shot from near the crease with an open net in front of him, and Korpisalo saved Collin Graf’s follow-up attempt.
The Sharks had been starved for offense recently, as they had managed just one goal in four of their last five games before Monday. Smith’s goal, his seventh of the season, snapped a 10-game goal drought, and Zetterlund’s goal, his 13th, was his second in his last 15 games.
Monday’s game marked a homecoming for Smith, fellow Sharks players Collin Graf and Henry Thrun, and coach Ryan Warsofsky, who are all Massachusetts natives. Center Macklin Celebrini (Boston University) and Mario Ferraro (UMass-Amhurst) also went to college in the state.