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Ward, Thomas help Bruins top Sharks

Oct 14, 2007 - 6:44 AM By Mike Duca PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

SAN JOSE, California (Ticker) -- One night after exploding for eight goals, the Boston Bruins' offense did just enough Saturday.

Tim Thomas fell 38 seconds shy of his fifth career shutout, but defenseman Aaron Ward's goal with 11 ticks remaining lifted the Bruins to a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks in the finale of their season-opening, five-game West Coast road trip.

Just 27 seconds after Milan Michalek tied the contest, Ward took a great touch pass from former Shark Marco Sturm and blasted a shot by goaltender Evgeni Nabokov to give the Bruins their third win.

"The play was developing for a while," Ward said. "The puck was getting moved behind the net. Sturm had options. He had Glen Murray and myself."

Actually, San Jose defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic tried to clear the puck from behind the net, and his pass struck the linesman.

"I knew I threw it up the boards and I got hit," Vlasic said. "When I turned around, it was there. I know it hit somebody and it came back. It was unfortunate as we were playing well until then, and they got a goal with 11 seconds left."

It marked the second consecutive game in which Ward has scored. The veteran blue-liner has registered just 37 goals during his 12-year career.

"I'd be lying if I didn't say 'Oh, no, here we go again,' after what we experienced in Anaheim," Ward said of the Sharks' tying the game in the final minute. "We are going to struggle for attention in the city of Boston. We are more or less the redheaded stepchild of the four major sports there."

Despite the last-minute excitement, Thomas still was the hero for Boston.

Thomas entered the game with a 1.51 goals-against average and a .955 save percentage, and showed that neither number was a fluke. The third-year pro made 26 saves and was moments away from his first shutout since February 20, when he turned away 44 shots by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The 33-year-old Thomas got plenty of help along the way. The Sharks hit the goalpost on multiple occasions throughout the contest and the Bruins' defense blocked 11 shots through the first two periods.

"I love the sound of pucks clanking off the pipes," Thomas said. "As long as it's not in the back of the net afterwards."

San Jose coach Ron Wilson took a contrary view.

"We hit the post five times," he said. "We just didn't catch a break around their net. The goal they scored in the end, we go to put it around the glass, it hits the stanchion, hits the referee, they end up turning a basically meaningless play into a goal. It's just bad luck on our part."

Early in the second, San Jose blue-liner Matt Carle's point-blank shot caromed off the crossbar and, minutes later, Michalek's drive from the left point clanged off the post on Thomas' right side.

The Sharks peppered the netminder with 13 shots in the middle session. Despite two power plays and a 2-on-1 rush, the Bruins did not record a shot on goal in the period.

The Sharks had another scoring opportunity early in the third with Sturm in the penalty box for hooking Joe Thornton. As several San Jose players crowded the net, defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic unleashed a shot that hit Thomas' body and fell loose in the crease.

Blue-liner Christian Ehrhoff's slap shot off the rebound went off the post.

Michalek finally bested Thomas with just 38 seconds left, capitalizing on a skirmish in front of the net and beating the goalie to the glove side with a wrist shot. It appeared the tally would force overtime until Ward's heroics gave Boston the win.

A complete power outage while both teams were warming up on the ice delayed the start of San Jose's home opener, but it did not keep Boston from showing plenty of energy in a dominant first period.

Patrice Bergeron corralled a loose puck from a six-player scrum in front of the net and flipped it over Nabokov for his third goal of the young season, staking the Bruins to a 1-0 lead with 3:37 left in the session.

A quirk in this season's NHL schedule had Boston playing their fifth consecutive game against Pacific Division opponents to start the campaign.

As compensation for such long road trip to start the campaign, all of Boston's remaining games will be played in the Eastern Time Zone. The Bruins also will have four days to recover from jet lag before their home opener on Thursday.