"In the third period, we just played way too safe," said Andrew Ference. "We just sat back. I can't recall a good forecheck that we had or any solid shifts in their zone.
"You don't do that with a lead. You play the same style regardless of the score. That was the big change - that we got away from aggressiveness and trying to take charge in the third."
In just under 16 minutes, the Bruins saw the one-goal advantage turn into a 5-2 shell-shocker before 17,565 at TD Banknorth Garden, forcing Tim Thomas to fish four pucks out of his net in the third period. They lost in regulation for the first time in the last 10 games. They lost for the first time in a 60-minute match after leading in the third period. They lost for the first time by more than two goals.
But it was the manner in which the Bruins lost that was most troubling for the home club.
"We played a 40-minute game tonight," said Marc Savard, part of a lifeless power play that went 0 for 5 (2 for 30 for a sickly 6.7 percent success rate in the last seven games). "That's the bottom line. We didn't play the last 20. They're too good of a team not to play 60 minutes of hockey against."
For most of the first period and part of the second, the Bruins were the better team. They buzzed Evgeni Nabokov (28 saves), forcing the San Jose goalie to make some last-second stops that produced meaty rebounds.
With Zdeno Chara and Aaron Ward leading the charge, they throttled San Jose's power line of Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, and Devin Setoguchi. They clogged up the neutral zone and prevented the speedy Sharks from gaining clean entries.
Milan Lucic, who hadn't scored since Jan. 1, netted two in the first period, both coming off rebounds.
But the Bruins, already missing a right wing in Michael Ryder, lost another rightside man in Petteri Nokelainen with 26.4 seconds remaining in the first. Nokelainen was clipped on the right eye by the stick of defenseman Dan Boyle. There was no penalty because, according to coach Claude Julien, neither referee saw the errant stick and both believed Nokelainen was struck by a puck.
