Sharks 2, Bruins 1
SHARKS 2, BRUINS 1: Joe Pavelski scored early in the first period and Daniel Winnik did the same in the third as San Jose edged Boston in the opener of its three-game homestand.
Antti Niemi made 16 saves for the Sharks, who posted their first home win over the Bruins since Mar. 21, 2003. San Jose climbed within one point of eighth place in the Western Conference.
San Jose took a 1-0 lead after Boston failed to clear the puck from its own zone on two occasions.
After the Bruins' first clearing attempt failed, Marc-Edouard Vlasic stopped a second try and dished the puck to fellow defenseman Dan Boyle, who got it down low to Joe Thornton. The Sharks captain made a backhand pass from behind the net to Patrick Marleau, whose shot from the left side of the net was stopped by Tim Thomas.
The rebound went to Pavelski, who buried it from the doorstep at 3:57 for his 27th goal.
Following a scoreless middle session, Winnik scored for the first time in 13 games with San Jose just 2:17 into the third to make it 2-0. Andrew Desjardins made a cross-slot pass to Winnik, who beat Thomas from the left faceoff circle to end a 43-game goalless drought.
Winnik's last tally came on Dec. 15 against the Sharks as a member of the Colorado Avalanche.
Boston made things interesting late as captain Zdeno Chara scored his 11th goal. From below the end line on the left side, Chara banked the puck off Niemi and into the net with 4:15 remaining to halve the deficit.
The Bruins were unable to get the equalizer past Niemi, however, and lost for the fifth time in seven contests.
Thomas turned aside 25 shots for Boston, which began its three-game California road trip with its fourth consecutive loss away from home.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Bruins fell to 2-6-1 in their last nine meetings with the Sharks. ... San Jose has scored three goals or fewer in each of its last 19 games. ... The Sharks' victory ended a streak in the all-time series of six straight wins by the road time.