Finally home, figured I'd post some thoughts because nobody else wants to listen to me. Driving the 6 hours total today was absolutely worth it.
The only other place I have been to a live NHL game was in Phoenix, and the experience in San Jose was so much better. The between play music isn't nearly as crazy loud and in your face, the whole operation was much more professional from the pre-game stuff and commercial break interviews/trivia with fans, to the people on the ice doing the cleaning. The food options are kind of ridiculous, and as a bonus their Zambonis are dressed up like Sharks. The fans were way better, too. Super fun atmosphere (man, were they pissed when the first Bruins goal got confirmed), generally knowledgeable and passionate.... oh, and not outnumbered by Bruins fans. Didn't really run into any asshole, either, which is nice.
I already said it earlier, but DeBrusk was EVERYWHERE. It was really awesome to see, just the little things like slowing down the Sharks when they were attacking through center ice, he was outstanding. Really glad to see it pay off for him with a couple points.
The Kevan Miller rush was... well, it was something for sure. It was like time slowed down and I had just enough time to come out of my seat going, "What is Kevan Miller trying to do? HOLY SHIT FUCK YEAH!" It was awesome.
The Bruins D seemed like they were pretty unbelievable basically from the 2nd commercial break until the end of the game. I think the shots were 17-5 after 1, and ended up something like 26-20 before the desparation heaves by the Sharks at the end.
Finally, I am so, so glad I got to watch Joe Thornton in person. I don't know how much he has left, but even in warmups he is fun to watch, and you can tell how much his teammates enjoy being around him. I would not have been angry if he had finished that one rush in the second period that he undressed the Bruins defenseman on.