Despite all the big hits – one of which he doled out – Boston goalie Tim Thomas wants his teammates to keep in mind that all the Bruins did was win a regular-season game.
So what if it came against the archrival Canadiens, who eliminated Boston in the playoffs?
“But when the crowd gets into it like that and the teams play with that much energy, it felt like the playoffs last year,” the Bruins goalie said Tuesday night after stopping 34 shots in a 3-1 victory. “It was one of the funnest games I’ve played this year.”
Zdeno Chara scored a pair of power-play goals for Boston, which is running away from the Eastern Conference one season after barely qualifying for the playoffs.
Bay 1.
At Boston, Jaroslav Halak made 26 saves for Montreal, which had won four straight – scoring five or more goals in each of them – and lost in regulation for only the second time in 12 games.
The Bruins lead the East with 68 points, 11 ahead of Washington and 12 in front of Montreal and the New York Rangers.
There was a fight in the scoreless first period and a skirmish in the second when Thomas came to the aid of defenseman Aaron Ward after he was hit from behind by Andrei Kostitsyn.
Ward skated off on his own, but did not return. When Kostitsyn cut in front of the net, Thomas came out of the crease and cross-checked him to the ice.
Oilers 5, Capitals 2
At Washington, Erik Cole had three goals, Gilbert Brule added a goal and an assist, and Edmonton handed Washington its third consecutive loss.
Dwayne Roloson made 34 saves and Steve MacIntyre scored his first NHL goal for the Oilers, who won in Washington for the first time since Jan. 26, 1997.
Mike Green had a goal and an assist and Tomas Fleischmann also scored for Washington.
Senators 5, Hurricanes 1
At Ottawa, Dany Heatley, Dean McAmmond and Mike Fisher scored and the Senators stopped a five-game losing streak.
straight start.
Blue Jackets 4, Avalanche 3
At Columbus, Ohio, Kristian Huselius had a goal and two assists to help Columbus to its third straight win.
R.J. Umberger had a goal and assist, rookie Jakub Voracek and Michael Peca also scored for the Blue Jackets, who have won seven of nine.
Chris Stewart had a goal and assist, and Marek Svatos and Ryan Smyth scored for Colorado.
Predators 2, Maple Leafs 0
At Toronto, Steve Sullivan had his first NHL point in almost two years to help Nashville shut out Toronto.
Playing just his second game after missing the entire 2007-08 season and half of this season with a back injury, Sullivan assisted on the third-period game-winning goal by Radek Bonk.
Pekka Rinne made 17 stops to record the shutout.
Penguins 4, Flyers 2
At Philadelphia, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal each scored, and Sidney Crosby had a pair of assists for Pittsburgh
The Penguins won for only the second time in nine games and scored four straight goals to end Philadelphia’s eight-game home winning streak. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 27 shots.
Simon Gagne and Joffrey Lupul scored for the Flyers.
Rangers 2, Islanders 1
loss.
The Islanders lost the first game of a five-game homestand after going 0-4 on a Western trip. They own the NHL’s worst record and have only two wins since Nov. 29 (2-15-2).
Wild 6, Coyotes 3
At St. Paul, Minn., Owen Nolan, Andrew Brunette and Cal Clutterbuck each had a goal and an assist for Minnesota.
Marc-Andre Bergeron, Mikko Koivu and James Sheppard also scored for Minnesota.
Steven Reinprecht, Olli Jokinen and Joakim Lindstrom scored for Phoenix.
Flames 3, Blues 1
At Calgary, Alberta, Mike Cammalleri scored twice and David Moss had the go-ahead goal in the third period for Calgary.
Dan Hinote scored for St. Louis.
Devils 5, Canucks 3
At Vancouver, British Columbia, Zach Parise, Travis Zajac and Dainius Zubrus each had a goal for New Jersey.
Scott Clemmensen finished with 25 saves as New Jersey won for the second time in five games.
Pavol Demitra and Steve Bernier scored for Vancouver.
Sharks 7, Lightning 1
At San Jose, Calif., Joe Thornton had two goals and an assist, Evgeni Nabokov made 24 saves and San Jose returned home for another one-sided victory.
Milan Michalek had a goal and two assists for the NHL-leading Sharks, who improved to 32-5-5 with the highest goal total and margin of victory this season.
Add A Comment