It wasn’t pretty, but the Bruins were once again dominant in the final period, scoring four unanswered goals in the third to beat the New Jersey Devils, 4-1.
Petr Sykora got the Devils on the board late in the first, beating Tim Thomas to give the Devils a 1-0 lead after the first 20, but Thomas was a mystery that New Jersey could not solve from that point on.
The second period went without a goal, but the Devils were the better team by far. After two periods, Boston was out shot 23-12. But, as Jack Edwards likes to say, the Bruins opened up a can of whoopass in the third.
It started when Shawn Thornton found Andrew Ference, who slapped one past Martin Brodeur at 3:01 of the third. 4:09 later, David Krejci laid a tape to tape pass on the stick of Nathan Horton, and the puck ricocheted into the net to give the B’s their first lead of the night at 2-1. 35 seconds after the Horton goal, which came on a power play, Gregory Campbell found a rebound and knocked it home to extend the B’s lead to two, marking the fourteenth time this season that Boston has scored twice in less than a minute. Chris Kelley scored the empty netter to seal it for the Black & Gold. The B’s have not lost two consecutive road games this year.
Three Stars:
3. Milan Lucic- It won’t show up on the score sheet, but Lucic was the energy boost that the Bruins needed late in the game, with physical shifts all night long.
2. Nathan Horton- The winger scored his third goal in two games, answering his coaches criticism from earlier in the week with an impressive end to a rather mediocre road trip for the Bruins.
1. Gregory Campbell- A goal, a fight, and an assist. The first Gordie Howe hat trick of Campbell’s career.
Thomas made 30 saves on 31 shots. The Bruins return to Boston on Saturday to face the top seeded New York Rangers, in a match-up that has all the makings of a classic, and possibly, the rebirth of an Original Six rivalry. The puck drops at 1:00 PM on NESN.
