Boston Bruins defeat New Jersey Devils 4-1
Zdeno Chara scored a goal and had two assists while Tim Thomas stopped 30 shots to help the Boston Bruins thrash the New Jersey Devils 4-1 at TD Garden on Tuesday night.
An excited Thomas said after the game, "It doesn't matter who we were playing tonight, it was good to get back on the right track. Being at home, it's nice what we were able to accomplish."
Shawn Thornton tallied his career-best ninth goal, while Milan Lucic and Mark Recchi both also posted goals for Boston, who won for just the second time in their last eight games.
With this victory, the Bruins now have 90 points and remain at the top spot in the Northeast Division. They sit three points ahead of second-place Montreal Canadiens.
Ilya Kovalchuk notched the lone goal for Devils, who are 1-3 after going 23-3-2 in their last 28 contests. Goalie Martin Brodeur surrendered all four goals on 29 shots in the loss. The Devils sit nine points below the Buffalo Sabres for the final play-off
spot in the Eastern Conference.
New Jersey forward Brian Rolston was not disappointed despite the defeat. He said, “We still feel confident in our game. We feel like we are one of the best, if not the best team in the second half. You have to feel confident about where you're headed."
The Devils got the scoring started in the 12th minute of the opening frame when Jacob Josefson made a feed from behind the net to Kovalchuk, who tipped it in for his 27th goal of the season. New Jersey remained scoreless the rest of the way.
The Bruins then found an equaliser with less than five minutes to play in the first period, when Dennis Seidenberg fired a shot from the right point in front of the net, where Thornton re-directed it into the back of the net.
The Bruins took a 2-1 lead in the ninth minute of the middle stanza when Milan Lucic sent a pass from the right side to the left circle, where Chara tucked it home for his 13th goal of the season.
Boston extended their lead to 3-1 with less than four minutes remaining in the final frame on Lucic’s 30th career-goal. The goal came when Patrice Bergeron dished out a pass to Lucic, who one-timed the puck past Brodeur to seal the victory.
Mark Recchi capped the scoring with an empty-netter with less than a minute to play.
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