Bruins 3, Flyers 0
BOSTON -- Last Tuesday night in Washington, the Boston Bruins scored three goals in the first period but wound up blowing the lead and falling in overtime to the Capitals.
Saturday at home, Boston ripped off three goals in a 2:18 span on three first-period shots in a row. And this time there was no collapse as the Bruins cruised to a 3-0 victory over the struggling Philadelphia Flyers.
The Bruins won their second straight and improved to 16-3-3, while the Flyers dropped to 11-14-1 (4-10-0 on the road) with their third straight loss.
Tyler Seguin, Chris Kelly and Daniel Paille all beat Ilya Bryzgalov. Seguin converted a power-play pass from Milan Lucic on his team's third shot, at 11:53 of the period. It was his eighth goal of the season and third in two games; he also has scored five times in his last five contests.
Tuukka Rask stopped 23 shots in pitching his second shutout of the season, the 13th of his 59-win career. Jacob Voracek did ring one off the post on a power play in the third period, and the Flyers almost scored shorthanded late but Seguin, who was again all over the ice, wound up keeping the puck out of the net.
The just-recalled Jordan Caron set up Kelly alone in front at 13:28 and Gregory Campbell did the same for Paille 43 seconds later, making it goals from three different lines (the first time that has happened since Feb. 26).
The Bruins moved at least temporarily back into first place in the Northeast Division and Eastern Conference (Montreal was at Tampa Bay later) and also improved to 49-1-2 since the start of the 2011-12 season when leading by three goals at any point in a game.
After the Bruins took the big lead, the rest of the game was fairly bland. But in the second period, Zach Rinaldo hit Johnny Boychuk hard in the corner and Bruins enforcer Shawn Thornton went right at Rinaldo. He knocked the Flyers' tough guy to the ice with two hard right hands.
Bryzgalov was sharp after the three-goal barrage, stopping all 23 shots the rest of the way. He had 25 saves total.
The point by Seguin gave his line (with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand) 15 goals and 38 points in the last 10 games. The Bruins are 8-1-1 in those 10 games.
NOTES: Rich Peverley's assist on Kelly's 99th career goal marked Peverley's 200th NHL point. ... Last year, the Bruins had the top five players in the NHL in plus-minus. Coming into Saturday's game, Bergeron was tied for first at plus-17, while Seguin (plus-16) and Marchand (plus-15) were sixth and 10th, respectively. Bergeron led the league last year at plus-36. ... Rask turns 26 on Sunday. ... The Flyers host Buffalo on Sunday night, while the Bruins are at Ottawa and Pittsburgh on Monday and Tuesday. The Flyers, Senators and Tampa Bay are the three NHL teams who have never swept the Bruins in a season series. ... The Bruins got Chris Bourque through waivers and sent him to Providence. They recalled Caron, who made his season debut for the big club and set up the second goal. ... The Flyers were coming off a 5-4 loss to Pittsburgh, which rallied from a 4-1 deficit to win. ... Veterans Mike Knuble (Flyers) and Jay Pandolfo (Bruins) were both healthy scratches. Between them, they have played in 2,139 NHL games, counting playoffs. ... Philly's Harry Zolnierczyk served the second game of his five-game league suspension for his hit on Brad Richards of the Rangers.
