Down 1-0 after two periods tonight at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, the Boston Bruins were in desperate need of a spark or else they'd return home having lost three of their last four games (all on the road, two against bad teams).
Thankfully, the B's (30-13-1) responded like championship teams do. They potted four goals in the third to take a 4-1 win over the Devils (26-18-2). It was a stellar end to what had been a rocky road trip.
The two points ensured that Boston has still yet to lose back-to-back road games this season, a pretty remarkable statistic.
Petr Sykora (12th of the season) gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead at 18:29 of the first. It was a backbreaker for many reasons; it came off yet another defensive zone miscue by the Bruins and it was also late in the period. Dainius Zubrus stole the puck behind the net and fed Sykora, who was able to beat Boston goaltender Tim Thomas (30 saves; 19-9-0).
Gregory Campbell earned the Gordie Howe hat trick (fight, goal, assist). He fought some scrub named Brad Mills (not the Astros manager) in the first then assisted on the game-tying goal in the third and scored the marker that made it 3-1. Not a bad night for Colin's little boy.
I have no idea what changed for the B's in the third but I was a big fan since they closely resembled the freight train that ran through the NHL in November and December. Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur (21 saves) looked good in the first two periods but he was nowhere to be seen in the third as Boston bombarded him with quality scoring opportunities.
Andrew Ference (3rd of the season) tied it up 3:01 into the third with a pretty slap shot over Brodeur's glove. Shawn Thornton and Campbell had the assists.
The mercurial Nathan Horton-who's hot right now-netted the game-winner at 7:10 on the power play. His 17th of the season was all thanks to David Krejci's sweet pass, all he had to do was tap it in. Rich Peverley (back after missing two games) had the other assist.
For the 14th time this season-according to NESN's Jack Edwards-the Bruins doubled up by scoring another goal in less than a minute, at 7:45. Campbell (5th of the season) knocked in a rebound after an outstanding shift by his linemates Thornton and Daniel Paille.
Chris Kelly's (14th of the season) empty-netter sealed it at 19:13 and it also put him one away from a career-high in goals, before the All-Star break no less.
It's amazing what one period can do for a team. This win should give the Bruins a much better feeling as they head into their biggest game and stretch of games so far this season.
They host the New York Rangers-1 point ahead of them, 1st in the Eastern Conference-on Saturday afternoon. It's the first time the Original 6 foes have met in 2011-12. Boston goes to Philadelphia on Sunday, visits the White House on Monday and plays the Capitals in D.C. on Tuesday before getting a much deserved rest for the All-Star break.
UPDATE 1/20: Steven Kampfer and Jordan Caron were assigned to the Providence Bruins for the weekend. The Baby B's have three games this weekend so it will give these youngsters plenty of ice time, something they won't get in Boston anytime soon (barring injuries or suspensions).
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