Tuukka Time for once and for all

By all accounts Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas is a great guy. That's all well and good but professional sports are a cold business and Thomas is not getting the job done this season.

Boston is lucky though because in rookie goaltender Tuukka Rask, they have the present and future of the franchise.

Rask (18-10-4, NHL-best 2.02 GAA) was the centerpiece of the B's (33-27-12) 4-0 win last night at Philips Arena in Atlanta as he recorded his fourth shutout of the season.

Since Boston came in only one point ahead of the Thrashers (32-30-11) for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference (and the right to be pummeled by the Caps), you could say without hyperbole that last night was one of the most meaningful wins of the season.

It was downright refreshing to see the B's show up for once when it counted as David Krejci (from Michael Ryder and Dennis Seidenberg) put Boston ahead 1-0 in the first period with his 15th goal.

A couple minutes after the first goal, Shawn Thornton threw down with Thrashers goon Eric Boulton. It seems like the Bruins have been fighting more lately which is never a bad thing.

Milan Lucic (his 8th) gave the B's a 2-0 lead in the second period with a one-timer from Krejci. Then Miroslav Satan (his 6th) scored the dagger of the game with four seconds left in the second period when he tipped Zdeno Chara's blast from the point.

When Steve Begin (his 4th) scored off a juicy rebound from Atlanta goalie Johan Hedberg early in the third period the rout was on.

Boston will look to keep the momentum going as the Tampa Bay Lightning come to the TD Garden tomorrow night for another must-win by the Black and Gold.

Rick Tocchet probably lost a lot of money on this game

It only took 17 games but the Boston Bruins finally won back-to-back games in the 2009-2010 season. The B's (8-7-2) knocked off the road weary and banged up Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins (12-6-0), 3-0 last night at the TD Garden.

Tim Thomas stopped 27 saves for his second shutout of the season and three different Bruins scored goals.

With 1:36 gone by in the second period, Bruins forward/defenseman Matt Hunwick scored his fourth of the year off assists from Dennis Wideman and Steve Begin. The goal was reviewed since the puck quickly bounced out of the net but it stood.

Daniel Paille scored his first goal for Boston in the third period after he was sent in alone on Penguins goalie Marc Andre-Fleury (26 saves). Patrice Bergeron and Mark Recchi assisted with Recchi providing the pass that sprung Paille who had just hopped over the boards for a line change.

Bergeron wrapped up the scoring with an empty-net, short-handed goal with four seconds left in the game. Begin and Wideman assisted on the Bruins' first short-handed tally of the season.

Even given all the Penguins' injuries, this was a great win since they're tied for the Capitals for most points in the Eastern Conference.

The Florida Panthers come to the Garden tomorrow night as the Bruins look to make it three in a row.