Maybe a road trip really was exactly what the Bruins needed, because after starting off the season by going 2-3 at home, they looked like a completely different team at the American Airlines Center. For the first time in a week, the Black and Gold looked confident.
Center Marc Savard netted two goals, Patrice Bergeron scored his second goal of the season and Tim Thomas made 27 saves to lead the Bruins to a 3-0 shutout over the Stars.
Bruins 3, Stars 0
Oct. 16, 2009
American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Live Blog | Box Score
Headliner: The Bruins were lacking identity. They were lacking leadership. So Savard stepped in when he was needed the most and reminded his team what it was capable of. The Bruins' perennial points leader tallied his third and fourth goals of the season, starting off the scoring with a power-play goal 6:28 into the first period after drawing a high-sticking penalty on Mike Ribeiro. It was the Bruins' first power-play goal since their second game of the season, a 7-2 win over Carolina on Oct. 3.
Savard scored again 12:01 into the second period on a 48-foot slapshot. He now has 199 career lamplighters and seven points in six games this year.
Grinder: Tim Thomas earned his first start since a loss to Anaheim on Oct. 8, and he made a statement with a 24-save shutout. He and the Boston defense held strong on the penalty kill for perhaps the first time all season. Friday marked the first time in six games that the Bruins did not allow a power-play goal.
Weak Link: Stars netminder Marty Turco was slapped with his first loss of the season after allowing three goals and tallying 26 saves on 29 shots on Friday. He falls to 1-1-3 just two days after registering a 6-0 shutout against Nashville.
Key Moment: So much for that second-period slump. Thus far in this young season, the Bruins have become somewhat accustomed to going all-out in the first period before noticeably slacking through the rest of the game.
There was none of that on Friday. The Bruins rebounded from a strong first period that featured a power-play goal and nine blocked shots to score two more times in the first eight minutes of the second period. The 3-0 lead gave them plenty of much-needed breathing room, even on a night when Thomas was 100 percent on point.
What's Next: The Bruins don't have much time to celebrate Friday's big win. They're moving right along to Phoenix for a Saturday evening matchup against the Coyotes.
Phoenix hasn't taken the ice since a 3-2 win over St. Louis on Thursday night. Netminder Ilya Bryzgalov made 22 saves in the win, helping the Coyotes remain atop the Pacific Division standings with a 4-2 record and eight points.
