Bruins Strike Early, Fend Off Pesky Thrashers in 6-4 Win

A high-scoring game has been on the wish lists of many Bruins fans this season, and that’s just what the TD Garden hosted on Wednesday night as the Bruins out-dueled the Thrashers 6-4 in their final contest before the holiday break.

Eleven different players earned a spot on the Boston half of the stat sheet as the B’s stormed out of the gate with an early three-goal onslaught before eventually holding on for their second win in a row.

Despite a valiant effort from the Maxim Afinogenov-led Thrashers in the final six minutes of regulation, Tim Thomas and the B's defense stood strong to enhance their lead to three points over Atlanta in the Eastern Conference standings.

Bruins 6, Thrashers 4
TD Garden, Boston, Mass.
Dec. 23, 2009

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Headliner: Marc Savard was once again the straw that stirred the drink, as the front-line centerman paced the offense with goal and a pair of assists. Savvy got the scoring party started in the first period with a power-play goal against his former club, giving him nine goals on the season. He now has 18 points in just 21 games this season.

Zdeno Chara also put up a goal and two assists while Dennis Wideman and Mark Recchi added two assists each.

Grinder: Patrice Bergeron finished the night with a goal and an assist to improve his team-leading points total to 29. He now has 19 assists on the season and eight in the month of December.

Atlanta's Maxim Afinogenov led the visitors with a goal and two assists while the high-flying Ilya Kovalchuck added a goal and a helper of his own.

Weak Link: Ondrej Pavelec may not have broken a sweat, but the Thrashers netminder put the Atlanta squad behind the 8-ball early in the contest as he stopped just five of eight Bruins’ shots as the B’s took a 3-0 lead just 10 minutes into the contest. Pavelec was pulled after the third tally to make way for Johan Hedberg, who finished with 22 saves on 24 shots.

Key Moment: The B’s jumped out to an early three-goal lead in the span of just over a minute of action midway through the first — and it’s a good thing they did, because Atlanta retaliated with two quick goals to bring it within one. Marc Savard’s power-play tally got the party started with Daniel Paille and Vladimir Sobotka following suit, each with their fourth goals of the season.

What’s Next: After a nice three-day holiday break, the Bruins head south for a pair of games in the Sunshine State as they take on the Panthers at 5 p.m. on Sunday and the Lightning at 7:30 p.m. on Monday.

The last time the B’s and Panthers met, Florida squeezed by with a 1-0 win on Nov. 12. The two teams were held scoreless through three periods and a sudden-death overtime as this one was settled by Cory Stillman’s shootout tally in the fourth round of the 1-on-1 battle with Tim Thomas.