The Bruins picked up their play in the second period, but they couldn't overcome another poor start as the Thrashers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first.
The Bruins will have to shake this one off, as things don't get any easier with their first clash with Philadelphia since last year's playoff collapse on tap for Wednesday.
Third Period, 18:43, Thrashers 4-1: And the power-play struggles continue with another empty effort that doesn't even produce a shot on goal for the Bruins.
Third Period, 16:43, Thrashers 4-1: Another penalty, with Bryan Little getting the gate for hooking.
That gives the Bruins a 4-on-3 advantage, and Julien uses his timeout to set up the power play.
Third Period, 15:08, Thrashers 4-1: More penalties as Dennis Seidenberg is called for holding and Ben Eager for high-sticking, so the sides will play 4-on-4 for the next two minutes.
Third Period, 13:59, Thrashers 4-1: The Bruins come up empty yet again on the power play. They're now 0 for 4 with the man-advantage in this one, same as they were on Friday.
Third Period, 11:59, Thrashers 4-1: The Bruins get another power-play chance as Andrew Ladd is sent off for tripping. Might be the last chance for the Bruins to get back in this one.
Third Period, 11:32, Thrashers 4-1: Evander Kane is really punishing the Bruins in this game. After cutting Hunwick in their second period scrap, he takes out Rask hard here, though he was helped into the goaltender by a hit by Mark Stuart, so no penalty on the play.
Third Period, 9:58, Thrashers 4-1: Atlanta is really flashing its speed. It's nice to see a team continue to attack rather than just sit back with a lead.
Third Period, 8:12, Thrashers 4-1: Byfuglien nearly picked up his fifth point of the night, as he gets behind the Bruins defense and breaks in alone, but can't get the shot off in front of Rask as he crashes through the crease.
Third Period, 7:09, Thrashers 4-1: The Bruins don't look poised to pull off any miracle comebacks here in the third, as they've yet to seriously threaten Atlanta's comfortable lead in the early stages of the period.
Third Period, 3:08, Thrashers 4-1: The Bruins do get some pressure at even strength, but Pavelec turns aside Arniel's blast from the right wing, then stops Marchand's rebound from the slot.
Third Period, 2:51, Thrashers 4-1: The Bruins once again can't get anything going on the power play, failing to even get a shot on goal in the two minutes.
Third Period, 0:51, Thrashers 4-1: The Bruins will get a chance to cut into the deficit early as they go on the power play with Rich Peverley called for slashing Chara.
Third Period, 0:00, Thrashers 4-1: The final period is under way, with the Bruins needing a mighty effort here in these last 20 minutes to rally from a three-goal deficit.
Second Intermission Notes: Some smart physical play got the Bruins back in the game, as fights by Matt Hunwick and Shawn Thornton sparked the team and turned momentum to Boston's side.
Blake Wheeler took advantage to get the Bruins on the board, but then a stupid physical play derailed the comeback hopes.
Daniel Paille's boarding penalty led to a crushing Atlanta power-play goal in the closing seconds, and the Bruins now have to try to overcome a three-goal deficit again in the third.
End Second Period, Thrashers 4-1: And all the momentum Boston built with their physical play is erased by a late second-period goal, as Atlanta now has a three-goal lead again heading into the final frame.
Second Period, 19:47, Thrashers 4-1: And the Thrashers make the Bruins pay on the power play, with Byfuglien collecting his fourth point of the night as Niclas Bergfors tips in Byfuglien's one-timer in the left circle to extend the Atlanta lead back to three goals.
Second Period, 18:06, Thrashers 3-1: Daniel Paille sparks some more rough stuff with a dangerous hit from behind on Alexander Burmistrov.
That brings everyone on the ice into a huge scrum, but no real fights break out. Ben Eager, who grabbed Paille, and Thornton each get two minutes for roughing, while Paille gets two for boarding to give Atlanta a power play.
Second Period, 16:31, Thrashers 3-1: Matt Hunwick has returned to the Bruins bench after getting stitched up to repair the damage from the bout with Kane.
He's greeted with plenty of congratulations from his teammates, who recognize his sacrifice to spark the club here in the second.
Second Period, 14:26, Thrashers 3-1: There's been a Tyler Seguin sighting, as the rookie had three bids on one shift there, but Pavelec denied him each time.
He had a chance in front, a backhander at the left post and a deflection as the Bruins are all over Atlanta now.
Second Period, 12:22, Thrashers 3-1: The battles did in fact wake up the Bruins, as Blake Wheeler finally gets them on the board to cut into the deficit.
Wheeler was wide open on the left wing, taking a cross-ice feed from Michael Ryder and beating Pavelec with a wrister from the left circle.
Second Period, 10:31, Thrashers 3-0: The battle most actually expected to see just took place, with heavyweights Shawn Thornton and Eric Boulton dropping the gloves.
They came together after a long square-off and both threw and landed plenty of punches. Thornton connected with the best shot, an uppercut that stunned Boulton. The linesmen started to come in, but Boulton was able to regain his composure and rally a bit. Thornton still earns the decision, but now it's a matter of whether that will spark a Bruins comeback.
Second Period, 8:15, Thrashers 3-0: The fight has brought a little life to the Bruins, but they still can't get anything past Pavelec.
Horton had the latest chance with a bid from the slot, but couldn't put it home.
Second Period, 5:01, Thrashers 3-0: And the Bruins finally show a pulse, with Matt Hunwick the unlikely Bruin to finally drop the gloves.
He takes on Evander Kane in a lengthy and spirited scrap in just Hunwick's second career fight. Kane landed more and better shots, but huge credit to Hunwick for hanging in there and getting in some of his own. That was Boston's first fight in five games, and we'll see if it sparks anything for the Bruins.
Second Period, 1:52, Thrashers 3-0: Campbell with a bid from the right slot, but Pavelec turns it aside with a pad.
This line with Arniel and Marchand has been Boston's best so far in this one.
Second Period, 0:00, Thrashers 3-0: And the second period is under way, with the Bruins looking to dig out of yet another three-goal hole.
First Intermission Notes: There weren't many bright spots for the Bruins in that opening period, as Dustin Byfuglien and the Thrashers dominated the first 20 minutes.
Byfuglien factored in all three goals, scoring one himself and setting up the other two. He's been the best player on the ice by far in this game.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Dennis Seidenberg was on the ice for all three Atlanta goals and is a minus-3. Mark Stuart is a minus-2 and 10 other players are a minus-1 as the poor play and bad decision making has been spread throughout the lineup.
Once again, Tuukka Rask is being hung out to dry by a poor effort in front of him, as he's been subjected to five odd-man rushes already.
The only positive was a decent debut by Jamie Arniel, who is a minus-1, but had a quality scoring chance with a shot from the top of the crease in his first NHL game.
End First Period, Thrashers 3-0: The opening period comes to a merciful end for the Bruins, who couldn't have had a much worse 20 minutes that what they just turned in here in Atlanta.
First Period, 17:57, Thrashers 3-0: The Bruins at least killed that penalty off to slow the bleeding.
Now they need to try to get at least one back before the break.
First Period, 15:57, Thrashers 3-0: More trouble for the Bruins, as Atlanta goes back on the power play with Wheeler sent off for tripping.
First Period, 14:42, Thrashers 3-0: Atlanta is turning this one into a rout early, as Jim Slater makes it 3-0.
Byfuglien picks up his third point as he steals the puck from Marchand and sends Slater in alone. Slater cuts to the front of the net and lifts one over Rask.
First Period, 12:22, Thrashers 2-0: Atlanta makes it a two-goal lead early as Byfuglien jumps into the attack and shows why he's leading all NHL defensemen in goals this season.
He gets behind the Bruins defense and comes in down the left side and rips a wrister past Rask for his ninth goal.
First Period, 10:40, Thrashers 1-0: Arniel nearly tied it with a beauty of a chance in front off a feed by Campbell, but Pavelec robs him with a point-blank save.
First Period, 10:06, Thrashers 1-0: That's the fifth straight game the Bruins have given up the first goal.
They can't afford to keep playing from behind like this, especially since they're almost unbeatable when playing with a lead.
First Period, 8:32, Thrashers 1-0: There won't be another shutout for Rask this time, as the Bruins give up the first goal yet again.
Byfuglien goes in deep behind the net, comes around the other side and crosses it over to Stewart, whose pass in front is deflected home by Kane at the top of the crease.
First Period, 7:27, 0-0: Solid first NHL shift for Jamie Arniel, as he and his linemates Marchand and Campbell created some offensive chances in a high-energy shift.
First Period, 6:32, 0-0: The Bruins couldn't get much going on that power play.
The Thrashers actually had the best chance on a short-handed drive to the net by Evander Kane, with Seidenberg crashing into Rask as he came back to try to break up Kane's bid.
First Period, 4:32, 0-0: The Bruins will get their first shot on the power play as Atlanta's Anthony Stewart is whistled for holding.
Boston was 0 for 4 with the man-advantage on Friday, as all aspects of the special teams struggled against Carolina.
First Period, 3:19, 0-0: Thrashers forward Chris Thorburn is injured blocking a Johnny Boychuk shot.
Thorburn needed help to get to the locker room.
First Period, 2:34, 0-0: The Thrashers had some quality chances, but Rask and the Bruins were able to survive that penalty kill.
First Period, 0:34, 0-0: Not a good start for the Bruins, as Chara goes to the box for delay of game after clearing the puck over the glass on the opening shift of the game.
The Bruins gave up three power-play goals on three chances against Carolina on Friday.
First Period, 0:00, 0-0: And the game is just about to get under way in Atlanta. The Bruins will open with Bergeron's line up front, Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg on defense and Tuukka Rask in goal.
The Thrashers counter with Andrew Ladd, Rich Peverley and Niclas Bergfors up front, Tobias Enstrom and Dustin Byfuglien on defense and Ondrej Pavelec in goal.
4:55 p.m.: In addition to Krejci and Caron out with the flu, Adam McQuaid is again a healthy scratch on defense for the Bruins.
Atlanta has scratched Fredrik Modin (ribs) up front and Freddy Meyer on defense.
4:40 p.m.: The revamped line combinations for the Bruins will feature Patrice Bergeron between Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton on the top line.
Blake Wheeler will center Mark Recchi and Michael Ryder, Tyler Seguin will be between Daniel Paille and Shawn Thornton and Greg Campbell will be flanked by Brad Marchand and Jamie Arniel.
4:20 p.m.: In Saturday's practice in Wilmington, Blake Wheeler and Tyler Seguin alternated shifts at center during drills on a line with Mark Recchi.
On Sunday in Atlanta, they'll each center their own lines. Claude Julien has announced that call-up Jamie Arniel will make his NHL debut on the wing, leaving Wheeler, Seguin, Patrice Bergeron and Greg Campbell to center the four lines against the Thrashers.
This game will also feature a unique coaching matchup, as Julien takes on former assistant Craig Ramsay for the first time. Ramsay was hired by Atlanta this summer after three seasons with the Bruins, and his former charges on the Boston blue line remain grateful for the key role Ramsay played in their development.
4 p.m.: The Bruins will take on the Thrashers in Atlanta in about an hour, and they will indeed be doing it without David Krejci and Jordan Caron.
Both forwards are out with the flu, allowing emergency call-up Jamie Arniel to make his NHL debut.
Tuukka Rask is also expected to get the start in goal. He has three wins and two shutouts in three career starts against Atlanta.
To see how the line combinations may shake out with Krejci and Caron sidelined, check out the projected lineups. A full breakdown of the matchup can also be found in our Facing Off feature.
8 a.m.: The Bruins will look to snap out of their recent funk as they head down to Atlanta for a late-afternoon clash with the Thrashers.
Boston has won 10 straight against Atlanta, but this is a different Thrashers team they will face on Sunday. Atlanta underwent a major overhaul this offseason, acquiring four key players from last year's Cup-winning squad, acquiring Andrew Ladd, Dustin Byfuglien, Ben Eager and Brent Sopel from Chicago.
But the biggest change is one which makes Atlanta very reminiscent of the Bruins, as the Thrashers hired former Boston assistant Craig Ramsay as their head coach this summer. Ramsay has the Thrashers playing a similar defensive system to what Claude Julien installed to turn the Bruins from a last-place team to a perennial playoff entry.
Atlanta has won four straight games, outscoring its opponents 15-2 in that span, as Ondrej Pavelec has stopped 114 of the 116 shots he's faced and Ladd and Byfuglien have combined for 11 points in those four games.
The puck drops early at 5 p.m., so check back here throughout the day for updates on all the action.
