Final, Bruins 6-3: The Bruins hold off Dallas and put this one away to open a key four-game homestand in style.
After three fights in the first four seconds of the game and a fourth less than four minutes into play, the Bruins jumped out to a 4-0 lead after one period.
But Dallas made it interesting in the third, cutting the lead to one before the Bruins pulled away again.
Boston will continue the homestand when Joe Thornton and the Shaks come to town on Saturday.
Third Period, 17:40, Bruins 6-3: Bergeron nearly completes the hat tick, but hits the side of the empty net with Lehtonen pulled, but he recovers the puck and sets up Brad Marchand with the score instead as the Bruins put this one away.
Third Period, 16:35, Bruins 5-3: Rask, and the Bruins, have seemed to settle down after Dallas' surge at the start of the third.
Third Period, 12:42, Bruins 5-3: Rask makes a big stop on Trevor Daley pinches in deep for a bid in front.
Third Period, 10:21, Bruins 5-3: The Bruins can't convert on that power play despite some good pressure and chances.
Third Period, 8:21, Bruins 5-3: The Bruins go back on the power play as Matt Niskanen is sent off for tripping.
Third Period, 7:26, Bruins 5-3: This time it's Horton behind the net setting up Lucic in front, but the puck hops over Lucic's stick.
Third Period, 5:31, Bruins 5-3: The Bruins do answer this time, with Tyler Seguin ending his drought with a nifty turnaround shot from the high right slot off a feed from Blake Wheeler.
The Bruins needed that goal badly to stem the tide of Dallas' momentum.
Third Period, 4:45, Bruins 4-3: The Bruins have a chance to answer as Lucic sends a pass over to Horton at the left post, but the puck skips over Horton's stick.
Third Period, 3:33, Bruins 4-3: The collapse continues as Dallas pulls within one on a Brad Richards one-timer from the right circle.
Claude Julien calls timeout to try to settle his troops as this one is threatening to slip away.
Third Period, 0:45, Bruins 4-2: That was not the start to the period that Boston was looking for, as Brenden Morrow scores shorthanded in the opening minute to cut the lead to two.
Morrow beat Rask with a wrister from the high slot.
Third Period, 0:00, Bruins 4-1: The final frame is under way, with the Bruins opening the period with 1:37 left on a power play. Boston is 20-0-1 when leading after two periods this season, while Dallas is 5-13-2 when trailing after two.
Second Intermission Notes: Like most sequels, the second period didn't live up to the standards set by the first. Now the Bruins just hope they can put together a fitting conclusion to the trilogy in the third.
Dallas struck for the only goal in the second, but the Bruins did a good job of limiting the damage as they killed off a five-minute power play after Daniel Paille was given a match penalty for a head shot on Raymond Sawada. Paille could be looking at further punishment from the league for that hit.
The Bruins need to come out strong in the third and not let Dallas hang around any further. And if they do extend the lead, they'll need to be careful as this one has the potential to get even nastier with four fights and a combined 74 penalty minutes already in the books.
End Second Period, Bruins 4-1: The second period is in the books. There were no fights and just one goal, but it was still plenty eventful with McQuaid having a goal waved off and Paille getting the gate for a match penalty for a head shot.
Second Period, 19:36, Bruins 4-1: The Bruins get a late power play with Brad Richards sent off for tripping.
Second Period, 16:21, Bruins 4-1: Huge penalty kill for the Bruins, thanks largely to some big saves by Rask. Dallas could have really made things interesting with a goal or two on that five-minute power play.
Second Period, 15:39, Bruins 4-1: Rask robs Loui Eriksson on a point-blank rebound at the top of the crease.
Second Period, 11:21, Bruins 4-1: Paille catches Sawada coming across the middle with a huge high hit, triggering a major scrum. Plenty of gloves off, but no actual fights develop.
Paille gets the gate for a lateral head shot, giving Dallas a five-minute power play. Seguin is serving it. Boychuk and Langenbrunner get roughing minors for teh scrum. Paille will face a possible suspension for a match penalty for that head shot.
Second Period, 10:36, Bruins 4-1: The Stars are on the board, as Karlis Skrastins pinches in and scores from between the circles off a feed from Adam Burish from the left wing.
Second Period, 9:50, Bruins 4-0: Rough period for McQuaid. He loses the goal on Wheeler's penalty, now he gets belted into the boards behind the net by Neal.
Second Period, 6:09, Bruins 4-0: The Bruins kill off the penalty and maintain the four-goal cushion.
Second Period, 4:09, Bruins 4-0: Adam McQuaid scores an apparent goal on a nice shot from the right circle, but it's waved off and the Stars get a power play as Blake Wheeler is called for goalie interference.
Second Period, 3:29, Bruins 4-0: Another scrum has Chara challenging James Neal to no avail, then Chara and Ott get misconducts for yapping.
Second Period, 3:20, Bruins 4-0: Lots of puck movement in the Dallas end, but the Bruins don't get a shot on goal as Chara's attempt is blocked.
Second Period, 0:46, Bruins 4-0: No fireworks early this period, but Tyler Seguin nearly scored on a chance at the left post in the opening minute.
Second Period, 0:00, Bruins 4-0: And the middle frame is under way, with the Bruins looking to build off their dominating effort in the first.
First Intermission Notes: Why does Dallas come to town just once every two years?
The Bruins have now outscored the Stars 9-1 in the last four periods they've played at the Garden, with this one picking up right where they left off at that fight-filled 5-1 win back on Nov. 1, 2008.
After three fights in four seconds and another before the four-minute mark, the Bruins' offense caught up with the fisticuffs for a 4-0 lead through 20 minutes. The Bergeron line continues it hot streak, with Bergeron scoring twice and Marchand and Recchi each picking up two assists. Lucic and Thornton added the other goals and Rask stopped everything he faced as the Bruins outshot Dallas 15-9.
Now it's just a matter of not letting up, as there is still 40 minutes to play. It's hard to imagine how they could, but here's hoping the final two periods live up to the standards set by the first.
End First Period, Bruins 4-0: The Bruins couldn't convert the late power play, but there's no complaining from the Garden faithful as they roar their approval as the Bruins go off following their most entertaining period of the season so far.
First Period, 17:49, Bruins 4-0: The Bruins get another power-play chance as Stephane Robidas goes off for interference.
First Period, 16:01, Bruins 4-0: After the first extended lull without a goal or a fight, Shawn Thornton gets things going again with a blast from the right circle.
He came in down the right side and let it fly to the top corner. Paille and Chara pick up the assists as Thornton is two-third of teh way to a Gordie Howe hat trick, needing just an assist.
First Period, 12:22, Bruins 3-0: The Bruins can't convert on the man-advantage, though Michael Ryder had a great chance in front off a sweet Krejci setup, but shot it high.
First Period, 10:22, Bruins 3-0: The Bruins now go on their first power play of the night as the Stars get called for too many men. Raymond Sawada goes to the box to serve it.
First Period, 9:35, Bruins 3-0: The Bruins still have less goals than fights, but they're closing the gap as Bergeron scores again in front off a feed from Marchand.Recchi also gets another assist.
First Period, 9:27, Bruins 2-0: All of the fighting penalties have been served, with Ference receiving a hearty cheer as he returns to the bench. Campbell has returned to action after some repairs to his nose.
First Period, 8:30, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins successfully kill off the penalty.
Krejci nearly scored shorthanded on a breakaway but was denied, and Ott leveled Wheeler after the save, so the nasty stuff may not be over.
First Period, 6:30, Bruins 2-0: Brad Marchand goes to the box for holding, and Dallas has the first power play of the night, on the ninth penalty of the game.
First Period, 3:51, Bruins 2-0: And the hits keep coming, as Andrew Ference drops the gloves with Adam Burish, then drops Burish with a wicked right in the fourth fight in less than four minutes.
First Period, 3:39, Bruins 2-0: Rask's first shot is a great bid by James Neal, but Rask robs him with a pad save at the right post.
First Period, 1:20, Bruins 2-0: It's two shots and two goals, and that's all for Raycroft, who gets lifted for Kari Lehtonen.
This goal was a tap-in from the top of teh crease by Patrice Bergeron off a nice feed by Brad Marchand. Mark Recchi also gets an assist.
First Period, 0:35, Bruins 1-0: And now starts the scoring, with the Bruins triking on the game's first shot.
David Krejci gained the zone and flipped it up to Milan Lucic on the left wing for the goal at the left post. Nathan Horton also picks up an assist.
First Period, 0:04, 0-0: And another one. This time it took two seconds for Adam McQuaid and Brian Sutherby to square off.
After an even toe-to-toe exchange to start, McQuaid lands two huge rights to put Sutherby down. That's about as loud as the Garden has been all season. Electric start to this one.
First Period, 0:02, 0-0: Another second, another scrap. This time the heavyweights go with Shawn Thornton and Krys Barch squaring off.
This one was all Thornton, who hurt Barch with a series of big rights.
First Period, 0:01, 0-0: And one second in we get the fireworks some expected. Greg Campbell let Thornton take the faceoff to line up with Steve Ott on the wing and immediately issued the challenge.
Ott landed a big shot early to cut Campbell, but Campbell countered with a couple quick lefts before the linesmen jumped in.
First Period, 0:00, 0-0: And this one is under way at the Garden, where the Bruins kick off a key four-game homestand against the Pacific Division-leading Stars.
6:55 p.m.: Interesting starting lineups for this one, considering the fireworks the last time Dallas played here in 2008.
Instead of starting the Bergeron line, the Bruins are going with the fourth line of Daniel Paille, Greg Campbell and Shawn Thornton, with Andrew Ference and Adam McQuaid on defense and Tuukka Rask in net.
The Stars counter with old friend Steve Ott up front with Adam Burish and Raymond Sawada, with Nicklas Grossman and Stephane Robidas on the blue line and Andrew Raycroft in goal.
Mark Stuart is indeed the scratch, along with Marc Savard (concussion). Dallas scratches Travis Morin and Mark Fistric.
6:40 p.m.: No changes in the Bruins lines in warm-ups:
Lucic-Krejci-Horton
Marchand-Bergeron-Recchi
Ryder-Wheeler-Seguin
Paille-Campbell-Thornton
Defense has Chara-Kampfer, Seidenberg-Boychuk, Ference-McQuaid. Stuart did skate in warm-ups, but not in line drills. Julien already said after morning skate that he wouldn't be changing the defense, so Stuart will sit for a fifth straight game.
6:30 p.m.: As expected, Tuukka Rask and Andrew Raycroft led their teams onto the ice for warm-ups.
That will be the goaltending matchup. They two netminders who who were traded for each other exchanged greetings as they stretched alongside each other at center ice.
6 p.m.: For the first time since they were traded for each other at the 2006 draft, Tuukka Rask and Andrew Raycroft will start against each other.
Dallas coach Marc Crawford confirmed this morning that Raycroft would get the nod for the Stars, while Rask was the first off the ice for the Bruins at the morning skate.
Bruins coach Claude Julien also stated that there would be no changes on defense, so Mark Stuart will be a heathy scratch for the fifth straight game.
8 a.m.: The Bruins open a crucial four-game homestand on Thursday, as Dallas returns to the Garden for the first time since the Nov. 1, 2008 showdown that resulted in 146 penalty minutes and a season-defining win for Boston.
The Stars come in with a 30-16-5 record, putting them even with the Bruins at 65 points through 51 games. Like Boston, Dallas leads its division and holds the third seed in its conference. It doesn't get any easier after this one either, as Joe Thornton and San Jose come to town next on Saturday, followed by Montreal and Detroit next week.
"They're going to be tough games," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "Dallas is having a pretty good year, San Jose is a good team that's fighting to hold on to a playoff spot, Montreal is always a challenge in itself, so we've got a tough homestand here. But it's probably not a bad thing for our hockey club. To get some consistency we need to make sure we're good every night, so what better challenge that that?"
The Bruins will start by focusing solely on the Stars, who have come down to earth a bit after a 7-0-2 run to start January. They're just 1-3-0 since, having been outscored 19-9 in that span. Dallas dropped 7-4 and 7-1 decisions to Calgary and Vancouver, respectively, before managing to beat Edmonton 3-1, but then fell again to the Canucks 4-1 on Tuesday. Special teams have been the downfall for Dallas, which is just 1-for-15 on the power play while allowing seven goals on 14 times shorthanded in that stretch.
Dallas has had plenty of success when stepping out of the Western Conference this year. They have the best winning percentage of any Western team against the East at .821, with an 11-2-1 mark. Former Bruin Andrew Raycroft is a big part of that, going 4-0-0 with a 0.74 GAA and .974 save percentage against the East. Raycroft is 8-4-0 with a 2.42 GAA and .920 save percentage overall this year, but just 3-4-0 with a 3.06 GAA and .893 save percentage against the Bruins.
Raycroft also gave up seven goals in his lat start against Calgary, while Kari Lehtonen (22-12-5, 2.61 GAA, .915 save percentage) allowed four goals on 26 shots in Tuesday's loss.
The puck drops at 7 p.m., so check back here throughout the day for updates on all the action.
