Offense Far From an Issue, as Bruins Cash in for Seven

Despite having five straight days off, scoring was certainly not an issue on Saturday, as the Boston Bruins combined with the Toronto Maple Leafs for a total of 12 goals. Both teams came out of the locker rooms ready to go, which led to a 3-3 tie after one period of play. The Maple Leafs took a 4-3 lead early in the second, but were unable to hold off the Bruins for the remainder of the period, as Boston scored the next four goals for a 7-4 advantage. Toronto netted the only goal of the third period, allowing the Bruins to skate away with a 7-5 victory at the Air Canada Centre.Unlike in the AHL, where Vladimir Sobotka waited only 22 seconds to open the scoring on Saturday, the Bruins and Maple Leafs allowed the home crowd to get comfortable before beginning their offensive showdown. Four minutes into the contest, Toronto ultimately broke the deadlock. Jeff Finger started the play with a long lead pass from deep in his own zone to Nikolai Kulemin in center ice. Kulemin was immediately met by Andrew Ference as he crossed the blueline, but was able to move the puck around the Boston defender toward the slot. With the puck in a tough position for Ference, Manny Fernandez attempted a pokecheck to avoid danger. Unfortunately, he missed on his poke, while Kulemin connected, knocking the floating puck into the net.With the offensive numbers as high as they were, leads did not last long in the opening period. The Maple Leafs' first edge lasted a mere 1:39, as Boston responded with the equalizer. Milan Lucic skated over center ice, dumping the puck deep into Toronto territory. Nobody from the Maple Leafs made much of an effort to get back, so Lucic hustled in to begin a cycle around the boards to Chuck Kobasew along the right side. After a quick exchange with Matt Hunwick at the point, Kobasew came out with the puck on his backhand. Using Ian White's stick as a deflecting device, Kobasew flipped his backhander in under the crossbar.A little more than three minutes later, the Bruins took their first lead of the evening. Dennis Wideman got a pass from David Krejci at the point, but sent his shot wide on the left side of the goal. Michael Ryder was set up in the low slot during Wideman's shot, allowing him to chase down the missed attempt behind the cage. Toronto netminder Justin Pogge caught an edge in the crease, making it difficult to get back into position. Ryder took advantage of this opportunity, wrapping a backhander around and into the top part of the net.Midway through the frame, Stephane Yelle was sent off for hooking, putting Toronto on the first man advantage of the game. The Bruins killed off most of the minor, but eventually fell victim to a power play marker. Lee Stempniak carried the puck deep on the left side of the offensive zone, banking a pass off of the boards to Ian White at the point. With traffic in front, White sent a shot toward the net that got blocked. However, John Mitchell was able to dig the rebound free, as he slipped a backhander past Fernandez's left pad.Five minutes later, the Maple Leafs took back their lead. Alexei Ponikarovsky tapped the puck to Mikhail Grabovski in center ice, as the two prepared to enter the offensive zone. Grabovski got confronted by the Bruins' defense after crossing the blueline, forcing him to nudge a pass over to Ponikarovsky on his left. Ponikarovsky gathered in the pass, before ripping a wrist shot through Fernandez's legs.With less than one minute remaining, the Bruins got their first power play of the game, as Jeff Finger got whistled for tripping. Similar to their opposition, the visitors capitalized. Marc Savard curled around the right circle with the puck, before dishing a cross-ice pass over to Matt Hunwick at the left point. Hunwick quickly passed off for Michael Ryder, allowing him to set up for a return feed and a one-timer. Hunwick kept his one-timer along the ice, giving Mark Recchi a perfect shot to tip through Pogge's legs. Despite the game being only 20 minutes old, both teams had three goals on the scoreboard.Six minutes into the middle stanza, Toronto regained the lead. Aaron Ward lost control of the puck behind his own net, as he tried to start a breakout with a play up the boards. Mikhail Grabovski raced in to grab the loose puck, slowly curling around the cage as his teammates got into position. As he reached the right side, Grabovski sent a pass through the crease to Alexei Ponikarovsky. Fernandez tried lunging across, but came up empty, as Ponikarovsky lifted a shot over him.At that point, Boston got right down to business. At the 8:52 mark of the second period, the Maple Leafs' Jeff Hamilton took a tripping penalty, putting the Bruins on their second power play of the contest. Hamilton's stay in the sin bin lasted for just nine seconds, as the score became tied yet again. Marc Savard won the offensive zone face-off by sweeping the puck back to Dennis Wideman at the right point. Wideman quickly returned the favor to Savard, setting him up for a shot in the right circle. After faking a slap shot, Savard sent a high wrist shot in toward the cage. For the second power play in a row, Mark Recchi got a piece of the shot, tipping it in past Pogge.A little more than two minutes later, the Bruins took the lead they would never relinquish. Stephane Yelle picked up the rebound of a Mark Stuart shot, delivering a pass back to his defenseman at the left point. Rather than shoot again, Stuart elected to pass over to Matt Hunwick, who handed off for Shawn Thornton in the high slot. Thornton originally had his back toward the net, forcing him to spin while taking his slap shot. The spin worked, as Thornton beat Pogge glove side. Pogge's night came to an end 1:14 later, when David Krejci extended the lead with a breakaway tally.Curtis Joseph took over with his team trailing by two, and at first, he had a difficult time keeping the B's off the board. With Toronto making a line change, Andrew Ference banked a long pass off of the left wing boards to Marc Savard at the offensive blueline. Savard didn't keep the puck on his stick for long, as he redirected the pass to PJ Axelsson. Axelsson carried the puck deep in the zone, waiting out the defense, before finding Blake Wheeler in the slot. Wheeler completed the play by roofing a shot glove side on the new goaltender. Wheeler's tally also completed the scoring in the second period, as the Bruins took a 7-4 lead into intermission.The Maple Leafs outshot the Bruins 12-5 in the third, but were only able to get a goal from Niklas Hagman to cut their deficit to two. At the end of a long night of goals, Boston had the upper hand in a 7-5 final.Manny Fernandez didn't have his best performance of the season, but was able to keep his team in the lead to secure his first win since January 8th. The Boston netminder turned aside 33 of the 38 shots he faced. Rookie Justin Pogge made the start for Toronto, allowing six goals on 20 shots before being pulled in favor of Curtis Joseph. Joseph made ten saves on 11 shots in relief, picking up a no-decision.The Providence Bruins fell just short on Saturday, as the Hartford Wolf Pack won 3-2 in a shootout at the XL Center. Things looked good early on for the P-Bruins, as Vladimir Sobotka opened the scoring just 22 seconds into the contest. Matt Marquardt doubled the lead at the 9:30 mark of the first period, giving Providence a 2-0 lead after one period of play. Unfortunately, that would be the final celebration for the visitors. Patrick Rissmiller cut the lead in half during the second period, before Artem Anisimov knotted things up with a power play goal midway through the third. With the score still tied, a shootout would be needed to decide the outcome. Hartford went 2-for-4, while Providence came up empty on all four attempts, giving the home team a 3-2 victory. Matt Zaba made 23 saves on 25 shots during the game for the Wolf Pack, before making four straight stops in the shootout. Tuukka Rask stopped 39 of 41 shots during the game for the Baby B's, but was only able to make two saves in the shootout.Both teams will be right back in action on Sunday. The Providence Bruins will get things started at 4:00, as they return home to the Dunkin' Donuts Center for a game with the Worcester Sharks. If the P-Bruins are able to beat the Sharks, they will clinch their 11th consecutive playoff appearance. Then, at 7:00, the Boston Bruins travel to Philadelphia for a tilt with the Flyers at the Wachovia Center.Scoring Summary:1. TOR Kulemin (14) (Ponikarovsky, Finger) 4:011. BOS Kobasew (19) (Hunwick, Lucic) 5:401. BOS Ryder (26) (Wideman, Krejci) 8:501. TOR Mitchell (10) (Blake, White) (PP) 12:041. TOR Ponikarovsky (22) (Grabovski, Oreskovic) 17:001. BOS Recchi (18) (Hunwick, Ryder) (PP) 19:332. TOR Ponikarovsky (23) (Grabovski) 6:062. BOS Recchi (19) (Savard, Wideman) (PP) 9:012. BOS Thornton (6) (Hunwick, Stuart) 11:302. BOS Krejci (22) (Lucic, Wideman) 12:442. BOS Wheeler (19) (Axelsson, Savard) 17:043. TOR Hagman (20) (Blake, Mitchell) 14:39Penalty Summary:1. BOS Yelle- Hooking 10:241. TOR Finger- Tripping 19:192. BOS Hunwick- Interference 1:582. TOR Hamilton- Tripping 8:522. BOS Lucic- Fighting 15:312. TOR Oreskovic- Fighting 15:313. BOS Montador- Fighting 10:353. TOR Schenn- Fighting 10:35Goalies:BOS Manny Fernandez (15-6-3): 38 shots, 33 savesTOR Justin Pogge (1-4-1): 20 shots, 14 savesTOR Curtis Joseph (entered at 12:44 2nd): 11 shots, 10 savesShots on Goal:BOS 12-14-5=31TOR 14-12-12=38Power Plays:BOS 2-for-2TOR 1-for-2Three Stars of the Game:1- BOS Mark Recchi2- TOR Alexei Ponikarovsky3- BOS Michael Ryder