BRUINS IMPEACH SENATORS

Perhaps the cheesiest headline I've ever come up with. Tim Thomas recorded his 5th career shutout with 34 saves, and the Bruins got 4 goals from 4 players. PJ Axelsson had his first score in 15 games to open things up in the first. Marco Sturm added to his team leading goal total of 27 with a power play score. Shane Hnidy scored on a shorthanded opportunity at the beginning of the third, and David Krejci iced it with 0:55 to go. Since getting that OT loss in Montreal, the Bruins are 3-0-0 and have outscored opponents 14-4 in that stretch.

David Krejci has blossomed from a clumsy 4th wing fill-in into a scoring terror. He's got the physical abilities of a great scorer; but more importantly, he's got the confidence, intelligence, and smoothness of a seasoned veteran, not just a 21 year-old kid (which is what he is).

Shawn Thornton didn't figure in any of the scoring, and had an even +/- on the night, but he had one of his better games. He racked up 9 penalty minutes, and each one helped the team. After Chris Neil laid a cheap-shot on Jeremy Reich, Thornton dropped the gloves with Neil, eventually taking him down to the ice. In the 2nd, Cody Bass was the cheap-shot artist, hitting Mark Stuart into the boards from behind. Thornton didn't even wait for Bass to accept the fight, he just went right at him and started throwing punches. Bass was left bloodied, and each got a pair of matching minors for charging and roughing. Shawn Thornton made it very clear to the Senators that cheap hits were not allowed in the TD BankNorth Garden.

So the B's get two vital points. Washington also won, so the Bruins remain a mere 2 points ahead of them. But Ottawa is starting to fall to us. They're only 2 points ahead, and the Bruins have one more game to play than they do. The Bruins play in Buffalo tonight, and with a regulation win will eliminate the Sabres from the playoffs.

Source:
ESPN.com