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Staal helps Hurricanes edge struggling Bruins

Dec 29, 2007 - 5:12 AM By Joe Johnson PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

RALEIGH, North Carolina (Ticker) - Eric Staal and the Carolina Hurricanes added to the misery for the Boston Bruins

Staal scored a key goal and assisted on another as the Hurricanes posted a 4-3 victory over the struggling Bruins on Friday

Captain Rod Brind'Amour and defenseman Mike Commodore also scored and Chad LaRose tallied on a penalty shot for Carolina, which has won four of six overall and 10 of 13 here against Boston since the start of the 2003-04 season.

"Well there's really only one way to win," Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette said. "It's to play hard and we talked about that this morning that hard work is determining wins and losses. It's almost that simple and I thought we worked hard tonight."

The Bruins have more immediate concerns, having dropped a season-worst five straight games.

"I'm disappointed that we lost," Bruins center Phil Kessel said. "It's a tough situation. Hopefully we can play better the next time.

"We're not happy but we've got a game tomorrow. We've got to regroup and try to get a win. We've got to play the game we do best and stick to the basics and play with heart."

Boston, which has also allowed at least four goals in its last four contests, has been dismal with a man-advantage, going 5-for-33 in its last nine games. The Bruins were 0-for-3 against the Hurricanes.

"Our effort is there," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "I think there were some positive signs. We just have to give that kind of effort and be a little smarter with the penalties. There's things we can do to turn this thing around. It's not like it's impossible. We just have to add to our effort tonight and be smarter."

Brind'Amour opened the scoring when he slammed home a rebound after blue-liner Niclas Wallin fired a shot that Boston goalkeeper Tim Thomas was unable to control at the 5:56 mark of the initial period.

After the Bruins knotted the game at 1-1 on Chuck Kobasew's shorthanded goal at 8:07 of the session, the Hurricanes came right back.

Commodore blasted a shot from the right point that slipped under Thomas' pads with with 9:49 remaining in the first to make it 2-1. It was first goal of the season for Commodore, who had returned one game earlier after missing 13 of the previous 14 games with finger and foot injuries.

"Thank goodness it hit the post for me," Commodore said. "It would've been nice to finish that game 3-1. Giving up the two goals late can't happen. But a win's a win, so we're happy."

LaRose, who missed the last two games with a concussion, gave Carolina some breathing room in the second period when he scored on a penalty shot.

"I think it was a good first game back for me to get into the groove," LaRose said.

After LaRose was hooked down by Boston defenseman Dan Wideman as he raced with the puck toward Thomas, the 25-year-old scored on a backhand flip on the penalty shot.

Thomas said LaRose's approach was a little unorthodox and questioned whether there should have been a penalty in the first place.

"(LaRose) kind of caught me off guard," Thomas said. "I thought I was skating with him and all of a sudden he passed. I saw the (initial) play develop. It went off a skate in the neutral zone. Whether that play deserved a penalty shot, that's arguable."

It was the third penalty shot awarded to the Hurricanes this season and second to LaRose. He failed to convert on his first attempt earlier in the season.

After the Bruins cut their deficit in half 51 seconds into the final period, Staal scored three minutes later when, with a man-advantage, he gathered in a shot from Andrew Ladd and slipped it around Thomas, who came out to challenge the initial shot.

"I think we were keeping it simple with our decision-making and passing," Staal said.

Staal has scored goals in three straight games.

It took only 11 seconds for Boston to cut the lead back to one when Kessel deflected a cross-ice pass by goaltender Cam Ward at the right post.

However, Ward, who stopped 18 attempts overall, had only three more shots come his way the rest of the game.

Carolina did receive some bad news after the game. Defenseman Bret Hedican suffered a sprained knee and is expected to miss 10 to 14 days.

Thomas made 33 saves for Boston, which has not won since a 2-0 victory over Columbus on December 15.

"What's frustrating to me is losing 4-3," Thomas said. "I think the guys gave a pretty good effort. I wish I could have let in a couple less because we need wins no matter how we get them."