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Thomas leads Bruins to win over Rangers

Jan 20, 2008 - 10:02 PM By Larry Fleisher PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

NEW YORK (Ticker) -- The Boston Bruins treated their weekend home-and-home matchup with the New York Rangers like a playoff series, and it showed in their play.

Tim Thomas recorded 30 saves and came within 44 seconds of a shutout as the Bruins posted a 3-1 victory over the Rangers on Sunday.

Chuck Kobasew scored a shorthanded goal and set up Glen Metropolit's eventual game-winner just 2:04 into the third period.

Phil Kessel netted the other goal and former Ranger Marc Savard collected two assists for the Bruins, who picked up four points in less than 24 hours and have won all three meetings with New York this season.

On Saturday, the Bruins posted a 4-3 shootout win in Boston.

"We made this into our own little personal playoff series, and coming off a win last night, often you'll let up," Thomas said. "We got one of the home-and-home series (on Saturday) and we showed some character for how we were able to bear down and get the job done today."

Thomas nearly finished with his fourth shutout but allowed a goal by rookie Brandon Dubinsky in the final minute. That was the only blemish in a solid road win that the Bruins felt was more important than a routine regular-season game in January.

Boston moved into the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of ninth-place New York.

"It was huge," Savard said. "That was our focus going into this. We've got to start separating from the pack. We want to get up toward the top and start separating from the bottom. You've got to beat the guys you're chasing, and these are the guys."

The Bruins turned in a solid defensive effort despite being outshot, 12-4, in the first period and 23-11 through 40 minutes.

Boston, which never trailed after Kobasew scored his third goal in two games with 2:07 left in the first period, snapped a four-game losing streak here that dated to January 20, 2004.

"Both teams expressed the importance of these two games. When you're tied for the eighth spot and playing back-to-backs, those games mean a lot," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "This is the stage of the season where every point seems to matter a lot."

Despite possessing a star-studded lineup, the Rangers entered Sunday's contest ranked 29th in scoring, averaging only 2.38 goals per game. They continued to struggle to generate offense even with a decided edge in shots.

The Rangers outshot the Bruins, 31-20, but many of the attempts were from the perimeter.

"If you're not going to get your nose dirty and get chances on a second and third effort, the shot total looks sexy, but it doesn't mean a thing," New York coach Tom Renney said. "Go to the net."

While Boston was satisfied with executing a conservative game plan, the frustration continued to build for New York, which fell to 2-6-2 in its last 10 games.

"Just mistakes," Rangers right wing Brendan Shanahan said. "Just mistakes. We're not a confident team right now. On all three goals, pretty much a mistake by our team led to them scoring a goal."

The sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden voiced its displeasure, booing the Rangers throughout the contest.

"Tonight, the penalties didn't beat us, but I think we beat ourselves again," Shanahan said. "It's frustrating. We deserved to get booed out of the rink tonight."

Renney believes the Rangers need to quickly pick up the level of their play before they fall too far out of a playoff spot.

"We have a choice every single time we come to the rink to perform to the best of our ability with everything we have," he said. "And this team needs to do that in a real big hurry."

Thomas made 12 saves in the first, 11 in the second and seven more in the third. By the time he allowed a goal, Metropolit and Kessel had scored, sending many fans to the exits.

"I think the second (period) was not pretty, but we did keep them to the outside," Savard said. "We got them frustrated, especially in the third. Even when their fans (boo), they're booing us because we're keeping it so tight defensively."

Boston opened the scoring by capitalizing on a mistake. After Rangers defenseman Fedor Tyutin failed to maintain possession in the offensive zone, Bruins captain Zdeno Chara banged the puck off the boards for Kobasew, who beat netminder Henrik Lundqvist with a low wrist shot from the left faceoff circle.

The Bruins maintained their one-goal edge through the second as Thomas made several solid stops.

"We took it as a playoff series, these two games, and we came out on top," Metropolit said. "Tim was great tonight and we tried to do our best in front of him. We got rewarded (with) a couple of goals and 11 shots after two periods. (We) weren't too happy with that, but at the same time, we scored on our opportunities."

The Bruins finally grabbed a two-goal advantage early in the third, when Metropolit ended a 17-game drought by positioning himself on the doorstep and tucking a loose puck under Lundqvist's left skate.

"If the rebound was going to go anywhere, it was going to go to the side of the net," Metropolit said. "I figured, go there, and it finally came to me. I've been struggling of late trying to find the net, but it's a big goal for us."

Kessel sealed the win with 2:59 remaining by burying the rebound of Savard's shot.