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Thomas powers Bruins past Maple Leafs

Nov 18, 2008 - 4:59 AM TORONTO (Ticker) -- Tim Thomas finished with 28 saves and rookie defenseman Matt Hunwick recorded his first career NHL goal as the streaking Boston Bruins posted a 3-2 triumph over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday in a battle of "Original Six" rivals.

Phil Kessel and Michael Ryder also tallied and Marc Savard and Milan Lucic notched two assists apiece for Boston, which improved to 9-1-1 in its last 11 games.

Jason Blake scored and Vesa Toskala turned aside 19 shots for Toronto, which fell to 2-5-1 in its last eight games.

The play of Thomas preserved the win - even if he didn't wish to take credit for it.

"We've played really good hockey all season, but I think tonight we could have played better and we know that as a team," he said. "But we are happy to get out of here with two points."

"(Kessel's goal) was obviously stoppable, but beyond I can't complain about our (intensity)," Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson said. "The puck just didn't go in and obviously Thomas made some big saves. He found some pucks in scrambling areas that I didn't think he could see."

After Kessel opened the scoring 9:40 into the first period, Hunwick doubled the Bruins' advantage nearly 3 1/2 minutes later by following up his initial shot which was denied by Toskala and wristing it past the netminder.

"It feels good because it helped us build a lead," Hunwick said of his first career goal. "They came back and battled, but we kept working hard and were able to get the two points."

Blake halved the deficit with 2:09 remaining in the session after collecting a pass off the end boards and sweeping it past Thomas for his third tally of the campaign.

Ryder regained the two-goal advantage just 5:49 after wristing a shot from the right faceoff circle and beating Toskala for his third goal of the season.

"We had opportunities, but it was a clutch goal that Michael Ryder scored which we've seen many times," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "They (the Maple Leafs) are a team that come at you hard every night from start to finish. That's the respect they've earned around the league and nobody takes them lightly anymore."

Grabovski again brought it back to a one-goal game after accepting a feed from Niklas Hagman and tapping it past Thomas for his ninth tally of the campaign and eighth in eight games.

The Maple Leafs were unable to net the equalizer.

"It was a tough start, but I think we played well enough to win," Toronto's Matt Stajan said. "Down the stretch we hit a lot of posts and a lot of chances. But when you dig yourself a hole and you run into a hot goalie, it's unfortunate.