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Bruins-Panthers Preview

Dec 26, 2009 - 10:50 PM By KATE HEDLIN STATS Writer

Boston (18-11-7) at Florida (16-16-7), 5:00 p.m. EDT

The Boston Bruins began a four-game stretch against Southeast Division teams with their highest-scoring performance in almost three weeks.

On Sunday, Boston will be looking for a measure of revenge against the Florida Panthers, who blanked the Bruins in their most recent game.

Boston (18-11-7) is 4-1-1 against Southeast foes, outscoring the opposition 21-14. However, the Bruins lost 1-0 in a shootout to Florida on Nov. 12 despite outshooting the Panthers 19-1 in the second period and 40-23 overall.

Tomas Vokoun posted his third shutout in four games and Cory Stillman's goal in the fourth round of the tiebreaker gave Florida the extra point.

The Bruins come into this contest looking to win three straight for the first time since sweeping a four-game road trip last month.

They broke out of an offensive slump with a 6-4 win over Atlanta on Wednesday. Boston had scored 14 goals while going 2-2-2 after beating Toronto 7-2 on Dec. 5.

Marc Savard and Zdeno Chara each had a goal and two assists while Tim Thomas made 25 saves versus the Thrashers. However, the Bruins were far from pleased as they nearly blew two three-goal leads.

"I don't think we were on top our game defensively," coach Claude Julien said. "What was important was we found a way to win."

Patrice Bergeron sealed the win with an empty-net goal in the final seconds. He also had an assist, giving him five points in four games.

"I think anyone who knows the game knows what he brings to this hockey club, what (Bergeron) represents," Julien told the Bruins' official Web site. "He has been our best and most consistent forward."

Bergeron is tied with Marco Sturm for the team lead with 10 goals and has a club-best 29 points. Bergeron has tallied three goals and four assists against the Southeast in 2009-10.

While Boston is gaining momentum, the Panthers (16-16-7) are coming off a 4-1 defeat to the Rangers on Wednesday. Victor Oreskovich opened the scoring 4:09 into the contest with his first goal in 20 games, but New York beat Vokoun less than three minutes later and took the lead early in the second period.

Vokoun's win over the Bruins last month was his second straight shutout against them. He stopped 41 shots on a 2-0 victory on Feb. 21 at the BankAtlantic Center.

That's where the Panthers return to play their next three games after losing two of three in a four-night span. Florida is 6-6-5 at home, but has taken away points in all five games there this month (3-0-2).

Coach Peter DeBoer's club has split the last six games against the Bruins despite totaling just six goals. A better effort from Stephen Weiss could help end those struggles.

Weiss, who leads Florida with 18 goals, has 10 and eight assists in 11 games this month. He's been limited to two assists in his last eight matchups with Bruins.