Bruins 2 - 4 Hurricanes
Final
  for this game

Bruins out for revenge versus Hurricanes

Jan 14, 2012 - 5:07 PM (Sports Network) - The Hurricanes were one of the teams that gave the Bruins some problems during the defending Stanley Cup champion's rough opening month.

Boston has been nearly unbeatable since.

The Bruins kick off a four-game road trip looking for a bit of revenge as they visit Carolina this evening hoping to beat the 'Canes for the first time in three meetings this year.

Following its first Stanley Cup championship since 1972, Boston struggled to a 3-7-0 record in October. That included a pair of loss to Carolina after winning 11 of the previous 13 encounters.

The Bruins, though, have gone 25-4-1 since the start of November and a fourth victory in five games on Thursday has the Northeast Division leaders just one point back of the New York Rangers for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Boston notched a second straight win with Thursday's 2-1 victory over visiting Montreal.

Milan Lucic and Jordan Caron both scored for the Bruins, who lead the Senators by three points for the division lead.

"It was just one of those games where you have to fight it through to get to the end and hopefully get the result," said Lucic. "It wasn't our best effort but we found a way to win."

Tim Thomas made 33 saves and carried a shutout into the third period before yielding a goal with 7:14 left. Despite helping the Bruins up their road record 12-4-0, Thomas wasn't happy with allowing the goal.

"I felt like if I saw the puck tonight, there was no way they were going to score," said Thomas. "That's why I might have been a little frustrated, because I didn't think I was going to get scored on."

While Carolina may have looked like contenders in wins over Boston, the struggling club sits 14th out of 15 East teams with 37 points despite a 5-2 win over Tampa Bay on Thursday. The Hurricanes jumped out to a quick lead thanks to a four-goal first period, with Jiri Tlusty notching two of those tallies.

Tuomo Ruutu added a goal and two assists to log a season high in points and Eric Staal notched a season best with three assists to give him 301 in his career.

"We had some good chances, some good looks. Our first period was played real well," said Staal, who has a goal and seven assists over a four-game point streak. "We were aggressive. We were on the attack."

Cam Ward made 34 saves for the Hurricanes, who had lost four of five coming in and were without Chad LaRose for a second straight contest due to a head injury.

The Hurricanes' 3-2 win over Boston on Oct. 12 was just its second over the Bruins in the last eight encounters in Carolina.






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