Maple Leafs 0 - 8 Bruins
Final
  for this game

Bruins try to extend first-place lead vs. Maple Leafs

Mar 19, 2012 - 2:46 PM (Sports Network) - The Boston Bruins will try to create some breathing room atop the Northeast Division when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs in tonight's clash at TD Garden.

The Bruins entered Saturday trailing Ottawa by one point for first place in the division, but Boston regained the top spot thanks to a shootout win over Philadelphia and a Senators' regulation loss to Toronto. The Bruins will try to build on their one-point lead over idle Ottawa tonight, as they shoot for a sixth straight victory in the series with the Maple Leafs.

Boston is 5-0 against Toronto this season and has outscored the Leafs in those games by a combined 28-10 margin. The Bruins have won two straight and eight of their last 10 home tilts versus Toronto.

The Bruins jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period against the Flyers, but they needed Patrice Bergeron to score the decisive shootout goal to earn the 3-2 home victory.

Boston jumped out to a the early lead behind goals from Chris Kelly and Tyler Seguin, but the Flyers battled back, tying the game on Jakub Voracek's deflection with 4:17 remaining in regulation.

In the shootout, Seguin copied teammate David Krejci and beat Philadelphia's Ilya Bryzgalov high to the glove side. Like Boston, the Flyers' first two shooters, Matt Read and Claude Giroux, both scored on Bruins netminder Tim Thomas. Bergeron then beat Bryzgalov low to the blocker side, and Thomas denied Danny Briere to snap Boston's four-game losing streak.

Bergeron added an assist in regulation, while Thomas finished with 27 saves for the Bruins.

"We needed that immensely," Thomas said. "Things haven't been going our way lately. We came up with a good, solid, strong game."

The Maple Leafs have won two straight after going 0-4-1 in their previous five outings. Toronto, which is six points out of a playoff spot in the East, hasn't won three in a row since Feb. 1-6.

Phil Kessel backed James Reimer's 29 saves with a goal and an assist in the Maple Leafs' 3-1 win over the Senators on Saturday. Tim Connolly and Dion Phaneuf also scored for Toronto, which is 16-19-2 as the guest this year and is closing out a five-game road trip tonight.

The Bruins are 21-13-2 as the home team this season.






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