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Bruins looking to open season with two straight wins

Oct 11, 2008 - 10:05 AM Boston (1-0-0) at Minnesota (0-0-0) 8:30 p.m. EDT

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (Ticker) -- A pair of talented youngsters and two new faces helped the Boston Bruins open the season in thrilling fashion.

The Bruins try to make it back-to-back wins to start the new campaign when they visit the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.

David Krejci, 22, snapped a tie with 2:36 remaining in the third period and the Bruins hung on to post a 5-4 victory over the Colorado Avalanche in the season opener for both teams on Thursday.

Phil Kessel, 21, added a goal against the Avalanche while Michael Ryder also scored in his first game with Boston after spending the last four seasons with the rival Montreal Canadiens.

In his NHL debut, Blake Wheeler, 22, added a goal for the Bruins, who halted a five-game winless streak (0-4-1) in season-opening games.

The Wild are aiming for a strong start to 2008-09 as they pursue their second consecutive Northwest Division title and third straight playoff berth.

The key to Minnesota's success over the last three campaigns has been its defense, which led the league with 191 goals allowed two seasons ago and tied for ninth with 218 in 2007-08.

The team will need to find some additional offense following the departures of Pavol Demitra and Brian Rolston. Demitra notched 54 points last season before signing with the Vancouver Canucks in the offseason. Rolston, who was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning before signing with the New Jersey Devils, finished second on the Wild with 31 goals - his third straight 30-goal season.