NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Patrice Bergeron scored two goals, and Tim Thomas made 30 saves in the Boston Bruins’ 6-1 rout of the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night.
The defending Stanley Cup champions got back on track after their seven-game winning streak was snapped Saturday against Dallas. Boston (25-10-1) moved within one point of the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers.
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New Jersey (21-16-2) had dropped two straight after winning two in a row and seven of nine.
Gregory Campbell got Boston even at 1 in the first period, and Nathan Horton scored his fifth power-play goal of the season to give the Bruins the lead. David Krejci and Shawn Thornton added goals in the third.
David Clarkson put the Devils on top early with his team-leading 14th goal, but it wasn’t enough to keep New Jersey from its most-lopsided loss since a 6-1 defeat at Colorado on Nov. 30.
Shortly after Thornton and Cam Janssen squared off in a long fight, Devils captain Zach Parise stole the puck, skated up left wing and sent a pass to Clarkson, who fired a wrist shot past Thomas at 4:24 for a power-play goal that made it 1-0.
The Bruins then stormed back.
A wrist shot by Boston defenseman Andrew Ference hit Campbell on the right skate in front and deflected past goalie Martin Brodeur, who made his fourth straight start. He had won five of seven.
A few minutes later, Devils defenseman Henrik Tallinder was whistled for delay of game and the Bruins capitalized. Horton scored his 10th goal of the season when he took a pass from Krejci in front. Horton’s shot was initially deflected by Brodeur, but the puck trickled in to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead at 13:17 of the first.
The Bruins pushed the lead to 3-1 right after a penalty to Horton for holding was about to expire. Devils rookie defenseman Adam Larsson attempted a shot from the point, but it was blocked by Bergeron, who got the puck and skated in alone on Brodeur and scored at 4:02.
Boston broke the game open in the third on Bergeron’s second of the game and a goal from Krejci in a span of two minutes.
NOTES: Devils C Travis Zajac sat out because of swelling in his Achilles. He has played in eight games since returning from offseason surgery on his Achilles. … Devils D Anton Volchenkov, who sustained an undisclosed lower body injury in the Devils’ win over Pittsburgh on Saturday, also sat out. He skated with the team Wednesday morning. … Devils C Jacob Josefson, out with a broken collarbone sustained in October, skated before the game and is close to returning. … Krejci has a six-game point streak.
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