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Wednesday, Oct. 11 10:30pm ET
Thornton, Allison derail Ducks | |||||
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ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Joe Thornton just wanted to distract goaltender Guy Hebert. He ended up with the game-winning goal for the Boston Bruins. Thornton scored his second power-play goal with 2:57 left in overtime, and Jason Allison had three assists as the Bruins beat the Anaheim Mighty Ducks 3-2 Wednesday night. Darren Van Impe had the puck at the right point and fed it cross-ice to Allison, whose high shot deflected in off Thornton's body and over Hebert's glove. "They just wanted me to get in front of the net and create something out in front," Thornton said. "I think Jason just saw my big back and my big butt, so he just shot for it -- and luckily, it went in." Thornton's fourth goal in four games came 23 seconds after Ducks defenseman Ruslan Salei was sent off for slashing Sergei Samsonov -- Salei's fifth minor penalty of the game and second for slashing. "It was a questionable call, to give them the four-on-three in overtime," Anaheim's Paul Kariya said. "If they're going to call that, I hope they call it all year long for both teams." Andre Kovalenko also connected on a power play for the Bruins, who were 3-for-8 with the man advantage while extending their season-opening unbeaten streak to four games. Brian Rolston had two assists in the opener of Boston's five-game road trip. "We're on a bit of a roll," said goalie Andrew Raycroft, who won his second straight start with 28 saves as Byron Dafoe nursed his strained left hamstring. "It's great for us to come out of the box like this. And this win on the road was a big one, too. Once you get the first one out of the way, it makes the next four easier." The Bruins are off to a 3-0-1 start. Last season they opened with an eight-game winless streak, finished with the worst record in the Northeast Division and missed the postseason for the second time in four seasons -- following an unprecedented run of 29 consecutive years in the playoffs. "I'm not that thrilled about it," Bruins coach Pat Burns said of his team's early burst, which includes nine power-play goals. "I've been around too long to be thrilled with a quick start. We're happy with it, but it's too early." Teemu Selanne got his first goal of the season for the Ducks. Anaheim enforcer Jim Cummins, whose cross-checking penalty led to Boston's go-ahead goal, got it back less than three minutes into the third period to tie it at 2. Dan Bylsma got the puck in the neutral zone from Tony Hrkac, put on a burst of speed to elude Van Impe and fed the puck into the slot, where the trailing Cummins beat Raycroft high to the glove side from about 10 feet for the equalizer. The goal was the second of the season and 20th in 368 NHL games for Cummins, who had only three in 47 games last season with Montreal. His career high is six, with Chicago in 1996-97. Thornton tied it 1-1 at 4:17 of the second with his third goal in four games, parking himself in front of the net and converting Allison's cross-ice feed while Anaheim's Andrei Nazarov was off for interference. Cummins was sent off less than two minutes before the second intermission for hitting Samsonov from behind, and the Bruins took their only lead with 45 seconds left in the period. Rolston's long slap slot from the slot whistled wide of the right post, but the puck took a hard carom off the end boards and Kovalenko tucked it into the net with Hebert out of position. Selanne and Kariya, who both failed to record a point in Anaheim's first two games for the second consecutive season, collaborated on a power-play goal that opened the scoring at 13:59 of the first period. Shawn Bates was off for cross-checking Bylsma when Selanne converted Mike Leclerc's pass through the slot for his 200th goal since joining the Ducks on Feb. 7, 1996, in a trade from the Winnipeg Jets. Game notesThe only times Kariya and Selanne were teamed together were on power plays. Coach Craig Hartsburg spit them up on their regular shifts, putting Kariya with Marty McInnis and center Matt Cullen, while Selanne skated with Leclerc and center Antti Aalto. ... Paul Coffey, who needs four goals to join Ray Bourque as the only defensemen in NHL history with at least 400 in a career, missed his third straight game because of a bruised left shoulder. | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard Boston Clubhouse Anaheim Clubhouse RECAPS NY Rangers 3 Montreal 1
Boston 3
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