Music: {allcanada} Bruins start home-and-home with shutout of Senators

Friday, December 27, 2013

{allcanada} Bruins start home-and-home with shutout of Senators

Grey's Anatomy, Season 10 - Grey's Anatomy

BOSTON -- The Ottawa Senators' latest attempt to win consecutive games was no match for the Boston Bruins' recent superiority on home ice.

The Bruins ran their winning streak at TD Garden to eight games by defeating Ottawa 5-0 on Friday behind a 33-save shutout by Tuukka Rask and two goals from Reilly Smith. The teams play at Ottawa on Saturday.

Boston (26-10-2) is unbeaten in its past 15 home contests (13-0-2) after Jarome Iginla, David Krejci and Brad Marchand also scored. The Bruins had a 14-game home winning streak Oct. 25, 2008-Jan. 1, 2009.

Robin Lehner stopped 37 of 42 shots for the Senators, who are 0-3-1 in their past four road games. The Senators, who won their previous game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday before the three-day Christmas break, have won consecutive games this season only when they won three in a row Nov. 5-9. They have lost eight straight times following a victory.

By the first official timeout in the second period the Bruins, who had been severely outshot in the first period, had righted their ship. They outshot Ottawa, 9-2, in the first 6:21 of the period, and forward Matt Fraser hit the post. The trend continued as Boston outshot Ottawa 20-8 for the period.

One of Boston's 20 shots counted more than the others because Iginla scored during a power play. Torey Krug's one-timer from the blue line hit Lucic in front of Lehner, but Iginla was in a fortuitous position for the rebound. Iginla hammered the puck from the right hash mark high to the glove side for a 1-0 lead at 16:29.

Along the way in the second, the Senators endured a bit of a scare when Boston defenseman Johnny Boychuk hit Lehner in the midsection with a slap shot from the right dot. After he was attended to by the trainer, Lehner stayed in the game.

The Bruins doubled their lead 38 seconds into the third period. Krejci was perfectly positioned to one-time a rebound of a Matt Bartkowski wide shot off the glass and the Boston center beat Lehner to the short side from just above the goal line for a 2-0 lead.

With the Senators pressing to try to get a goal, Marchand was able to tip the puck past Erik Karlsson at the Boston blue line and start the 2-on-1 that expanded the Bruins' lead to 3-0. Smith finished the rush with a one-timer at 10:20 of the third.

Smith scored his second goal with 3:34 remaining. The Bruins have now had at least one multigoal scorer in seven straight games, matching a franchise record that was set in 1929.

Marchand provided the final margin with a shorthanded breakaway goal with 27 seconds left.

Each team took some time to find its legs in the first game since the break. By the time the first 20 minutes were through, it was apparent the Senators hit their stride before the Bruins; Ottawa outshot Boston 15-5.

The Senators won the prior meeting with the Bruins, 4-2 on Nov. 15 in Ottawa.

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