Bruins down Flames 3-1 to win third straight

A mid-week road game against a Western Conference opponent means a late night and an early morning, so I kept this recap short. Here goes..

Tim Thomas (28 saves) and Milan Lucic (2 goals) led the way as the Bruins skated past the Calgary Flames 3-1 on Tuesday night at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta to earn their third straight victory.

The Bruins got on the board just 59 seconds in the game. The Bruins caught the Flames in an ill-timed wholesale line change to create an odd man rush. David Krejci skated the puck to the top of the right circle, faked a shot, and found Milan Lucic driving hard to the net. Lucic buried the puck for his team-leading 25th goal of the season before his momentum sent him barreling into Calgary goalie Mikka Kiprusoff after the puck had crossed the line.

Brad Marchand's 19th goal of the season extended the Bruins' lead to 2-0 with 14:05 left to play in the third period after #63 roofed a shot from the slot. Patrice Bergeron and Andrew Ference picked up the helpers.

The Flames finally cracked Tim Thomas with a power play goal with 2: 33 left in the third period. Alex Tanguay's diagonal pass from the top of the right circle found Jarome Iginla at the right post.. Iginla pulled the puck to his backhand and slid the puck to Curtis Glencross going to the net.

Milan Lucic was able to seal the victory with an empty net goal with 47 seconds remaining in the game. Mark Recchi played the puck up the right wing wall to David Krejci in the neutral zone, who chipped the puck into space for Milan Lucic.

Notes:

- According to NESN, the Bruins are the only team outside of the Northwest Division to defeat the Flames in regulation this season.

- The Bruins had not won in Calgary since 1997.

- Rich Peverley logged 15:12 of ice time in his Bruins debut. He skated on the left wing on the the third line along with Chris Kelly and Michael Ryder.

- Milan Lucic leads the league with 5 empty net goals.

- The Bruins will continue their road trip on Saturday when they take on the Vancouver Canucks.

- For more on tonight's game in Calgary, see Matchsticks and Gasoline