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Bruins' balance keeps hot spell going

BOSTON -- The Bruins are the hottest team in hockey thanks to balanced scoring and a resurgent power play.

Brian Rolston scored two goals Monday to lead Boston to a 6-1 win over Edmonton.

The Bruins won for the fourth time in five games and improved to 9-1-2-1 over their past 13.

"If you get two on the power play, you should win the game," Bruins forward Glen Murray said. "When you look around the league, teams that rely on one line are easier to shut down."

Murray, Rob Zamuner, Bryan Berard and Jonathan Girard also scored for Boston.

The Bruins netted two of their three power-play goals in the third period and have scored six man-advantage goals in their past two games. Boston has outscored its past two opponents 13-2.

Edmonton lost for the third time in four games and has allowed 18 goals in that span. The only victory was 6-3 in New Jersey.

Murray gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead when his shot deflected off Oilers defenseman Janne Niinimaa and past Jussi Markkanen at 14:31 of the first.

Rolston gave Boston a 2-0 lead 44 seconds into the second, taking a turnover by Anson Carter and scoring between the legs of Markkanen.

Murray added two assists and has 15 points in his past 12 games.

Also, the league suspended Bruins defenseman Sean Brown for one game for cross-checking Ottawa forward Dennis Bonvie on Saturday.

THRASHERS 2, FLAMES 1: Atlanta goalie Pasi Nurminen knows a lot of jobs are in his hands, not the least of which is his own.

Amid daily reports that the Thrashers are looking to make a change in goal and possibly behind the bench, Nurminen quieted the talk for a day by stopping 31 of 32 shots.

"Everybody wants to keep their job," Nurminen said. "We want to keep our coach, sure, but no job is safe around here."

Patrik Stefan and Frantisek Kaberle scored for the Thrashers, who are 3-1-1 since their 0-8-0-1 start.

Nurminen has started each of the past five games after wresting the No. 1 spot from Milan Hnilicka.

BLACKHAWKS 2, PANTHERS 2: Jay Bouwmeester scored his first NHL goal midway through the third period to boost host Florida into a tie.

Olli Jokinen also scored and Jan Hurme made 32 saves for the Panthers, who snapped a six-game losing streak against Chicago.

Jocelyn Thibault, named league player of the week earlier in the day, stopped 30 shots, including two in overtime, as Chicago extended its unbeaten string to 3-0-1.

Thibault had two shutouts and three victories last week to earn the honor.

BLUES: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported goalie Tom Barrasso will make his first start tonight against Vancouver after two weeks of preparation.

"I'm as ready as I'm going to be to get in a game," Barrasso said. "It's pretty difficult to simulate what occurs in a game during practice, as much as you try."

RANGERS: The league suspended forward Krzysztof Oliwa for five games and coach Bryan Trottier for two for their roles in a fight at the end of a game against Columbus. The team was fined $25,000 and forward Sandy McCarthy was fined $1,000.

Oliwa was suspended for cross-checking Grant Marshall at the end of Saturday's game and will lose more than $24,000 in salary.

Trottier was suspended for sending several enforcers on the ice for the final 2.5 seconds of the 6-3 loss.

MAPLE LEAFS: Defensemen Carlo Colaiacovo and Karel Pilar were assigned to the minors.

OBITUARY: Lefty Wilson, a longtime Red Wings trainer who left the bench three times to become an emergency goalie, twice facing his own team, died Tuesday in Naples. He was 83.

In the 1950s, teams carried one goaltender. An emergency backup, often an amateur, was kept on hand to complete games when either team's goalie was sidelined.

Mr. Wilson, who played in the minors briefly, had his longest stint Dec. 29, 1957, when he played for 52 minutes as a Bruin, replacing Don Simmons, who separated a shoulder. Mr. Wilson allowed one goal in Boston's 2-2 tie against Detroit.

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