Pouliot scores 2 goals as Bruins beat Leafs 8-0

[March 20, 2012]  BOSTON (AP) -- Benoit Pouliot scored two goals, Brian Rolston had a goal and three assists and the Boston Bruins completed a six-game season sweep of the Toronto Maple Leafs with a 8-0 win on Monday night.

The Bruins' superiority was so complete that after two periods they had as many goals as the Maple Leafs had shots.

Boston has outscored Toronto 36-10 this season. Tim Thomas is 5-0 against the Maple Leafs after being rarely tested in his fifth shutout of the season while facing just 13 shots. He also was in net for a 7-0 rout, at Toronto on Nov. 5. The only one of the six games that the Bruins won by fewer than three goals was a 5-4 victory on March 6 in Toronto.

The Maple Leafs fell into a huge hole early, dropping behind 4-0 when Brad Marchand scored his 24th goal of the season just 12:42 into the game. That's when Toronto goalie James Reimer, who had stopped only five of nine shots, was replaced by Jonas Gustavsson.

He held Boston scoreless through the rest of the first period then gave up three goals in the second to Pouliot, his 12th of the season, Zdeno Chara and Rolston and one in the third to Tyler Seguin. Chris Kelly, Gregory Campbell and Pouliot had scored Boston's first three goals.

Reimer's performance was a drastic decline from Toronto's previous two games, both wins, in which he stopped 63 of 65 shots. That followed a five-game losing streak that began with the March 6 loss to Boston.

The Bruins, who increased their Northeast Division lead over Ottawa to three points with a game in hand, snapped a four-game slide on Saturday with a 3-2 shootout win over the Philadelphia Flyers.

It was clear early Monday night that no shootout would be needed to decide the winner.

Kelly began the scoring with his 17th goal of the season 2:25 into the game. Pouliot passed the puck from the left corner to Kelly, who backhanded it past Reimer from just in front of the crease.

The Bruins made it 2-0 at 5:40 when Campbell scored his first goal with only his second point in 26 games. He picked up a loose puck behind the net and tucked it between Reimer's left pad and the post for his eighth goal of the season.

Just over five minutes later, Pouliot got his first goal of the game when he deflected Johnny Boychuk's slap shot from the right point after Rolston passed the puck to Boychuk.

Then Marchand made it 4-0 about two minutes later. Tyler Seguin fired a hard pass from the left corner across the slot to Marchand, who knocked the puck in at the right post.

Gustavsson allowed his first goal when he wandered behind the net to retrieve the puck and couldn't get back in time. Rolston got the puck in the left corner and fed Pouliot, who put it in the open right side.

Chara made it 6-0 on a power play with a hard shot from the blue line at 5:45 of the second period and Rolston got his fourth goal at 19:25 when he one-timed a pass from David Krejci to the top of the right circle. Seguin finished the scoring with 1:31 left in the game with his 26th goal.

[Associated Press; By HOWARD ULMAN]

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