Thu Mar 27 21:59:50 2008

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Kessel, Schaefer help Bruins eliminate Toronto from postseason play

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Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Phil Kessel and Peter Schaefer each had a goal and an assist as the Boston Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-2, eliminating their long-time opponents from the NHL playoff race.

Marco Sturm and Glen Murray also scored and Tim Thomas ended with 30 saves for Boston, which swept the home-and-home series and bolstered its own postseason bid. The Bruins, who have won two straight on the heels of a three-game skid, moved into a seventh-place tie in the Eastern Conference with idle Philadelphia. Both clubs have 88 points and five games remaining in the regular season.

Jiri Tlusty and Pavel Kubina tallied, and Vesa Toskala turned aside 30 shots for Toronto, which failed to benefit from the return of Mats Sundin and Nik Antropov. Sundin, who leads the club with 78 points, had missed five games with a groin injury. Antropov, the team's second-leading scorer, was sidelined four straight with a knee ailment. Each player had an assist in the contest, but it wasn't enough to propel the Leafs in a must-win game.

With the contest deadlocked heading to the third, Kessel put the Bruins up 2-1 when he collected an outlet pass from center ice, came in all alone on Toskala and stuffed the puck behind him at the 5:47 mark.

Murray added an insurance tally on the power play with 9:06 remaining, as he was part of a two-on-one with Dave Krejci. Both players came bearing down on Toskala, with Murray collecting his own rebound and wrapping the disc around the netminder's left skate.

Toronto cut it to 3-2 with 4:59 remaining, as Kubina notched a goal with his club on the man-advantage, but the Bruins answered just 23 seconds later when Schaefer's shot from between the circles deflected off the stick of a Leafs defender in front and sailed past Toskala.

The Leafs will miss the postseason for a third consecutive year, matching the longest playoff drought in franchise history.

The first period was fleeting, with both teams evenly matched as they skated nearly 12 minutes without a whistle.

The Bruins, however, eventually capitalized on personnel caught up ice for Toronto. Several Bruins players then rushed the length of the rink, with Krejci holding the puck at the left wing. Krejci then sent a pass to the mid- slot for Sturm, who knocked the disc into a wide-open net at 16:47.

Toronto made it a 1-1 game early in the second, as Tlusty found open space in front of the crease, blasting home the rebound off a shot by Antropov at 4:47.

Game Notes

Bruins left wing Milan Lucic was honored before the game with the Seventh Player award, voted annually by the fans to the player who exceeded all expectations. Entering play Thursday, Lucic had seven goals and 18 assists in 71 games...Boston center Marc Savard missed his second straight game with a sore back, while Chuck Kobasew is expected to miss four-to-eight weeks with a fractured left leg, suffered Tuesday night in Toronto. Andrew Ference also missed the game with a knee injury, giving the Bruins 324 man-games lost to injury this season. Only Florida (383), the New York Islanders (356) and Chicago (343) have more.