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BOSTON -- Chris Kelly broke a 0-0 tie 1:18 into overtime as the Boston Bruins beat the Washington Capitals to take a 1-0 lead in this Eastern Conference quarterfinals series. Tim Thomas came up huge in the third period with nine saves, finishing with 17 overall, while Braden Holtby was sensational for the Capitals in his first career playoff start, making 29 saves.

Thomas stays sharp, gives Bruins a chance to win: Tim Thomas faced only seven shots through the first two periods and only two in the second, but when the Capitals finally started to click on offense, Thomas was still up to the task. Any goalie deserves credit when he can remain focused through a lack of action, as Thomas did before the Bruins were outshot 9-3 in the third period. Thomas would need to make just one save in overtime -- and it was a good one on Alex Ovechkin -- before the Bruins rewarded him in the extra frame. Thomas finished with 17 saves and earned his sixth career playoff shutout.

K-E-L-L-Y: It seems everyone whom Claude Julien has put on a line with Chris Kelly this season has been successful, and that’s because of Kelly’s work ethic. Kelly scored a career-high 20 goals this season, but he probably would have traded all of those for the overtime winner he got in Game 1, breaking up a gem of a game by Braden Holtby. Kelly’s speed and hustle led to the goal, and following the game, the 17,565 fans in attendance were chanting his name.

Drayden Holtby? Almost! Older Bruins fans remember -- or, rather, try not to remember -- what Hall of Fame and former Canadiens goalie Ken Dryden did to the heavily favored Bruins as a relatively unknown netminder called up late in the 1970-71 season. Dryden, of course, stonewalled the then-defending Stanley Cup champions and led the Habs to the first of five Stanley Cups. Well, Braden Holtby may or may not go on to such success, but watching him in Game 1 against the 2011 defending champs, it was hard not to think of Dryden. Holtby was a wall for the Capitals until they finally woke up in the third period and had some offensive pressure. The unknown rookie Caps goalie stopped 26 shots through the first two periods as his team mustered just seven shots. Unfortunately for him and the Capitals, the only goal he allowed came in overtime as he let a floater from Kelly get by him for the winner. Holtby finished with 29 saves and proved he is ready for playoff hockey.

Power play struggles again: Last season the Bruins somehow made it through the Stanley Cup playoffs and hoisted the Cup despite a horrid power play. Thankfully they had a brilliant penalty kill, but it was an amazing feat that they were able to capture the Cup with such an anemic man-advantage. Well, the Bruins think they may be able to do it again. Their power play in Game 1 could’ve been the difference in breaking a stingy game open, but Holtby’s goaltending and the Bruins' failure to create chances meant they went 0-for-4. Boston failed to score on a four-minute man-advantage in the first period or on a 4-on-3 chance in the second period.

Boychuk returns and McQuaid remains out: Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk returned from an April 3 knee sprain that caused him to miss the last two regular-season games. However, fellow blueliner Adam McQuaid remained out with an upper-body injury. That meant Joe Corvo remained on the blue line and Mike Mottau was the healthy scratch on defense. Up front, Jordan Caron was a healthy scratch as well. Here’s what the lineup looked like for Game 1:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Rich Peverley
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Brian Rolston
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Dennis Seidenberg
Andrew Ference-Johnny Boychuk
Greg Zanon-Joe Corvo

Tim Thomas
Anton Khudobin

Bruins head coach Claude Julien told the media in Ottawa on Thursday that Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk has a mild knee strain and is day-to-day.

Boychuk had a collision with Pittsburgh forward Aaron Asham in the Bruins' 5-3 loss to the Penguins on Tuesday night and had to be helped off the ice. But he walked out of TD Graden that night with a limp and on his own.

The Bruins are hoping he will be ready for the beginning of the Stanley Cup playoffs next week.

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- The Boston Bruins will be in Ottawa to face the Senators on Thursday for their final regular-season game and for what very well could be a preview of a first-round playoff matchup between the Northeast Division rivals.

The Bruins are locked into the second seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and will play the seventh seed, which currently is Ottawa. The Senators lead the Capitals and Sabres by four points, with all three teams having two games remaining. Unless the Senators lose to the Bruins on Thursday night and again at New Jersey on Saturday afternoon, they will finish in seventh and start the playoffs at Boston.

The Bruins are 4-1-0 against the Senators this season and have outscored them 19-12, after going 5-1-0 versus Ottawa in 2010-11. Tim Thomas --- who will not dress Thursday night -- is 4-1-0 with a 2.41 GAA and .932 save percentage against Ottawa this season and has historically owned the Senators, going 23-9-2 with a 1.98 GAA and .937 save percentage.

But don't think Thomas and the Bruins are going to have a cakewalk in this potential first-round tilt. Former Senator and current Bruins alternate captain Chris Kelly -- who was dealt to the Bruins just prior to the 2011 NHL trade deadline after six seasons in Ottawa -- will make sure he and his teammates don't overlook the Senators.

"If we take that approach to the playoffs, we'll be in some big trouble," Kelly said. "Regular season is regular season and the playoffs is a whole different beast. I think we've seen in numerous times where a team does really well against a team in the regular season and then in the playoffs it goes the other way. So like I said, regular season is regular season and that gets thrown out the window when after Saturday's game."

After a dismal 2010-11 season, the Senators were viewed as a team in rebuild mode by many -- including some Senators officials and owner Eugene Melnyk.

But Kelly saw a team that had its star players battle injuries and struggle while their younger surrounding cast followed suit. Kelly didn't see this season as a write-off for Ottawa by any means. Kelly was on the Senators' squad that made it to the Stanley Cup finals in 2007 before falling in five games to the Anaheim Ducks, and he noted that Ottawa still has two players from that team -- Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza -- who tied for the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs scoring lead with 22 points apiece. (Then-Senator Dany Heatley also had 22 points for a three-way tie).

"That's rare that all three guys would lead 1-2-3 from same team," Kelly said. "Heatley's gone but those guys are still here and now there's a lot of new faces that gained some playoff experience (in the AHL) winning the Calder Cup with Binghamton. So there's no shortage of playoff experience on that team."

Alfredsson and Spezza both had difficult seasons in 2010-11, but they're back in a big way this season. Spezza has rebounded from a 57-point campaign last season with 83 points this season, while Alfredsson is sipping from the fountain of youth at age 39 with 59 points.

"They have unbelievable talent," Kelly said. "I'm not really surprised. They have some good young players that they brought up that can play and understand the game. Then they had some guys who were obviously having off years because the team wasn't doing well. By no means am I surprised. They got a new coach (Paul MacLean) and he's brought in his philosophies from Detroit and they work hard. They seem to like him and it's amazing what one person can do with an organization."

The Senators also have one of the NHL's rising stars in defenseman Erik Karlsson, who is arguably a Norris Trophy candidate. He leads all NHL defensemen and is second in team scoring with 77 points.

"He skates unbelievable and probably one of the most efficient skaters in the league," Kelly said. "He's got a great shot and he sees the ice very well. He's very composed and goes out there and has fun."

Kelly figures the Senators will embrace the underdog role playing the defending Stanley Cup champions, but the Bruins won't be fooled by the hype.

"You can take that underdog mentality until you're blue in the face and I'm sure we can take that as well," Kelly said. "But I think they're a confident group and they have every right to be. They earned their way into the postseason and I think from the start of training camp if you asked every guy there if they thought they'd make the postseason, they'd say yes. I know in this dressing room we're not looking at them that way (as underdogs) and we know they're a good team."

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- Zdeno Chara played in his 1,000th career NHL game last Saturday in Los Angeles and the Bruins honored him for it at TD Garden before Tuesday's game against the Lightning.

Then Chara went out and had one of his trademark all-around performances, contributing three assists and being involved in almost every aspect of the 5-2 win over Tampa, playing a total 24:26.

Chara has four points in the last two games, and overall this season the 6-foot-9 blueliner has 12 goals and 36 assists for 48 points, while also posting a plus-30 rating.

“We really count on him, he plays 25 or 30 minutes a night and he’s a leader off the ice,” said Bruins forward Brad Marchand. “We definitely wouldn’t have won if it wasn’t for him last year. Having a guy like him on your team makes it a lot easier going into the playoffs, and you know he showed [Tuesday night] why he’s such a big asset to our team with three assists and getting that first goal going. He just plays all areas of the rink.”

By all accounts, the Bruins captain is difficult to play against and he leads by example.

“He’s the toughest guy to play against in the league -- far and none,” said Bruins forward Brian Rolston. “If you were to poll the forwards on every team they would say the same thing, and coming in on a nightly basis knowing that you have to face him, it’s a tough task.”

During Tuesday’s television timeouts, the Bruins showed highlights of Chara’s career on the giant screen for the 17,565 in attendance to enjoy. The final clip was his record-setting 108-mph slap shot during this year’s All-Star weekend.

That shot has devastated opponents and goaltenders for 1,002 games in the NHL.

“It’s scary every time he takes that slap shot,” Marchand said. “It’s almost like the Mighty Ducks, you just get out of the way and let the goalie take care of it. It’s definitely a big gift for him.”

Chara has turned out to be a big gift for the Bruins.

ANAHEIM, Calif -- The Bruins won their second straight game Sunday, beating the Ducks, 3-2, at the Honda Center to conclude their three-game road trip through California at 2-1-0.

Zdeno Chara, Benoit Pouliot and Brian Rolston scored for the Bruins while goaltender Marty Turco earned his first win as a Bruin with a 25-save performance.

Peverley returns -- Rich Peverley returned to the Bruins' lineup after missing 19 games with a severe MCL sprain in his right knee. Peverley skated on a line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand and had no points and two shots in 16:44 of ice time. He had his best scoring chance early in the game when he took a feed from Bergeron right in the slot but Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller made a brilliant glove save.

Pouliot–Kelly–Rolston line stays hot -- Benoit Pouliot scored the Bruins’ second goal at 5:59 of the second period with his linemates Brian Rolston and Chris Kelly assisting, and then Rolston scored at 13:06 of the third period with Pouliot and Kelly assisting. This trio is simply on fire right now. Pouliot now has three goals and five assists in his last six games; Kelly has three goals and five assists in his last five games; and Rolston has three goals and eight assists in his last six games.

Turco wins first game as a Bruin -- Donning his new bright-yellow pads, Marty Turco made his second start as a Boston Bruin and looked much better than he did when he allowed three early goals in his first start at Tampa Bay and was pulled in a 6-1 loss. Turco seemed to be on the same page with his defensemen and more comfortable, making 25 saves.

Chara looking like Chara again -- Zdeno Chara is starting to look more and more like the perennial Norris Trophy candidate we know and love. On Sunday he scored his third goal in four games. Chara, who played in his 1,000th game Saturday at Los Angeles, struggled through the month of February and the first half of March (along with the rest of the team), making costly turnovers and looking fatigued. But he appears to be himself again.

Bruins catch a break? The Ducks appeared to tie the game 7:22 into the final frame when Ducks forward Matt Beleskey beat Marty Turco through a screen, but the referees ruled that Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano was in the crease before the puck reached the net and that Cogliano interfered with Turco. But there was no penalty on the play and Cogliano never made contact with Turco, so it was a borderline call.

Paille scratched as forward lines change with Peverley back -- With Peverley back in the lineup, Julien had to scratch a forward and the odd man out Sunday was Daniel Paille. In his spot on the line with Shawn Thornton and Gregory Campbell was Jordan Caron.

Here’s what the lineup looked like Sunday:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Tyler Seguin
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Rich Peverley
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Brian Rolston(
Jordan Caron -Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Dennis Seidenberg(
Greg Zanon-Andrew McQuaid(
Andrew Ference-Johnny Boychuk

Marty Turco

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Bruins forward Rich Peverley will once again take warm-ups prior to the Bruins-Ducks game here at the Honda Center in Anaheim and will be a game-time decision.

Should Peverley return to the lineup from the knee injury he suffered Feb. 17, it is not yet known who will be the healthy scratch to accommodate his return, but the guess here is forward Jordan Caron, who has been skating with David Krejci and Milan Lucic. If that's the case, expect Peverley to take Caron's spot on that line and the other lines to remain the same.

LOS ANGELES -- The Boston Bruins got a huge 4-2 win as they held off a late Kings rally and got their first win on this three-game swing through California that concludes Sunday in Anaheim. Milan Lucic, Chris Kelly, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand lit the lamp for the Bruins, but Tim Thomas stole the show with a 41-save performance to preserve a three-point lead over the Senators in the Eastern Conference and Northeast Division standings.

Congratulations to Zdeno Chara on playing his 1,000th game: The Bruins captain marked his 1,000th NHL game Saturday by playing a typical Chara game, shutting down the Kings with his size, reach and intelligence. Chara logged 23:16 of ice time and was a plus-1. Chara was instrumental in helping the Bruins kill four Kings power plays and blocked a potentially game-tying bid in the final seconds.

Thomas not showing any signs of fatigue: Tim Thomas played his 15th straight game Saturday and is showing no signs of fatigue. He made 41 saves, including a game-saver on Jeff Carter in the final seconds to preserve his 32nd win of the season. As he usually does when he is on his game, Thomas gave the Bruins a chance to win and made some crucial saves when they needed him most. Prior to the game, Thomas told ESPNBoston.com he is feeling good and seemed to be in good spirits. That’s showing on the ice right now and that’s a good sign for the Bruins.

Marchand playing with more purpose: Brad Marchand scored his 25th goal of the season with an empty-netter with 1 second left to seal the win for Boston. But the second-year player’s trademark hustle was really on display when he assisted on Patrice Bergeron’s short-hander at 5:18 of the second period. In his last four games Marchand has two goals and two assists and it’s no coincidence he’s playing with more purpose and determination. If he can continue to do that, the Bruins will get a huge offensive boost -- as they did in the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs when, as a rookie, Marchand had 19 points in 25 games.

Pouliot-Kelly-Rolston line continues to shine: When Rich Peverley (knee) eventually returns to the Bruins lineup, coach Claude Julien is going to have a hard time breaking up the trio of Benoit Pouliot, Chris Kelly and Brian Rolston. Against the Kings, this line did more than just play smart two-way hockey; they once again produced, with Kelly scoring at 5:56 of the third period. Pouliot and Rolston had the helpers. Kelly has three goals and three assists in his last four games, Rolston has two goals and seven assists in his last five games and Pouliot has two goals and four assists in his last five games.

With legs moving, Lucic unstoppable: Milan Lucic always says that if his legs are moving, good things happen. That was the case on Saturday as the big winger was skating hard and playing his trademark north-south game that always seems to lead to goals. Lucic scored his 24th goal of the season at 4:37 of the final frame to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead at the time. Lucic barreled down the wing, took a feed from David Krejci and beat Kings goalie Jonathan Quick five-hole.

Bergeron becomes Bruins’ fifth 20-goal scorer: With his 20th goal of the season, Bergeron became the fifth Bruin to reach the 20-goal plateau this season. Chris Kelly, with 19 goals, is the closest to becoming the sixth 20-goal scorer.

Corvo a healthy scratch for fourth straight game: Bruins defenseman Joe Corvo was a healthy scratch once again, as more and more it appears he may have played his last game as a Bruin, barring an injury to another defenseman. Corvo becomes an unrestricted free agent July 1 and has been a major disappointment with just 25 points in 70 games, and Julien’s patience has apparently worn thin. Defenseman Mike Mottau and forward Trent Whitfield were the other healthy scratches. Here’s what the lineup looked like Saturday night:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Jordan Caron
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Brian Rolston
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Dennis Seidenberg
Greg Zanon-Andrew McQuaid
Andrew Ference-Johnny Boychuk

Tim Thomas
Marty Turco

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- The Boston Bruins held an optional workout at the Toyota Center on Saturday morning in advance of their tilt with the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center and after the workout coach Claude Julien said that forward Rich Peverley -- out since Feb.17 with a knee injury -- will take warm-ups prior to the game but won’t play. However, he did not rule out Peverley from returning to the lineup Sunday at Anaheim.

“The decision has been made that he’s not going to play tonight but the decision hasn’t been made either way for the next game but if he doesn’t it allows him three more days,” Julien said. “But he’s feeling good enough and I want him to be around the team and warm-up will be good for him tonight. But again, I haven’t been told by our medical people that he’s been cleared yet. That hasn’t happened but he’s feeling good.”

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- After a hard, energetic practice Friday at the Kings’ facility, Bruins coach Claude Julien still wasn’t holding back his disdain for his team’s performance in their 2-1 loss at San Jose Thursday.

He felt there were some passengers at a time in the season when that’s just not acceptable.

“We never caught up to the pace of the game,” Julien said. “They came out hard and we looked sluggish and we just weren’t good enough [Thursday]. It’s unfortunate because we had played two solid games and we need to bring that on the road. For whatever reason we had some guys that just didn’t play well enough to give us a chance to win a hockey game and there’s no way we’re going to win a hockey game on this road trip if we don’t have everybody going.”

The Bruins failed to match the playoff mentality of the Sharks, who came into the game on the outside of the playoff race in the Western Conference and are trying to salvage their season with a playoff berth. The Kings -- who as of Friday were third in the Western Conference but were only a point ahead of eighth-place Dallas and ninth-place Colorado -- will bring that same playoff mentality Saturday night. As Tyler Seguin pointed out Friday, the Bruins need to use these games to bring their game into playoff mode.

“We need to start matching that playoff mentality if we’re going to be ready come playoff time and these games are a perfect opportunity to do that,” Seguin said. “These teams are playing for their playoff lives and playing do or die hockey. We need to do that too and do it every game from here on in.”

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Rich Peverley practiced with his Boston Bruins teammates again Friday afternoon at the Toyota Center Ice Complex and all signs point to his return to the lineup sooner rather than later. While Peverley and coach Claude Julien still couldn’t pinpoint when it may be, they sounded very optimistic addressing the media after practice.

“It’s day-to-day and I just can’t tell you because that’s how we’re treating it with the trainers,” Peverley said. “It’s just getting the feel of getting your feet underneath you and the timing … and moving your feet when you’re not used to and just getting that game feeling.”

Julien seems to believe that Peverley has turned another corner after taking part in some physical drills down low Friday.

“He’s looking good; better every day,” Julien said. “I like what I saw on that 3-on-3 down low there today. That was a real good test for him. Those tight turns down low, the contact and everything else. So he’s starting to feel pretty good and he’s getting closer, there’s no doubt and we’ll see him in our lineup pretty soon.”

The fact that Peverley made this three-stop California trip -- San Jose Thursday, Los Angeles Saturday and Anaheim Sunday -- has helped accelerate his recovery and his reintegration into the team both on and off the ice.

“It’s been good to be able to get back practicing and doing regular drills with the guys,” Peverley said. “In my opinion it would’ve been useless to stay home because I wouldn’t get to practice with anybody. It’s better to be with the guys and get that feeling back playing with them and being around them. When you’re injured, you’re still part of the team but you’re not around every day and not around the guys every day so it’s different. But now it’s good being here.”

After a two-game winning streak on home ice, the Boston Bruins began a three-game road trip with a 2-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks Thursday night at HP Pavilion.

The Bruins are at a crucial point as the regular-season schedule is down to single digits with only nine games remaining. Boston narrowly sits in first place with 87 points in the Northeast Division, only three points ahead of second-place Ottawa.

After Boston recorded impressive wins over the Philadelphia Flyers and Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Garden, the Bruins felt they had finally begun to play with confidence again.

The Bruins were a bit sluggish in the opening period and the Sharks took advantage of a turnover by Boston’s Milan Lucic and capitalized when San Jose’s Joe Pavelski notched his 27th goal of the season for a 1-0 lead at 3:57.

After a scoreless second period, San Jose gained a 2-0 advantage when the Sharks’ Daniel Winnik finished off a 3-on-2 at 2:17 of the third period.

Boston had trouble finding a way to beat Sharks goalie Antti Niemi until the Bruins’ Zdeno Chara banked in a shot off the netminder at 15:45 of the third period to cut San Jose’s lead to 2-1. Unfortunately for the Bruins, that would be as close as they would get in this one.

VEZINA-LIKE: Playing in his 14th consecutive game, Bruins goalie Tim Thomas (25 saves) was solid, and despite the amount of playing time he’s getting of late, he appears ready for the stretch run and the playoffs. The Bruins have back-to-back games this weekend, so it’s likely that backup goalie Marty Turco will get the nod against either the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday or the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday. With Tuukka Rask sidelined with a groin/abdominal injury, Turco signed with Boston as a free agent on March 5 and has played two games with a 0-1-0 record.

ON THE BRINK: Bruins forward Rich Peverley has missed the last 18 games with a knee injury, but he’s with the team on the road trip and he could return to the lineup Saturday at Los Angeles or Sunday in Anaheim. He suffered the injury on Feb. 15 in Montreal. In 49 games this season, Peverley has nine goals and 29 assists for 38 points.

UP NEXT: The road trip continues on Saturday when the Bruins face the Kings, which will be the 1,000th career NHL game for Chara. The Bruins captain becomes the 277th player (91st defenseman) to reach the milestone. Chara is the 11th Bruins player in franchise history to accomplish the feat. Boston then heads to Anaheim to face the Ducks on Sunday before returning home to host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday at TD Garden.

For the first time since January 2010, the Boston Bruins have lost four straight games. Boston was embarrassed once again in a 6-2 drubbing at the Florida Panthers on Thursday. Brian Campbell had three assists, Tomas Fleischmann had two helpers and Stephen Weiss and Mikael Samuelsson each had a goal and an assist to lead the Panthers. Brian Rolston and Joe Corvo scored for the Bruins.

The loss means the Bruins are just a single point ahead of Ottawa in the Northeast Division, with just one game in hand. Should the Bruins not be able to hold off the Senators, they drop all the way from the second seed in the playoffs to No. 7.

Another slow start for the Bruins: The Bruins fell behind 2-0 for the fourth straight game and had to play catch-up hockey all night. As coach Claude Julien has pointed out throughout this stretch, playing from behind prevents teams from playing their game and dictating the tone, and that was again the case Thursday. Though there were spurts where the Bruins seemed to find their game, they were still playing out of their element and forcing plays for too much of the time. That’s why three of the Panthers’ goals came from turnovers.

Thomas bad but defense worse: Tim Thomas once again struggled and looked tired, allowing six goals on 29 shots. But all the blame can’t be cast on him. There were plenty of screens in front of him and turnovers throughout the game as the Bruins defense was outmuscled and outworked again. What was once the team’s bread and butter has become their Achilles heel as the defense is out of sync on a regular basis.

“Ultimate Warrior” still shining through while team slumps: Patrice Bergeron is clearly the Bruins' MVP and their heart and soul, and that has never been more evident than during this recent skid. On Sunday in Pittsburgh, Bergeron battled through pain after blocking a shot but couldn’t finish the game. He then came back to play on Tuesday night only to take another shot off his foot and still finish that game. On Thursday, the ultimate warrior, as Julien now calls him, was playing through pain again. In all three games, Bergeron led his team in faceoff wins and was their best all-around player. He has been the lone bright spot in a dark time of the season.

Rolston blast from the past: Brian Rolston scored his first goal in his second stint as a Bruin Thursday and he scored it in a familiar spot. Rolston took a Zdeno Chara feed at the point on a third-period power play and ripped a slap shot past Panthers goalie Jose Theodore. Special teams was one of the reasons the Bruins acquired Rolston at the trade deadline, and they will need more production for him on the power play. Rolston also had an assist.

Corvo snaps goalless streak at 20 games: Defenseman Joe Corvo scored his first goal since Feb. 4, snapping a 20-game goalless streak. It was Corvo’s fourth goal of the season. Corvo’s defensive game wasn’t productive though as he was a minus-2 in 16:28 on ice.

Pouliot and McQuaid return; Julien puts Seguin back with Bergeron and Marchand: Forward Benoit Pouliot (lower body) and defenseman Adam McQuaid (undisclosed injury) returned to the lineup Thursday and Julien put Tyler Seguin back with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. Jordan Caron took Seguin’s spot with David Krejci and Milan Lucic. Pouliot had a strong return with an assist on Corvo’s goal. Here’s what the lineup looked like:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Jordan Caron
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Brian Rolston
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Joe Corvo-Dennis Seidenberg
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid

Tim Thomas
Marty Turco

BOSTON -- The Bruins' theme song for the season so far may as well be the classic Rolling Stones hit "Mixed Emotions." The B's seem to be inconsistent not only in their play on the ice but also in their evaluations of their performance, which has them at 3-5-0 eight games into this 2011-12 season after a 4-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night.

Following Friday's practice at TD Garden, Bruins head coach Claude Julien seemed concerned that his team was a bit sloppy and had not carried over the focus and momentum from their best performance of the season in a 6-2 win over Toronto on Thursday night.

"That's what I talked about to the guys again today," Julien told the media after practice Friday. "We just seemed to have good days and average days and again today in practice we talked about it; mentally we weren't sharp out there. We can't afford to do that and if you can sharpen yourselves up in practice it will become second nature in a game. That's the biggest challenge right now is maybe being able to sustain that focus. Maybe bringing it to the attention of the players will certainly help them get through it."

His team allowed the first goal for the sixth straight game, falling behind 2-0 in the first period, before tying the game with two goals in 29 seconds early in the third, only to fall behind again midway through that final frame and allow an empty-netter. Yet Julien seemed a lot more pleased than his players, the media or the 17, 565 fans that packed the building for another sellout. While many dwelled on the Bruins' inconsistent start to the season that has them headed into a home-and-home set with the hated Montreal Canadiens next Thursday and Saturday, Julien felt his team played well enough to win. As far as he is concerned, the Bruins' early-season woes are not from a lack of effort, but rather one of sharpness and focus. Certainly, they need to bury the frequent scoring chances they're missing right now. But is that really all that's ailing his team? It was a case of mixed reviews and emotions after the Bruins' latest setback.

"The first minute wasn't great, but I don't think we can necessarily link those two things," Julien said when asked if his team's performance resembled what he was concerned about after practice Friday. "We got off to a bad start in the first minute and got ourselves behind the eight ball, but the rest of the game, I thought we played well, and we had our chances. Again, probably more scoring chances than we've generated in the past even. Right now, as you know, we're not burying our opportunities. Even if you score two goals, a lot of times, it's not enough. I think that's probably one of the biggest issues, and a couple of mental mistakes you see often in games -- coverage and stuff like that -- that ended up being costly.

"Defensively, we didn't give them much, but when we did, there were some mistakes that were made that ended up costing us. At the other end, we had some open nets, we had some great chances, and right now, we're not burying them, and that's being ready to do that. It's a challenge for us right now, and it's frustrating because if you look at the whole game, it wasn't a bad game from our part of it. We had lots of chances, and at the end of the night, we didn't capitalize enough."

The players generally agreed, but some also see a lack of consistency plaguing them early in this 2011-12 season. To them they're not burying those chances because they're not ready from the get-go and the focus is inconsistent. On Thursday, the Bruins looked like a team on a mission for 60 minutes but on Saturday, they were good but not good enough and only in spurts. Yes, they outshot the Sharks 39-30, and yes, they had plenty of scoring chances, but the bottom line is they didn't capitalize on them. The focus, the intensity, and all that's needed on a consistent basis to light the lamp on those chances still isn't there.

"The big thing we are talking about right now is just consistency, that's a big word in here," said Tyler Seguin, who has been a model of consistency so far with points in all but two games, including a goal that tied the game at 2-2 early in the third period. "And having a big game against the Leafs that we just did and then coming out tonight and losing in our own barn, it's a tough one to swallow, like I said. And we have to improve from it and learn."

Just as Seguin sees a need for general consistency, so does goalie Tim Thomas -- who likes to judge his team every five games. But like Julien, Thomas wasn't hitting the panic button just yet.

"Yeah, I don't know to evaluate yet," Thomas said when asked if he has seen enough to start judging where his team is at. "We want to get into a rhythm and -- kind of like we did last year -- win two or three, lose one. You don't ever want to lose but you know what I mean? But we haven't been throwing the wins back-to-back so far this year. Some of that is just the way things work out. We've played some pretty good teams that have played some pretty good games against us, too."

Forward Chris Kelly is known more for his defensive game, but as of late he's been playing between Milan Lucic and Seguin, and has been one of the few Bruins generating offense. Kelly summed up the current state of the team as well as anyone.

"We haven't played our best," the alternate captain said. "There have been moments that we have played the way we're capable of playing and we haven't done that on a consistent basis. I think as a group we know what our identity is and what brings us success, but for whatever reason we're just not doing that on a consistent basis. It's a fine line to just be good enough to be in the game opposed to playing the way we want to play and the way that has brought us success. I think for the first two periods -- yeah, we were in that game. A couple bounces here, a couple bounces there and it could have been 2-2 going into the third. I thought we played well in the third, but yet again it's tough playing from behind -- you're putting a lot of pressure on yourself."

Until the Bruins get on the same page and pinpoint what exactly is ailing this team right now, that pressure will not only build from within but from without, as a fan base that expects nothing but a Stanley Cup contender will grow impatient with the Bruins' "mixed emotions."

BOSTON -- With the Bruins coming into their first Northeast Division tilt struggling to find the net and averaging a league-worst 1.67 goals-per-game, coach Claude Julien figured it was time to shake things up a bit and reconfigured the top three lines.

Julien had Chris Kelly centering Milan Lucic and Tyler Seguin; Patrice Bergeron centering Nathan Horton and Brad Marchand; and David Krejci centering Rich Peverley and Benoit Pouliot. The grind line of Daniel Paille, Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton remained the same.

The moves paid off in the 6-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs as Lucic scored his first goal of the season and added two assists; Horton found his game again with a goal and an assist; Seguin had a goal and two assists; Kelly had a goal and an assist; and Bergeron lit the lamp as well. Julien once again looked like a genius as the Bruins suddenly found their scoring touch. But after the game, Julien wasn’t accepting praise. He was just happy to see his team get a much-needed win and find a way to score.

"For me, it’s not about satisfaction. It’s about doing the right thing for the team," Julien said. "When it works, great. Had it not worked, I would have been back at the board tonight and trying to figure something else out. It’s nice that it did work; it makes my job a lot easier. It was nice to see the guys, a lot of the guys that have been battling through it, manage to do well tonight: Horton gets that first goal, Lucic I thought really looked more like the Looch we know. Among others, David Krejci comes back in and has a pretty solid game.

"So we got a lot of good things out of a lot of players, and I think it was nice to see. It was refreshing, and sometimes that’s what you’ve got to do. You’ve got to mix things up a little bit and give them a little bit of a sting, and usually that sting is a positive sting."

As Julien pointed out, the previous lines weren’t clicking, but he felt it was more a case of each individual player not playing the way he needed to. The hope was that these line changes would snap them out of their funks.

"It was maybe less about the chemistry and more about yourself," Julien said. "We put certain guys on certain lines so they could find their own game. I thought Looch with Kelly, and then Segs just got good speed, good skill, and it just made him skate hard and retrieve pucks for them and make plays, so that was good.

"And then Horts, the minute you play with Bergy and Marsh, you have to have your work ethic going and your compete level, and he did that tonight. For a lot of players, it was just about finding their own game."

Seguin agreed with his coach and was glad Julien saw it was time for a change.

"I think it was definitely a good thing because no one really had too much chemistry," Seguin said. "And when all the lines are mixed up you kind of just focus on playing your best. And with that tonight everyone kind of just focused on your game and what they have to do in taking accountability and I think that’s why we were successful. Not thinking about the chemistry and just ‘I need to do my role’ and things will work out and that’s what happened tonight."

The message was clearly sent and received, and now the key will be to keep it going.

“Yeah, I mean, obviously it's a message that's sent that we need to be better and to find ways to create some offense so we got the message and we have to keep going now,” Seguin said.

BOSTON -- Bruins wingers Nathan Horton and Milan Lucic knew they had let their team down in Tuesday’s 4-1 loss to Carolina and also knew their games weren’t up to par. After that frustrating performance, they chose not to address the media postgame, but they did face the music Wednesday after practice, when both accepted blame and acknowledged that they need to get back to what makes them effective -- using their size, skating and being an overall presence on the ice.

In Thursday’s 6-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, that’s exactly what they did. Horton had a goal and an assist and Lucic had a goal and two assists.

Horton -- who took a costly double-minor that led to a third-period power-play goal by the Hurricanes Tuesday -- wanted to deliver on his word that he would make up for that mishap against the Leafs.

“Well, definitely yesterday and the game before, I mean, I don’t want to hurt my team,” Horton said. “It was a mistake but I just try to work hard and forget about it and just work hard for my teammates. I mean that’s why we’re here, to try to get back to playing good and winning games.”

Playing on a new line with the speedy Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, Horton knew he had to be skating hard all night.

“It felt good. I mean, good things happen when you move your feet, and especially playing with those guys,” Horton said. “They’re so fast and they make such good plays cycling and I just try to move my feet so I can keep up with them.”((

Lucic was active as well and credited his teammates for being similarly involved.

“I think a big reason why especially in the first period and the third, not just myself but the whole team, we had success because we were moving the puck forward, we were moving our feet and we were making good, short crisp passes,” Lucic said. “And when we’re doing that, when we’re supporting each other coming up the ice as a five-man unit, that’s when we get our most opportunities and that was evident tonight.”

Lucic’s hard work helped him get a big monkey off his back, as he scored his first goal of the season. But he seemed more satisfied that he turned his words from Wednesday into action.

“Obviously it’s good to break that, get that first one of the year and I think today, my focus wasn’t on scoring and like we talked about (was more about) just playing that straight-line type of game,” Lucic said. “And moving my feet and I think that’s why everything else kind of fell into place like usual.”