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Slump? What slump?

Led by the play of some of their “money players,” Marc Savard’s two goals and Tim Thomas’s 13th career shutout paved the way for Boston, as the B’s downed the Dallas Stars Friday night. The loss was the first of the season in regulation for Dallas.

The Bruins opened the scoring late in the first period, when while on the power play, Savard swept the puck towards the net and off the stick of Dallas defenseman Stephane Robidas, past goalie Marty Turco for the early 1-0 lead. That goal ended an 0-for-17 skid on the power play.

Boston was able to double that lead early in the second, when Patrice Bergeron won a draw in the offensive zone, then came back to tip in a Mark Stuart shot, to give Boston a two-goal cushion. Just a few minutes later, Savard hopped off the bench to take a short feed from new linemate Michael Ryder to put a sharp-angle one-timer past Turco to extend the lead and secure the eventual three-goal victory over the Stars.

A big “kudos” goes out to Tim Thomas, who on top of his 27 saves on the night, looked like the Vezina Trophy winning goalie he was all of last year. With lots of help from his defensive corps, who far and away had their best game of this young season, Thomas and the B’s were able to shut down a potent Dallas offense for all 60 minutes.

The Bruins continue their short two-game road trip across the deep south Saturday night when they will face off with the Gretzky-less Phoenix Coyotes in the desert.

Tags: Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars, Marc Savard, Mark Stuart, Marty Turco, Michael Ryder, Patrice Bergeron, Stephane Robidas, Tim Thomas