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A lot can happen in less than thirty seconds, especially in hockey. For the Bruins, they were able to collect three goals with less than five minutes left to go in the game to secure the win on Thursday night in Boston. Of course, they all came in the span of 24 seconds. Collecting his second career hat trick, Milan Lucic was able to score two of his three goals in the third period to propel the Bruins to the 4-0 victoryover the Florida Panthers.

The Bruins racked up three goals in the third with two from Lucic and the third from the unlikely Shawn Thornton. Up until that point, it was a 1-0 Bruins lead since the first period when Lucic scored his first goal of the night. Both teams played tough defense and both goalies played strong, one just happen to fall apart in the end.

With the win the Bruins improved to 11-5-1 (23 points) on the season. The Panthers, on the other hand, fell to 8-9-0 (16 points).

Tuukka Rask started in goal for the Bruins and was absolutely phenomenal in what was his best performance thus far this season. He stopped all 41 shots on goal to earn his first shutout of the season. It was also his first win of the season, as his record now stands at 1-4-1 for the year.

Tomas Vokoun started in goal for Florida and was having a pretty good night, until the third period. If Lucic never played, then Vokoun would have been great, but it’s just too bad for him that Lucic stepped on the ice. Vokoun is now 7-6-0 on the season, which is not too impressive thus far.

First Period

• Not much scoring to start the game off, but Lucic netted his eighth goal of the season to give the Bruins the first goal of the night. He was assisted by Nathan Horton and Patrice Bergeron on the play. Bruins up 1-0
• Tempers flared quickly after Lucic’s goal as Thornton and Darcy Hordichuk got into a scuffle. Both players received five-minute fighting majors.

Second Period

• No scoring or fights in the second period, just some strong defense and penalty killing for the Bruins.

Third Period

• Things continued to be quiet until Lucic continued his hot streak. With a little more than five minutes left in the game, he scored his ninth goal of the season to give the B’s some insurance. He was assisted by Horton and Andrew Ference on the play. Bruins up 2-0
• 15 seconds later, Lucic had his second hat-trick of his career and the first this season. He scored his 10th goal of the season to put the Bruins up by three with about five minutes left in the game. Bergeron and Horton were credited with assists on the play. Bruins up 3-0
• Nine seconds later, Thornton added a goal himself. It was his fourth of the season and he was assisted by Daniel Paille on the play. Bruins up 4-0

Up Next

The Bruins will have Friday off before the Los Angeles Kings come to visit on Saturday in the first of two games against the team from LA. The Kings have done very well this season as they currently sit at a record of 12-5-0 (24 points). They will be without one of their more promising players in Scott Parse as he will undergo hip surgery next week. Parse was supposed to be on the first line but a groin injury to start off the season followed by hip surgery really takes a hit on the Kings lineup.

Game Notes

• The Bruins improved their penalty kill as they held the Panthers without a goal in five opportunities with the man advantage. Boston also went 0-for-2 on the power play.
• Both teams were evenly matched on shots-on-goal as Boston had 40 and Florida had 41.
• Both teams were also even in hits with 15 apiece.
• The Panthers narrowly beat out the Bruins in faceoffs won, 32-to-29.
• Johnny Boychuk made his first appearance on the ice for the Bruins since October 23 after breaking his forearm.

Tags: Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, Milan Lucic, Nathan Horton, Patrice Bergeron, Shawn Thornton, Tuukka Rask