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All they want for Chirstmas is to find their scoring touch again. The Boston Bruins continued to struggle scoring goals Monday night against the Anaheim Ducks as the Ducks earned the 3-0 shutout victory in Boston. It’s not like Boston didn’t have a chance to score; it just so happens that all 45 of their shots-on-goal were stopped. Michael Ryder had seven of those 45 shots-on-goal. Can’t win if you can’t score. I’ve always said that.

The Bruins have struggled recently as they are 1-3-1 in their past five games. The loss brings them to 17-11-4 on the year, good for 38 points and eighth place in the Eastern Conference. The Ducks, on the other hand, improved to 18-15-4. Anaheim is currently sitting in sixth in the Western Conference with 40 points.

Tim Thomas started in goal for the Bruins and didn’t have the best game, but also didn’t have a bad game either. He stopped 22-of-25 shots-on-goal but received his fourth loss of the season, bringing his record to 15-4-3. It was his sixth time of the season in which he has let up three or more goals in a game.

For the Ducks, Jonas Hiller was very impressive as he stopped all 45 shots that he saw. Hiller has been rather up and down on the season, but his record now stands at 16-12-3. Monday’s shutout was the eighth of his career.

First Period

• It didn’t take long for the Ducks to get going as Brandon McMillan netted his second goal of the season to put Anaheim up on top. He was assisted by Luca Sbisa and Teemu Selanne on the play. Ducks up 1-0

Second Period

• Trying to get back into the game, Gregory Campbell threw down his gloves with Kyle Chipchura. Both players received five-minute fighting majors.
• With less than five minutes into the second period, Lubomir Visnovsky found the back of the net for his fifth goal of the season. He was assisted by Selanne and Saku Koivu. Ducks up 2-0
• Corey Perry sealed the victory for the Ducks as he scored his 17th goal of the year with less than five minutes to go in the period to put Anaheim up for good. He was assisted by Andy Sutton and McMillan on the short-handed goal. Ducks up 3-0

Third Period

• No scoring, no fighting.

Game Notes

• The Ducks out-hit the Bruins 22-18 and also had 10 takeaways to the Bruins 2.
• Boston won the faceoff battle 28-24, something that is very common for the B’s.
• Both teams were unsuccessful on the powerplay, 0-for-2 for the Bruins and 0-for-1 for the Ducks.
• Brad Marchand was out for the Bruins with an undisclosed injury.

Up next the Bruins will take on the Atlanta Thrashers, who are coming off a 6-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Thrashers are in second place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 19-11-5 (43 points). Atlanta is 6-2-2 in their past ten games.

Tags: Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Brandon McMillan, Jonas Hiller, Michael Ryder, Tim Thomas