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Consistency is the key in the NHL. For some teams, it’s like getting up in the morning. For others, it’s like trying to ride a bike again, but you just can’t stay up. The Boston Bruins have seemed like the latter. The team has looked like a Stanley Cup caliber team at times, but then other times they have been completely lost.

With the New Jersey Devils in town on Tuesday night it was imperative for the Bruins to come away with a good solid win. With goals from Zdeno Chara, Shawn Thornton, Milan Lucic and Mark Recchi, the Bruins were able to come away with the 4-1 victory.

The win brought the Bruins to a record of 40-22-10, good for 90 points. Before Tuesday’s game, Boston had been 1-3-3 in the team’s last seven games and were looking for an answer. The B’s are fighting to stay atop the Northeast Division and are currently three points ahead of the Canadiens for that title.

New Jersey, on the other hand, has struggled this season. The loss brought them to 34-35-4 (72 points) and brings them back to nine points away from the last playoff spot. Although the team is having a tough season, they are still a strong team with good players and leaders.

Coming into Tuesday’s game, Bruins head coach Claude Julien knew that New Jersey would be a tough matchup and that was something he was looking forward to.

“It’s going to be a good challenge for us,” Julien told the team’s official website. “(It’s) something that we probably need right now, some good opposition and, obviously, some better games from our group.”

Tim Thomas started in goal for the Bruins and had another solid game against the Devils. He improved his record to 30-10-8 on the year. Thomas was 0-2-2 coming into the game but was able to get his third win (in three tries) against New Jersey this season. He saved 30-of-31 shots on goal in the game.

Martin Brodeur was in net for the Devils and had a tough outing. He saw his record fall to 21-23-2 on the year. Brodeur is now 4-4-0 in his last seven games after winning seven in a row. He stopped only 26-of-29 shots on goal Tuesday night.

First Period

• Mid-way through the period and of it’s Ilya Kovalchuk who puts the Devils on the board with his 27th goal of the season. New Jersey had the man advantage as Recchi was in the box for hooking. Assists were given to Mattias Tedenby and Jacob Josefson.  Devils up 1-0
• The Bruins were able to retaliate with less than five minutes left in the period on a goal from Thornton. Thornton was able to deflect in Dennis Seidenberg‘s shot for his ninth goal of the year. Seidenberg and Tomas Kaberle were given assists on the play. Game tied 1-1
• Shots on goal: Boston 6, New Jersey 16

Second Period

• Just over eight minutes into the second period and Chara got one past Brodeur for his 13th goal of the year. The Bruins were on the power play with Nick Palmieri in the box for tripping Chara. Kaberle got his second assist in the game on the goal and Lucic collected his first. Bruins up 2-1
• Shots on goal: Boston 17, New Jersey 8

Third Period

• With less than four minutes left to go in the game, Lucic tacks on an insurance goal to put the Bruins up by two. It was Lucic’s 30th goal of the season and he was assisted by Patrice Bergeron and Chara on the play. Bruins up 3-1
• With the game coming to an end, Recchi added a goal himself. He slid one in on an empty net for his 13th of the season. Bergeron and Chara both got assists. Bruins up 4-1
• Shots on goal: Boston 7, New Jersey 7

Up Next

The Bruins stay home as the Montreal Canadiens come around for the last time this season on Thursday. Boston has struggled against it’s rival this season holding a record of 1-3-1 against them. The two teams met two weeks ago with the Canadiens coming out on top 4-1. In that loss, Chara laid down a nasty hit on Max Pacioretty that could end the player’s season and nearly almost his career. The only win the B’s earned was back in February when the teams scored 14 times and had 187 penalty minutes with Boston coming out on top 8-6. So with the season winding down, Thursday should be a tough game between these two teams, and look for the Canadiens to try and get revenge on Chara for his hit.

Game Notes

• Both teams had one successful power-play goal apiece. Boston was 1-for-5 with the man advantage while New Jersey was 1-for-2.
• The Devils led the way with hits 19-to-18.
• The Bruins won the faceoff battle 26-to-22
• Chara’s goal was his 400th career point
• Brodeur made his 12th straight start after returning from a knee injury

Tags: Boston Bruins, Ilya Kovalchuk, Mark Recchi, Martin Brodeur, Milan Lucic, New Jersey Devils, Patrice Bergeron, Shawn Thornton, Tim Thomas