BOSTON — The Boston Bruins, rebounding from a dreadful two-game trip to Canada, pulled out a 2-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday at TD Garden.
The Bruins, outscored by a combined 11-2 in Toronto and Montreal on Wednesday and Thursday nights, got first-period goals from rookie right winger Seth Griffith and center Patrice Bergeron and 33 saves by Tuukka Rask to end their two-game slide.
Left winger Jiri Tlusty scored his team-high seventh goal to open the scoring, but Griffith cashed in on a giveaway by defenseman Andrej Sekera for his fifth goal and Bergeron sent his fourth past goaltender Cam Ward less than five minutes later.
Rask, chased from the game in Toronto after allowing four goals in just over a period before sitting in Montreal, saved the lead with a fine third-period rebound save on center Victor Rask.
The Bruins, who killed a 1:44 two-man disadvantage in the first period, had a goal waved off with 8:51 left because center Gregory Campbell was in the crease. It would have been the first goal of the season and first in 35 regular season games by left winger Daniel Paille.
Ward, who robbed center Carl Soderberg in alone with 2:25 left, made 23 saves.
The win raised Boston’s record to 11-8-0, while the Hurricanes, 0-6-2 in October and 5-1-1 in November coming, fell to 5-8-3 overall.
The Hurricanes came in having been outshot, 49-18, over the last four first periods, so their goal was clear: get off to a better start. They did just that, dominating much of the first period with a 16-7 shots advantage — and still trailed, 2-1, as the Bruins scored twice late and also killed off that long two-man Carolina edge.
Tlusty tipped home the first goal of the game 7:05 into the period and soon after the Bruins found themselves two-men down after a missed offsides call on the Canes. But the penalties were killed by a Bruins group 24th in the league on the penalty kill entering the game, and the turnover by Sekera led to the Griffith tying goal at 14:24. Not only did Sekera flub a pass, but the puck hit his skate before going in.
In the final minute of the period, left winger Brad Marchand carried the puck around the net and got it to Bergeron in the faceoff circle. With right winger Reilly Smith doing the screening, Bergeron’s shot slipped through and Marchand had his 100th career assist.
It was Bergeron’s seventh point in the last six games.
The Hurricanes outshot the Bruins, 15-4, in the third period.
NOTES: C Alexander Semin (upper body) and D Jay Harrison (lower body) were out of the Carolina lineup. C Elias Lindholm, tied for the team lead with six goals coming in, is battling a foot injury, but skated in warmups and was able to play. … Bruins D Matt Bartkowski, a healthy scratch for the previous seven games, returned to the lineup, with Zach Troutman sitting out as the sixth defenseman. … Bruins C David Krejci missed his fourth straight game because of a lower body injury. He is skating. … The Canes host the San Jose Sharks on Sunday night, while the St. Louis Blues visit the Bruins, who began a stretch of five home games in the next six games on Tuesday.