It was a loss that dumped the Bruins into ninth place in the Eastern Conference, as the Sabres scored a 5-1 win over Ottawa last night, giving them 62 points, 1 more than Boston. The Bruins play their next five games on the road, starting tonight in Pittsburgh.
"This is our playoffs now," said Glen Metropolit.
Thornton's first tally - a floater that crossed up goalie Cam Ward - was followed 27 seconds later by another strike from the bruising forward, better known for his fists than his goal-scoring hands. Late in the game, the Bruins did all the things they've been instructed to do since the start of the season: finish checks, crash the net, and play with desperation.
All the things that were missing at the drop of the puck.
"Obviously not the start we wanted," said Bruins goalie Alex Auld (20 saves). "It put us behind, and really after that, it took until 10 minutes into the third to get going. We've got to find a way to get off to a better start and get off on the right foot. If something like that happens, we've got to battle through it and not let it bother us."
On Carolina's first goal, captain Rod Brind'Amour carried the puck through center ice into the offensive zone, powering through the checks of Milan Lucic and Dennis Wideman. Brind'Amour found linemate Andrew Ladd, who flipped a shot past Auld at 3:01 of the first period.
Ladd doubled Carolina's advantage several shifts later. Ladd fought off Aaron Ward and Mark Stuart in front of the Boston net and gained position in the slot. Brind'Amour, stickhandling on the right-side wall, flipped a pass in front that Ladd appeared to direct with his right skate into the net at 6:33.
After watching a video replay, officials determined that Ladd didn't make a distinct kicking motion - a call that brought disagreement from the Bruins.
"Guess it has to be a really blatant kick these days," said Auld, who also saw a puck go in off a skate in his last start (by Buffalo's Thomas Vanek last Friday).
Julien didn't put up a big stink after Ladd's second goal. But when he saw the replay after the first period, Julien couldn't believe the goal stood up.
