In short, Bruins prevail

“By this time, I just figured it was going to be a rebound or a greasy goal,’’ said Marchand. “It was nice to get one on a breakaway. Those always feel good.’’

It was the first of two first-period shorthanded goals for the Bruins. After Patrice Bergeron netted a man-down goal, Blake Wheeler jammed in a close-range shot, and Michael Ryder tucked a sharp-angle shot behind relief netminder Patrick Lalime, the Bruins had a 4-0 lead, which turned into a 5-2 win before 18,428.

“I thought we started decent ly and got ourselves a good lead,’’ said coach Claude Julien. “We felt that we progressively got worse as the game went on. We got a little sloppy and got away from what’s made us a real good hockey club.

“You take the win. It’s a long year and those 2 points are important. You’re not always going to have the perfect game. But it’s something we have to make sure that next game, we don’t come out the same way. Because the team we’re going to be playing [Washington at the Verizon Center tomorrow] will certainly take advantage of it.’’

All four lines scored at least one goal. And, almost as an afterthought, Tim Thomas stopped 33 of 35 shots to post his seventh straight win, setting a club record for victories to open a season. Buffalo played its usual game of crease-crashing, but Thomas, with plenty of help from his defense (Adam McQuaid was credited with a team-high four blocked shots), stood tall to stymie the Sabres.

“When you’re done playing, people tend to forget about you,’’ said Thomas. “But maybe a little name here and there in the record books will remind people.’’

Buffalo, without Ryan Miller, turned to Enroth, recalled from Portland yesterday, in a bid for its first home win. But Enroth got little help from his reeling teammates. Connolly was at fault for Marchand’s goal because of his giveaway. Later in the first, with Dennis Seidenberg in the box for holding, the Bruins recorded their second shorthanded goal.