It might have been the most boring game of the season but the Bruins did what they had to do, beating the Panthers 3-0 Sunday at TD Garden to snap a four-game winless streak (0-3-1). Tuukka Rask (28 saves) won for the first time in four starts and picked up his fourth shutout of the season. Boston (26-12-5) is tied with Montreal for the Northeast Division lead (2nd seed in the Eastern Conference) with 59 points and the B’s have one game in hand as well.
Jaromir Jagr scored on a wrist shot in the first period, his second goal as a Bruin and first that didn’t go off his skate. Carl Soderberg notched his first NHL assist on Jagr’s goal. Dougie Hamilton had a goal in the second period and Brad Marchand added an empty-netter late in the third period.
Florida (13-25-6) lived up to its lowly standard as the NHL’s worst team as both squads played the second game of a back-to-back.
Boston has only four games left in the regular season, two at home and two on the road. Up next, they are in Philadelphia on Tuesday (7:30 p.m., NESN). Boston returns to the Garden Thursday (7 p.m., NESN) against Tampa Bay.
Follow Metro Bruins beat writer Richard Slate on Twitter @RichSlate
