In a span of 33 hours this week, the Bruins offered a concise resume of their current state of affairs.
Monday afternoon against the Hurricanes, it was a seven-goal laugher. Tuesday night, it was same opponent, different circumstance — and same outcome. A win.
Blowout, nail-biter and anything in between, the Bruins are rolling, taking a three-point division lead into tonight’s game against the Sabres at the Garden.
Since a grisly late-game collapse against second-place Montreal on Jan. 8, the Bruins are 5-1 with two victories coming in lopsided shutouts and two more with dramatic third-period comebacks — including Tuesday night at Carolina.
After Tim Thomas stopped 37 of 38 shots over the first two periods, the offense did what it does best in the third, erasing a one-goal deficit, raising Thomas’ record to 7-0-3 in his past 10 starts.
“He was really great,” head coach Claude Julien said. “I think he deserves a lot of credit for the win. When we were struggling, he was keeping us in there.
“I realize we had some good breaks along the way in the second period. Sometimes when you’re on a roll, you get those kinds of breaks. It was important for us. When you go out there in the third period, you have to realize you’re lucky to be in that position that you can still win a hockey game. That’s what we did.”
The Bruins now have a 59-26 goal advantage in the third period this season, best in the league.
“I think the confidence is there,” Julien said. “They know that in the third period, we’ve been a good team.”
