Hot Bruins shut down Pens

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

The Boston Bruins reminded Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins that Stanley Cup champions aren’t crowned in October.

Tim Thomas stopped 45 shots and the surging Bruins kept rolling with a 3-1 victory Monday night to improve to 14-0-1 in their last 15 games and pull within a point of the Penguins atop the Eastern Conference.

Gregory Campbell, Benoit Pouliot and Tyler Seguin scored for Boston as the defending champions put the clamps on Pittsburgh stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

“We don’t know how we’re going to win every night,” said Thomas, unbeaten in his last 10 starts. “We’re going to do it different ways with different guys, but all of us together at the same time. It’s been pretty nice to be a part of this team the last month.”

The Bruins haven’t lost in regulation since Halloween. Given the way they dominated the Penguins for long stretches in a game that felt more appropriate for April than early December, the streak could go on awhile.

Boston had little trouble with the Penguins, holding Crosby scoreless and killing all four of Pittsburgh’s power-play opportunities, including a pair of 5-on-3 advantages.

“[Thomas] made some good saves,” Crosby said. “We didn’t make it as difficult as we would have liked, but he certainly made some saves when he needed to. Give him credit; he made a couple good ones there, especially on that 5-on-3.”

Matt Cooke scored his sixth goal of the season and Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves for Pittsburgh, but the Penguins mustered little offense over the game’s first 50 minutes as Boston bolted to a 3-0 lead.

“You hope it’s a habit more than it’s a streak, so we’re trying to build those good habits and there’s no reason why you can’t give your best every night,” Boston coach Claude Julien said.