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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
ATLANTA (AP) -- The Boston Bruins needed a win, and Anson Carter
helped make it happen early.
|  | | Atlanta's Denny Lambert, left, trades punches with Boston's Rob DiMaio. |
Carter had two goals and an assist as the Bruins held off the
punchless Atlanta Thrashers for a 3-1 victory Friday night.
Boston, coming off a 4-2 loss in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, had won
only once in its previous eight games (1-4-3).
The Thrashers, losing their season-high sixth game in a row,
have scored just three goals in their last five games, getting
blanked in two and scoring one goal in the three others.
Down 2-0 only 12:42 into the game on goals by Carter and Hal
Gill, Atlanta managed a goal by Ray Ferraro -- his sixth -- to get
within a goal at the 14:11 mark of the opening period.
"We had hoped to put the game away early, but their goalie
(Norm Maracle) kept them in the game," Carter said. "This was a
good win for us, one we needed for our confidence."
It remained 2-1 and belonged to the goaltenders until Carter
made it happen late, too. He scored his second goal and team-high
12th of the season on a power play with 59 seconds left in the
game.
Boston goaltender Byron Dafoe, who knocked away 26 of Atlanta's
27 shots, earned his 100th NHL win.
Maracle kept the Thrashers in the game with several spectacular
saves as the Bruins peppered him with 30 shots before a capacity
crowd of 18,545 at Philips Arena, the seventh sellout for the
expansion club.
"We had a lot of Grade A shots. If it weren't for their goalie,
it could have been 4-1 or 5-1 easily," Carter said.
It was no consolation for Maracle, however, who blamed himself
for Boston's first two early goals.
"Right now our team needs a goaltender to stop those goals
because we're having a little trouble putting the puck in the
net," he said.
"I just have to make a couple of big saves early and tonight
they scored two goals right away," Maracle said. "It doesn't help
our confidence when we are down 2-0 in the first period."
Gill scored his second goal of the season 5:49 into the game,
scoring on a 35-foot slap shot off a pass from Carter and Dave
Andreychuk.
It was 2-0 less than seven minutes later when Carter beat
Maracle off a pass from Gill.
"They're an expansion team and they work hard," Bruins coach
Pat Burns said. "If you don't put them away when you have the
chance, you're going to have a hockey game, and that's what
happened to us tonight."
The win evened Boston's road record at 6-6-4. Atlanta fell to
5-10-1 at home.
The Bruins also beat the Thrashers 4-2 in their first meeting in
Boston on Nov. 6.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Boston Clubhouse
Atlanta Clubhouse
RECAPS
Florida 4
Buffalo 2
Boston 3
Atlanta 1
Detroit 5
Colorado 2
Washington 3
NY Rangers 2
Dallas 2
Edmonton 2
Anaheim 2
Chicago 0
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Hal Gill scores the first goal of the game.
avi: 603 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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