Brian Rolston and Benoit Pouliot connected on a beautiful goal and the shorthanded Boston Bruins skated out to an early lead against the homestanding Ottawa Senators in the first 20 minutes of play from Scotiabank Place in Ottawa on Thursday night.
Anton Khudobin looked more than comfortable in between the pipes for Boston during most of the period, despite the fact that he was playing behind what was practically an AHL defense with Zdeno Chara in Boston and Johnny Boychuk on the shelf with a knee sprain. Khudobin stopped all 17 Ottawa shots he saw.
The Bruins controlled play for most of the period, attacking the Ottawa zone with ease despite the fact that they, too, were shorthanded without Selke Trophy candidate Patrice Bergeron (yeah, he's in Boston, too).
A slashing penalty called on Rolston gave Ottawa a power play and a chance to tie the game up, but the Sens were unable to make much of the man-advantage.