Thomas stops 31 shots, Bruins’ power play comes alive with 3 goals in 5-0 win over Flames

Thomas stops 31 shots as Bruins blank Flames 5-0

BOSTON — Dennis Seidenberg, David Krejci and Zdeno Chara scored goals to wake up a previously dormant Boston power play, and Tim Thomas stopped 31 shots for his first shutout since Dec. 21, leading the Bruins to a 5-0 win over the Calgary Flames on Saturday.

The victory, which moved the Bruins into a tie with Philadelphia for seventh in the Eastern Conference, was just the third in the last 15 home games for Boston. Calgary, in ninth place in the West, moved a step closer to playoff elimination, coming into the game six points behind both Colorado and Detroit.

The Bruins, playing without injured center Marc Savard, were saddled with an 0-for-22 power play slump coming in. But, after Savard met pre-game with his teammates for the first time since sustaining a concussion Dec. 7, the power play bounced back.

Seidenberg, scoring his first goal as a Bruin, and Krejci both beat Miikka Kiprusoff with slap shots, and Chara took a pass from Krejci and walked down the slot and beat Kiprusoff with a wrist shot.

Thomas, the defending Vezina Trophy winner who has lost his No. 1 job to rookie Tuukka Rask, won for the first time in his last four starts. He has started only once in the last six games.

The Flyers, who lost 4-1 at Pittsburgh on Saturday, are ahead of Boston in the win column, but the Bruins, four points ahead of ninth-place Atlanta, have a game in hand. Sixth-place Montreal was two points ahead of both entering Saturday night’s game against New Jersey.

Five different Bruins had two points apiece, including Krejci, who has had at least two points in six of the last nine games.

The Bruins scored their most goals in a home game since a 6-4 win over Atlanta Dec. 23.

Thomas notched his fifth shutout of the season. A potential threat to the shutout came in the third period when Boston’s Johnny Boychuk received a five-minute major and game misconduct for elbowing, but the Flames managed just three shots on goal during the long power play.

Seidenberg, who had seven assists in 12 games since the Bruins acquired him from Florida, broke a scoreless tie at 14:08 of the first period. Krejci and Chara then struck 4:46 apart early in the second.

Patrice Bergeron set up Mark Recchi’s goal and scored one of his own as the Bruins chased Kiprusoff in the third period.

NOTES: Boston’s Marco Sturm had an assist for his first point in eight games. … The Bruins host Buffalo on Monday night and then visit New Jersey on Tuesday, with both teams potential first-round playoff opponents. … D Andrew Ference, who has been in and out of the lineup with groin problems, was out with an undisclosed injury, while Matt Hunwick, a healthy scratch the past three games, returned. … The Flames have lost the first two games of a crucial three-game road trip that ends in Washington on Sunday. … Calgary D Jay Bouwmeester played in his 417th straight game, the longest-active streak in the NHL.