Krejci's hat trick propels Bruins past Panthers
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Boston, MA (SportsNetwork.com) - David Krejci posted his third career hat trick to help the Boston Bruins take a 4-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday.
Jarome Iginla had the other goal for the Bruins, who have won two straight after dropping their first two games out of the Olympic break. Chad Johnson stopped 23 shots in the win.
"As long as I contribute to the team and my linemates I don't care about how many goals I score," said Krejci. "When we won the Stanley Cup I only had 13 goals that year."
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Tim Thomas stopped 35-of-38 shots while Brian Campbell scored the only goal for the Panthers, who have dropped five of their last six games.
Before the game, the Panthers brought back goaltender Roberto Luongo in a trade with Vancouver, as the team got back its winningest goaltender in franchise history for goalie Jacob Markstrom and forward Shawn Matthias, with Vancouver also sending forward prospect Steven Anthony to the Panthers. The Canucks are also expected to cover a portion of Luongo's remaining contract as part of the swap.
"I found out on the way to the arena," said Thomas on the acquisition of Luongo. "I was taken off guard like a lot of people here, we didn't see that one coming. But then I had to get ready to play the game, against a difficult team."
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Boston got on the board at 7:29 of the first period as Krejci picked off a bad pass from a Florida player behind the net and quickly stepped out front before snapping the puck in.
It was a 2-0 game at 11:01 of the first as Jordan Caron fired a blast from the left wing that was stopped, but the rebound kicked out to the right wing where Iginla fired it home for his 19th of the season.
The only goal of the second period came with 47.9 seconds to play as Krejci's wrister from the slot went into the left corner of the net.
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Campbell spoiled Johnson's shutout big with 7:13 to play as his heavy backhander from the high slot tipped off a Bruins' stick and went into the net for his sixth of the year.
Krejci capped the hat trick and sealed the game with an empty-netter as there was just 13.3 seconds showing on the clock.
Game Notes
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Boston hosts Washington on Thursday ... Florida hosts Buffalo on Friday ... The Bruins have won all four games against the Panthers this season, and seven straight, overall ... Boston was 0-for-2 on the power play while Florida was 0-for-3.