Their busy week off to a flying start, the sizzling Bruins return home for two home games.

After earning their sixth win in the last seven games and ninth in the last 11 (9-1-1) Monday night at Toronto, the Bruins will be home against Buffalo on Wednesday and Florida on Friday before heading to Montreal on Saturday to finish a run of four games in six nights.

The grind shouldn't bother them. Nothing seems to bother these guys as they roll merrily along. They still fall into the "offensively challenged" category, and they still make their goalie do a little too much work at times. But Tim Thomas, deemed not worthy of even being on the All-Star ballot, continues to carry them.

The Boston Bruins have been waiting for this kind of goal from Michael Ryder. The Maple Leafs were pressing for a tying score during the second period Monday night and it seemed only a matter of time before they would get it. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Ryder raced into the Toronto end, dragged the puck around a defender and scored with a high wrist shot.

The Boston Bruins spent most of the night trying to prove they're the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. The New York Rangers needed only six minutes to show why they've been on top all season. Nigel Dawes and Markus Naslund wiped out New York's two-goal deficit in the closing minutes of the third period, and Chris Drury scored the lone goal in the shootout to give the Rangers a 3-2 victory...

The Bruins enjoyed a rare lopsided victory against the Montreal Canadiens and ended a long drought in the process. Marco Sturm and Stephane Yelle each scored two goals and Boston snapped a 12-game losing streak against Montreal with a 6-1 victory Thursday night. "You lose eight in a row in the regular season, you question yourself and take a mental beating," Bruins coach Claude Julien said.

Boston's Tim Thomas needed some help from P.J. Axelsson to win a goaltending duel with Chicago's Nikolai Khabibulin. Axelsson scored in the third round of the shootout to give the Bruins a 2-1 victory Wednesday night. He faked Khabibulin to the ice, then lifted in a backhand shot. "I've been working on it in practice," Axelsson said.

Chuck Kobasew didn't miss a beat. The forward marked his long-awaited return to the Bruins lineup with a goal and an assist, and Manny Fernandez made 32 saves in Boston's 3-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night. The Bruins have won six of seven and four in a row at home and moved into a first-place tie with Buffalo in the Northeast Division with 19 points.