Patrice Bergeron and Andy Hilbert recorded five points apiece and Brad Boyes added two goals and an assist as Providence rolled to a 7-1 win over Portland on Saturday night.
It was the teams’ first meeting since the Pirates’ convincing two-game sweep of the Bruins in the qualifying round of last year’s playoffs.
Bergeron, the 19-year-old forward who was one of the top rookies in the NHL with Boston last season, scored once shorthanded and once on a power play, and dished out three assists as well. Hilbert scored what would be the game-winning goal in the first period and chipped in with four assists.
Leon Hayward, signed earlier in the day by the Bruins, opened the scoring 2:57 into the game. Chris Dyment also scored for Providence, and Martin Samuelsson had two assists.
Hannu Toivonen made 26 saves for the win in the Bruins’ net.
Elsewhere on Saturday:
Newcomer Jon Sim scored his second goal of the game 90 seconds into overtime as Philadelphia extended its winning streak to 13 games with a 4-3 victory over Albany… Kari Lehtonen stopped 27 shots for his first shutout of the year, leading Chicago over Cincinnati, 3-0… Mike Brown scored twice and Adam Munro made 17 saves as Norfolk shut out San Antonio, 3-0… Wade Dubielewicz stopped 30 shots for Bridgeport in a 4-1 win over Hershey… Jamie Storr made 34 saves, including a Jozef Balej penalty shot in the second period, then shut the door on all four shootout attempts as Springfield posted a 3-2 win over Hartford… Denis Hamel had two goals and an assist, including the winning goal in overtime, as Binghamton beat Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 5-4… Jeff Hoggan‘s second goal of the game midway through the third period was the difference as Worcester beat Lowell, 3-2… Niklas Kronwall and Nathan Robinson had three points each and Joey MacDonald made 33 saves as Grand Rapids blanked Cleveland, 5-0… Kirby Law scored twice to help Houston past Syracuse, 6-3… Ryan Miller made 29 saves for Rochester in a 3-1 win over Hamilton… Libor Pivko and Darren Haydar had a goal and an assist each as Milwaukee beat Utah, 6-3.