BOSTON (AP) — Benoit Pouliot scored the tiebreaking goal with 3:01 left in the third period to give the Boston Bruins a 4-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night and send the defending Stanley Cup champions to their sixth consecutive win.

Brad Marchand scored for the third straight game, and Tim Thomas stopped 27 shots for Boston, which has climbed out of last place in the Eastern Conference and into the race for a playoff position. The Bruins have scored 34 goals in their past six games.

Nick Palmieri scored twice for the Devils, who had won four of their past five. Johan Hedberg made 33 saves.

Chris Kelly and Shawn Thornton also scored for the Bruins. But it was still 3-3 when Pouliot knocked in the rebound of Rich Peverley’s shot from the blue line.

After a scoreless first period, David Clarkson scored for the Devils midway through the second and Kelly tied it 4 minutes later.

Then things really opened up in the third.

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Marchand was benched after picking up his second penalty of the game, sitting out the last 9 minutes of the second period. But he broke for the net off the opening faceoff in the third and received the pass from Zdeno Chara, then spun into the Devils’ zone before beating Hedberg to make it 2-1 just 6 seconds in.

That lasted only about 2 minutes before Palmieri scored, waiting in the slot for a pass from Andy Greene and beating Thomas to tie it. That was Palmieri’s first goal in eight games, but he wasn’t done.

Boston took the lead again when Jordan Caron tipped a pass through his legs to Thornton in front to catch Hedberg off-guard. And New Jersey tied it again when Adam Henrique took the defense with him — clearing out Thomas as well — and leaving Palmieri alone in front for the score.

Nathan Horton hit the crossbar with 7:13 left, and with 3½ minutes left Peverley got one to trickle through Hedberg’s pads but the Devils were able to pounce on the loose puck as it sat behind him.

Notes: Marchand extended his point-scoring streak to nine in six games. … Patrick Elias snapped his seven-game point streak, which had been tied for the longest in the NHL this season. … Thomas (Quebec) and Hedberg (Philadelphia) were taken 217th and 218th overall in the ninth round of the 1994 draft. Neither goalie ever played for the franchise that drafted them. … Bruins Johnny Boychuk, Andrew Ference, Nathan Horton, Milan Lucic and Dennis Seidenberg each bought $5,000 worth of tickets to the game for local military members and their families. The game was broadcast to a Massachusetts National Guard unit in Afghanistan.


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