Boston Bruins

TORONTO (AP) - Milan Lucic scored twice and David Krejci added a goal and two assists for the Boston Bruins, who beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 on Wednesday night for their 12th win in 13 games.

The defending Stanley Cup champions rebounded from a slow start this season and went 12-0-1 in November, marking the first time since January 1969 that the Bruins went an entire month without a regulation loss.

Tim Thomas made 34 saves and earned his ninth consecutive win.

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The Bruins visit the Maple Leafs tonight in the third of six games between these teams this season and the second of three of this season’s series at Air Canada Centre …The Bruins are 14-7-1 overall and are 5-2-0 on the road this season …They are 11-5-0 vs. Eastern Conference teams and are 6-2-0 vs. Northeast Division foes.

BostonBruins.com — Ever since the first drop of the puck on the 2011-12 docket, it seems as if each and every game of the campaign represents “the biggest” game of the season — at least for someone.

In reality, it’s only November, but both the B’s and the Buds have plenty riding on this week’s home-and-home set between Boston and Toronto.

For the Bruins, it’s a chance to retain last year’s lofty position at the top of the Northeast Division.

NHL.com — Wednesday’s clash at Air Canada Centre marks the third of six meetings between these Northeast Division rivals. The Bruins earned convincing wins over the Maple Leafs on Oct. 20 and Nov. 5, outscoring Toronto by a 13-2 margin. Tyler Seguin paced the Bruins in their two victories over the Leafs by combining for 4 goals and 2 assists.

The Leafs host the Bruins for the second time this season, hoping to put two lopsided affairs in their rearview mirror and maintain their lead in the Northeast division in the process. Boston trails Toronto for first place in the division by a point with two games in hand. While the Leafs are fresh off a 3-1-0 road trip, the Bruins have been the League’s hottest team in November, registering an 11-0-1 record in that span.

The defending champions had their 10-game win streak snapped in shootout on Friday in the 2011 NHL Thanksgiving Showdown against the Detroit Red Wings. A day later, they received a rude wake-up call when the Winnipeg Jets scored twice in a span of 39 seconds to take a 2-0 lead in the first period at TD Garden. But from there, the Bruins responded in a big way.

WILMINGTON, Mass. — Prior to the Bruins departure for Canada, Tyler Seguin was asked about the B’s upcoming home and home set with the Maple Leafs.

“We expect a quick team,” said Seguin of Toronto. “They have a really fast offense and in the neutral zone we really have to get pucks up [ice] quick against these guys, and get them deep and try and take it to them.”

The Leafs may just be a touch above .500 over their last 10 games (5-4-1), but Seguin also expects that the scores fromBoston’s two victories over Toronto might just make the spoked-B’s on the Bruins chests into a pretty big target.

WILMINGTON, Mass. — As the B’s hold practice prior to their afternoon flight to Toronto both players and coaches understand it’s no fluke that Boston has been able to turn their season around in November.

And they also know, that moving forward into December and beyond, consistency will be the key to another long run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“I think our biggest thing is not looking at what we’ve done in the past,” said Shawn Thornton after Monday’s practice. “Every day we’ve kind of come to the rink and focus on the task ahead.”

BOSTON — As November draws to a close, so does this year’s edition of a special movement designed to raise awareness and funds for prostate cancer research and treatment.

The movement, known as “Movember” challenges people around the world to earn money for the cancer-fighting cause by getting sponsored to grow a mustache throughout the month.

Several members of the Bruins participated in Movember, and in an effort to further support the cause, teammates Benoit Pouliot and Patrice Bergeron paid a visit to cancer patients in the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

MEDFORD, Mass. — On Monday, November 28, as part of the Boston Bruins I.C.E. (I Can Excel) Program, B’s goaltender Tuukka Rask helped teach a geography lesson on his native Finland to fifth graders at the Brooks Elementary School in Medford.

“It’s really small,” began Rask, who pointed out his home on the projector screen map. “This is Finland.”

Brooks Elementary School teacher Eleanor O’Leary also gave her class some basic info about the country and then, with Rask’s input, quizzed her students about the weather and landscape of Finland.

BOSTON — After today’s practice, Boston Bruins Head Coach Claude Julien, asked about his club recent success, said, “There’s always something you can do better.

“We try to correct things after every game,” added Julien. “We look at game tapes and certain areas and last game the one thing I thought we could’ve been better at was those ‘outnumbered’ situations. We didn’t get any shots off those…and instead of forcing the play maybe a shot’s a better idea.

“Sometimes we have a tendency to get a little too cute.”

BostonBruins.com — Now with points in their last 12 games at 11-0-1, the Bruins will face Northeast Division rival Toronto in both of their games next week. The first will take place north of the border on Wednesday, November 30 at the Air Canada Centre and the second will be played on TD Garden ice on Saturday, December 3. Both games start at 7 p.m. and will be televised locally on NESN and heard on 98.5 The Sports Hub.

Paced by NHL scoring leader Phil Kessel – who leads the NHL in goals (16) and points (30) – the Leafs have compiled a 13-8-2 record though their first 23 games. Toronto has won three of their last four (not including Sunday night’s game against Anaheim) and have scored 18 goals in those three wins.

The Bruins have defeated the Leafs in both meetings this season however (one at home and one in Toronto) by a combined score of 13-2.

BOSTON — After the first period on Saturday, the Bruins knew that something had to change.

Down 2-1, it looked like Boston might drop a second straight decision and snap their points streak at 11 games.

But that’s when Rich Peverley hit the gas and stoked a B’s comeback.

BOSTON — Most days, Boston Bruins forward Chris Kelly is known best as a defensive-minded center. However, this season the Hub of Hockey is also getting to see #23’s offensive capabilities.

“He’s probably one of our most consistent forwards this year and continues to impress on the stat sheet,” said Bruins Head Coach Claude Juilen of his center. “We’re fortunate to have him playing this well and scoring that much for us.”

On Saturday, the B’s were fortunate once again as the veteran forward, who now owns a 9-7-16 line through 22 games, came up big in their 4-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets.