BOSTON – The Boston Bruins are closing in on the playoffs, and they’ll have a better chance once they get there if Dennis Wideman is pitching in.

Wideman, the much-maligned Boston defenseman who was booed by his hometown crowd and scoring half as often as last season, broke a third-period tie to help the Bruins beat Buffalo 3-1 on Thursday night and jump from eighth to sixth in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

“Right now, it’s about winning,” said Wideman, who has goals in two straight games after scoring just three in the first 70 games. “Obviously, it was a big win for us, and it was great to come through.

“I think things are going better. I think it’s getting down to that time of the season where you’ve got to come through and perform.”

Boston entered the night one point ahead of the ninth-place New York Rangers in the East. With the win, the Bruins passed Philadelphia and moved into a tie for sixth with Montreal. Boston has two games left, and the Canadiens have one.

The importance of the victory was obvious during the game and after, when Zdeno Chara went around bear-hugging teammates in celebration.

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“We know we need some points still to get it,” said Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask, who stopped 31 shots. “It was kind of a playoff atmosphere out there.”

Wideman, who scored 13 goals each of the previous two seasons, has gone from a plus-32 rating last year to a minus-15. Fans booed him whenever he touched the puck early on, and the jeers got louder when his giveaway led to Derek Roy’s goal that gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead 11 minutes in.

But they cheered when Wideman wristed a shot past Patrick Lalime with 18:01 left in the game to break a 1-1 tie.

“He’s had some tough times,” Coach Claude Julien said. “His teammates and the coaching staff certainly support him. There’s obviously some frustration and he has stuck with it. He was a valuable asset to our team tonight.”

Wideman said he switched sticks a week or two ago, picking up one of teammate David Krejci’s models that has a different curve.

“I brought the hands back, and with the hands came the confidence,” he said.

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Miroslav Satan also scored for Boston, and Mark Recchi made it 3-1 when he tipped in Chara’s slap shot with 3:25 left. The Bruins had not scored more than two goals in a game since March 27.

“They’re a desperate team,” said Lalime, who played with the flu so No. 1 goalie Ryan Miller could rest up for the playoffs. “They’re battling for every inch.”

The Sabres played without Tim Connolly and Thomas Vanek because of injuries, and defenseman Craig Rivet sat out because of the flu.

“It’s tough. You’re playing with different guys every night, guys are switching during games,” Roy said. “We’ve got to get healthy for the playoffs. We need everybody. We need this whole team.”

 


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