Top 10 games No. 6: Bruins dump Penguins with five in third

Thornton scored the GWG/By S. Bradley

This post is part of a series looking back at the top 10 games of the Bruins’ 2010-11 regular season. 

The Bruins seemed destined to see their losing streak run to three straight games as they headed to the third period down 4-2 Nov. 10 in Pittsburgh.

The powerful Pens had grabbed the lead with two goals in the second period and had outshot the Bruins, 34-20, through 40 minutes.

What unfolded over those final 20 minutes, however, was a magical comeback that served as an early preview of what the 2010-11 Bruins were made of. And it provided an exciting enough finish to earn the No. 6 spot on the list of top 10 Bruins games as picked by TheBruinsBlog.net.

Three fights — one apiece by Shawn Thornton, Gregory Campbell and Adam McQuaid — failed to prevent the Penguins from jumping out to their two-goal lead on the strength of one goal and two assists by superstar Sidney Crosby. But just 3:49 into the third period, Nathan Horton got the fireworks going with his seventh goal of the season.

Fifteen seconds later, Zdeno Chara cashed in on a one-timer on a 3-0n-2 feed by Jordan Caron to knot the game. What Thornton wasn’t able to with his fists, he then did with his stick. He scored the go-ahead goal with 7:20 left in regulation after keeping the puck on a 2-on-1 with Brad Marchand.

Blake Wheeler added an insurance goal and Milan Lucic buried the empty-netter. Mark Recchi finished with one goal and two assists, including the breakout pass that started the game-winning 3-on-2.

In a sign of things to come, Tim Thomas finished with 42 saves, highlighted by 12 on 12 shots in the third stanza.

If the Penguins were the team to beat in the Eastern Conference entering the season, the Bruins sent them an early-season message that they were going to be challenged regardless of how commanding a lead they held in a game, the standings or any time.