Thomas came up big/By S. Bradley

BOSTON — The Bruins’ first four-game losing streak in more than two years came to a dramatic end Saturday, as Patrice Bergeron scored clutch shootout goal and Tim Thomas followed with a clutch save to close a 3-2 victory over Philadelphia.

Boston also won the shootout, 3-2, as Thomas’ glove save on Daniel Briere followed up Bergeron’s big score.

For more on the game and about Thomas and Bergeron, check out my NHL.com game story. And for my thoughts on Thomas’ performance, check out my CBSBoston.com column.

Here a few quick notes from the game:

•The Bruins improved to 27-0-0 when leading after two periods. It was the first time in six games they actually held the lead after 40 minutes.

•Chris Kelly centered a line with Benoit Pouliot and Brian Rolston, and that trio put Boston on the board first for the first time in eight games. That line also created more chances over the course of the game. Kelly’s goal was his second in 13 games.

“Yeah I think [we're] finding some chemistry there, which is nice,” said Kelly. “Finding our strengths and trying to work together and I enjoy playing with both of them.”

•The Bruins sat out Joe Corvo for the first time this season, which leaves Bergeron, Dennis Seidenberg and Kelly as the only Boston players who’ve appeared in every game this season.

Greg Zanon was back in the lineup on the third pair with Adam McQuaid. Zanon finished a plus-2 in 13:20 of ice time with three hits.

Boston also reverted to its top four on defense from last year’s playoffs. Seidenberg was paired with Zdeno Chara, while Johnny Boychuk and Andrew Ference formed the second pair.

“Whether it disappears for a while and comes back, that’ll depend on the teams we’re playing against, it depends on who’s in the lineup, and what players they’re playing, who they are, etc. etc.,” said Bruins head coach Claude Julien. “Those are decisions you make almost on a game-to-game basis. But at the same time, you’re not going to hide the fact that you like that pairing, especially if both of them are at their best. They’ve probably become out of the best pairs in the league.”