Bruins 5, Hurricanes 1

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BOSTON (AP) -Despite being passed over for the All-Star team, David Krejci continues to pile up points.

Krejci had a goal and two assists, while Michael Ryder scored two goals in the Boston Bruins' 5-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.

"We make too much about All-Star selections," said Bruins coach Claude Julien, who will guide the Eastern Conference squad at the Jan. 25 game. "Not being on the team is one thing, but the fact that everybody is talking about him not being on the team speaks for itself."

Stephane Yelle and Mark Stuart also scored for Boston, which has won 12 of its last 14. The Bruins lead the NHL with 66 points pending the outcome of San Jose's game later at Vancouver. The Sharks had 65 points going in.

Tim Thomas made 29 saves for Boston and missed out on a shutout when Justin Williams scored with 13:53 remaining in the game.

"It will make him (Krejci) better," Bruins forward Marc Savard said. "He is out there proving every night he deserves to be there."

Krejci is second on the team in scoring behind Savard with 46 points including 16 goals and 30 assists. In the last 14 games Krejci has eight goals and 14 assists.

Boston took a 2-0 lead after the first period courtesy of Krejci and Yelle. Krejci backhanded a shot past Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward at 7:55 and Yelle scored when a Martin Karsums' shot deflected in off his skate at 17:21.

"He's playing unbelievable," Ryder said. "You can't get any more confident than he is right now."

The second period didn't yield any better results for the Hurricanes as Stuart increased Boston's lead to 3-0 when his wrist shot from the bottom of the left face-off circle beat Ward at 3:27.

After Stuart's goal, Carolina replaced Ward with Michael Leighton, who gave up another goal when Michael Ryder lifted in a soft backhander for a 4-0 Boston lead at the 12:40 mark. Ward gave up three goals on 12 shots.

"We won't be bragging about that game," Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice said. "We were excited to play them, but didn't have the puck enough to compete."

Sergei Samsonov finished with a team-worst -3 rating for Carolina, which lost its second straight game following a four-game win streak.

"It's all about attitude," Williams said. "They dictated the play and all we did was respond to what they were doing."

Ryder capped off the scoring for Boston and scored his 17th goal of the season at 16:05 of the second period.

After losing two straight and being shut out at home by the Minnesota Wild, Boston has responded with 11 goals in consecutive victories.

Blake Wheeler had two assists for Boston, which is 3-0 against Carolina this season and 11-1 against the Southeast Division.

Notes: Providence Bruins call-ups Byron Bitz and Karsums both notched assists for their first NHL points. ... Carolina went two games without a point for the first time since Paul Maurice replaced Peter Laviolette as head coach on Dec. 3. ... Boston announced Marco Sturm will be lost for the year with a knee injury. ... Samsonov played in his 700th NHL game. Samsonov played for Boston from 1997-2006. ... Tuukka Rask was called up from Providence as Manny Fernandez was not in the lineup for Boston. ... Boston's Zdeno Chara recorded his 200th NHL assist.