(My Sportsbook) - Glen Murray scored twice on assists from Joe Thornton to lead the Boston Bruins past the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-1, at the FleetCenter Thursday night. Brian Rolston added a shorthanded goal for what turned out to be the game-winner, as the Bruins bounced back from a shutout loss to Toronto on Tuesday and improved to 6-1-1-1 in their last nine games.

Boston, which ended a two-game winless slide (0-1-1), now leads the Eastern Conference with 28 points, and is one behind Dallas for the National Hockey League's best record.

"I think other teams, and people around the league now are saying Boston's for real," said Murray, who scored his 200th and 201st career goals. "They've got to be thinking, `They're not letting up.'"

Boston's explosive start, which has been sparked by an attack that has already posted 64 goals, is a surprise to most after the team's economic sense won over its hockey sense and free agents Bill Guerin and Byron Dafoe were allowed to leave after the team finished first in the East last campaign. Guerin inked a monster deal with the Dallas Stars in July, while Dafoe signed a contract with the Atlanta Thrashers on Wednesday.

Of course, the folks in Beantown might not be completely convinced that Boston is for real, as attendance at the FleetCenter has been low to this point. On Thursday against Carolina a meager 10,667 people were announced in the house, Thursday against Carolina a meager 10,667 people were announced in the house, and the amount of no-shows would likely lower that tally. For the record, the FleetCenter, which opened in 1995, holds 17,285 for hockey.

Back to the game itself, Rolston scored what proved to be the game-winner with the Bruins down a man late in the second. Carolina appeared to be back in good shape to cover Rolston's shorthanded rush, as the speedy winger was forced to throw a harmless wrister at the net from the high slot. But his shot bounced off the shin of a defenseman in front, and the alert forward pounced on his own rebound to slap a one-timer high over Kevin Weekes.

Murray then scored his second of the game, this time at 9:27 of the third, to give the Bruins some breathing room. Thornton dug the puck out of traffic at the right half-wall and turned to send a pass at the crease. Murray, with Aaron Ward draped all over him, managed to redirect a one-handed deflection into the top shelf for a two-goal cushion.

Thursday's victory brought the Bruins on the cusp of two significant milestones as a team. They are one win shy of their 1,500th all-time home win, and one short of their 2,500th triumph overall. The Montreal Canadiens are currently the only NHL team to have reached those plateaus.

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Boston can reach both marks on Saturday when it welcomes Buffalo to town. After that, Calgary (Tuesday) and Montreal (Friday) will visit as well.