Final Score: Boston 3, Carolina 2

Raleigh, NC (Sports Network) - Joe Thornton had a goal and an assist to lead the Boston Bruins to a 3-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes at the RBC Center.

Martin Lapointe and Sergei Samsonov also scored for the Bruins, who moved two points ahead of Toronto for first place in the Northeast Division and into the second spot in the Eastern Conference.

Felix Potvin made 21 saves for Boston, which has won four of its last five games (4-1).

"We're trying to put ourselves in the best position for the playoffs," said Bruins coach Mike Sullivan. "Getting points is critical. I think we've put ourselves in a position to control our own destiny, and we're starting to do just that. The approach we've taken is to really focus on that one game."

Ryan Bayda and Josef Vasicek scored for Carolina, which has lost two straight. Kevin Weekes made 26 saves in the loss.

Trailing 1-0, Lapointe forced a turnover in the Carolina zone and then redirected a shot by Sean O'Donnell passed Weekes at 12:07 of the opening period to tie the game. O'Donnell's shot was actually redirected twice, as P.J. Axelsson also got a piece of the puck on its way to the net.

Patrice Bergeron battled with Carolina's Rod Brind'Amour behind the Hurricanes' net and with the help of Thornton got the puck in front to Samsonov, whose one-timer from the slot beat Weekes five minutes into the second period to give Boston a 2-1 lead.

The Bruins opened a 3-1 lead when Thornton skated into the right circle and beat Weekes high to the glove side with a blistering wrist shot at 2:40 of the third period.

Bayda gave Carolina a 1-0 edge with his third goal of the season at 6:39 of the opening stanza.

Carolina pulled within one on a goal by Vasicek. Eric Staal set up the goal with a cross-crease pass to Vasicek, who stopped the puck with his skate before beating Potvin at 7:15 of the final frame.

"We didn't win the one-on-one battles, we didn't skate very well," said Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette. "I think it was a pretty lousy game for us."

Game Notes

Carolina failed on three attempts on the power play and has not scored on its last 26 tries with the extra skater...Boston ended 0-for-4 on the power play...The Bruins have won four straight on the road...Samsonov has four goals and two assists in his last four games...Carolina is 3-26-0 when trailing after two periods this season... Boston is unbeaten in its last six in Carolina (4-0-2).