Gregory Campbell led the way with a Gordie Howe hat trick as the Bruins got back to winning Thursday night, defeating the Devils, 4-1, in Newark, N.J.

Danius Zubrus set up Petr Sykora‘s 12th goal of the season late in the first period to give New Jersey the lead. The two teams played a scoreless second period before Andrew Ference tied the game with a shot from the top of the circle in the third period. Nathan Horton gave the B’s their first lead of the night on the power play, scoring his third goal in the last two games.

Thirty-five seconds later, Campbell buried a rebound off a Shawn Thornton shot, giving the Bruins a two-goal lead with more than half a period left to play. Chris Kelly added an empty-netter.

Campbell’s goal sealed the Gordie Howe hat trick for him, as he fought Brad Mills in the first period and assisted Ference’s goal.

The Bruins will next play Saturday when they host the Eastern Conference-leading Rangers at TD Garden.

WHAT WENT RIGHT FOR THE BRUINS

– One of the things that has made the Bruins such a good team this year has been their play in the third period — a time that they have used the period to either get leads or add to them. Thursday was no different. The B’s four unanswered goals improved their third-period differential to a whopping plus-37.

– Ference’s goal was his first in 25 games, but he’s still been having a very good season from a statistical standpoint. Ference isn’t relied upon for his scoring. His third goal of the season tied his personal best with the Bruins (he had three last season; four is his career high). Ference now has 18 points, which is the most he’s had in a single season since he had 31 with the Flames in the 2005-06 season.

– The Bruins are no strangers to scoring two goals in a minute, and they did it for the 14th time this season when Campbell followed Horton’s goal with a tally of his own. The shift that follows a goal is always a crucial one, and Claude Julien has often trusted the fourth line to take those important shifts. It paid off again Thursday.

– Thomas had allowed seven goals over his previous two starts entering Thursday night, but he was able to bounce back and bring his ‘A’ game to New Jersey, robbing David Clarkson on a rebound in the second period as one of 28 saves the reigning Vezina winner made on the night.

WHAT WENT WRONG FOR THE BRUINS

– David Krejci‘s line continued to allow goals, something Julien called the trio out for Tuesday night. Krejci won the faceoff in the Bruins’ zone prior to the Devils’ first goal, but Zubrus got to the puck behind the net and fed Sykora. Because Horton’s goal came on the power play, he has been a minus-4 over the last three games.

– The B’s had just six shots on goal in the first period for the third consecutive game. The B’s have been plagued by slow starts in recent games, and though the B’s came out looking less sloppy than they did Tuesday, they still need stronger starts to these contests. They have one first-period goal in the last four games.

– The Joe Corvo-Dennis Seidenberg pairing has become dangerous for the Bruins. Corvo has struggled mightily in his own zone of late, and Seidenberg has been catching some really bad bounces. The B’s saw a couple of those in the second period, including one puck that bounced off Seidenberg and right to a flying Ilya Kovalchuk in the neutral zone, but neither cost the B’s.

– Brad Marchand, who was playing in his first contest since being suspended five games for his hit on Sami Salo, had a rather quiet return to the lineup. The second-line winger had no shots on goal Thursday night.

Nathan Horton

The Bruins were just sluggish and sloppy enough for the Lightning to end their seven-game losing streak, as Tampa Bay defeated the B’s, 5-3, Tuesday night.

Nathan Horton had two goals, but his contributions weren’t enough to make up for another off-night for the Bruins.

The Lightning took the lead when Vincent Lecavalier sent a loose puck past Tim Thomas at 7:11 of the first period. Horton tied the game at 4:28 of the second, but Tom Pyatt gave the Lightning a 2-1 lead before Horton tied it once more. The Lightning then regained the lead on Ryan Malone‘s 10th goal of the season, but Daniel Paille scored on a shorthanded breakaway to make it 3-3 in the third period. Dominic Moore gave the Lightning the lead for good with 3:45 remaining in the game. Steven Stamkos added an empty-netter.

The Bruins now have lost two of their last three games. They will play again Thursday in New Jersey before returning home to face the Rangers.

WHAT WENT WRONG FOR THE BRUINS

– The B’s slept through the first period, as they managed only two shots on goal during 5-on-5 play. They added four shots on two power plays, but it was a rough first 20 minutes the B’s.

– It looked like more of the 2009-10 Tim Thomas for the Bruins on Tuesday. Thomas is known for his unorthodox, aggressive style, and it bit the Bruins in the rear when he got a little too aggressive on Pyatt’s second goal. Thomas dove out to stop Steve Downie, and Pyatt was able to poke the puck into the net. That wasn’t the lone instance in which Thomas looked shaky, but with Thomas’ style of play he will occasionally have a night like Tuesday. The fact that these games have come so infrequently perfectly illustrates how impressive Thomas’ last 16 months have been.

– The Bruins officially can’t complain about other players diving for the rest of the season after Tyler Seguin reinvented the move on a Stamkos hook. The play occurred midway through the period, so it cost the B’s a power play in which they could have taken the lead. Given that Moore scored the game-winner after the penalties, the game could have been much different.

– While David Krejci‘s line was on the ice for both of the Bruins’ goals, it was also on the ice for Tampa’s first three goals, giving Krejci, Horton and Milan Lucic all minus-1 ratings on the night.

WHAT WENT RIGHT FOR THE BRUINS

– Claude Julien called out Horton after Monday night’s game, telling reporters the right winger needed to pick his game up. Once again, Julien’s words paid off. Horton, who had three shots on goal over the previous three games, had four shots on goal through the first two periods Tuesday and added his 15th and 16th goals of the year. If Horton can avoid the slumps and lethargic stretches he’s been prone to, he could put up 30 goals this season. He should be a safe bet to surpass his total of 26 from last season.

– Good to see Paille with some strong finishing skills, as his back-hander past Mathieu Garon came on his second shorthanded breakaway of the night.

Earlier in the period, Paille took the puck from Eric Brewer at the blue line to give himself a shorthanded breakaway, but his wrist shot was blocked by Garon before going off the post.

Nathan Horton had a rare session with reporters following Thursday’s 9-0 blowout win over the Flames. The forward, who had two goals in the win, was asked his thoughts about Saturday’s meeting with the Canucks.

The game figures to be an emotional one, perhaps even more so for Horton. The power forward was blindsided by Vancouver defenseman Aaron Rome in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals, giving him a concussion and knocking him out for the rest of the finals.

“I think everyone’s just thinking it’s another game, but we did play them in the finals,” Horton said. “They’re still a good team, and we’re still a good team, and it’s going to be a good game. I’m not really thinking too much about what happened, but just getting excited for the game.”

Rome will not be in the lineup for the Canucks, as he is out with a hand injury.

After Thursday’s three-point performance, Horton has 12 goals and 14 assists this season for 26 points.

Patrice Bergeron scores on Miikka Kiprusoff during the Bruins' 9-0 victory Thursday night. (AP)

Since losing to the Stars on Saturday night, the Bruins may have developed a habit of blowing teams out of the water. They did so for the second straight night Thursday, crushing the Flames, 9-0, behind Tuukka Rask‘s third shutout of the season.

This one was never close following Tyler Seguin‘s tally 74 seconds into the game, and the Bruins weren’t afraid to pile it on once again. Patrice Bergeron and Nathan Horton each had two-goal nights, while the B’s also received goals from Milan Lucic, David Krejci, Chris Kelly and Daniel Paille.

The Bruins picked up the win without forward Brad Marchand, who was out with flu-like symptoms. The B’s certainly made due without the 23-year-old, as Bergeron’s line still produced three goals.

The Bruins will next play on Saturday when they host the Canucks in a rematch of the 2011 Stanley Cup finals.

WHAT WENT RIGHT FOR THE BRUINS

–  No Marchand? No problem. Pouliot was superb in filling in for the ill winger on the second-line, getting four shots on goal and assisting Seguin and Bergeron’s goals. Benoit Pouliot did a nice job of stealing the puck in the neutral zone, feeding Seguin to set top Bergeron’s goal in the second period. He now has 13 points (seven goals and six assists) in 31 games this season. He got secondary assists on Seguin’s goal and Bergeron’s second tally.

The three assists for Pouliot matched a career-high, and it doubled his assist total this season.

– More of the same from Rask. The B’s backup lowered his league-best goals-against average and save percentage with the shutout, and has now allowed just one goal over his last five games. Scary to think that this is a guy who might not even get a start in the postseason.

- Good to see Paille score a shorthanded goal on the breakaway. Very quietly — a secret that’s been kept off the stat sheet for the most part — Paille has been putting together a heck of a season. He now has seven goals on the season, and if he had a better finishing touch he could easily have double that.

– Joe Corvo was a plus-4 on the night despite not picking up a point in the game with a game-high seven shots on goal. His plus/minus was best among the Bruins, while Flames defenseman Chris Butler was a horrific minus-7. In Butler’s case, Wednesday’s game could ruin him in that category for the season.

– Given how many goals the B’s scored on the night, of course it was another night in which the Bruins scored goals within a minute of each other. Bergeron’s first goal and Kelly’s tally came 47 seconds apart, marking the 13th time this season the B’s have scored two goals in less than a minute.

WHAT WENT WRONG FOR THE BRUINS

– Nothing.

Tyler Seguin will return to the lineup Thursday after being a healthy scratch Tuesday. (AP)

Are you ready for Tyler Seguin‘s apology for skipping a team meeting and being scratched as a result?

“I talked about it the other day,” Seguin said Thursday. “I’ve already kind of moved on and am getting ready for tonight’s game.”

That’s all Seguin would say on the matter, as the Bruins would not permit further questions about his actions in Winnipeg and the discipline he’s received. He will be in the lineup Thursday against the Panthers.

While Seguin was not allowed to elaborate on his confusing time zone mixup excuse, teammates did not shed light on the matter.

Jordan Caron, who was rooming with Seguin when the team arrived early Tuesday in Winnipeg, said that he simply thought Seguin was sleeping a few minutes later Tuesday morning.

“It was an accident. I got up real early and didn’t want to wake him up,” Caron said after Thursday’s morning skate. “I went to breakfast, and then the meeting started. We tried calling him a few times. It’s an accident. I don’t think it’s anybody’s fault. It happens.”

Caron noted that Seguin was indeed in the room, and that “he wasn’t out or anything.” The Bruins arrived in Winnipeg early Tuesday morning after playing in Pittsburgh Monday night.

“We came in really late. We went to bed at the same time and I woke up really early and went and got breakfast,” he said. “I didn’t want to wake him up first. It was an accident.”

The Bruins did not permit questions about the incident during Seguin’s media availability, with the second-year forward saying only the following: “I talked about it the other day. I’ve already kind of moved on and am getting ready for tonight’s game.”

Like Seguin, Nathan Horton was once a top-5 pick (third overall in 2003). Has he ever missed a meeting?

“I haven’t,” Horton said. “I’m too afraid to miss them, so I show up real early. Things do happen, and you just can’t let it happen I guess.”

Seguin received a talking to from Shawn Thornton Tuesday, but Horton said that more than one player talked to the youngster about it.

“I think a lot of guys have [spoken to him],” Horton said. “He obviously knows what he did wrong. It’s just, try to forget about it and move on, and try not to let it happen again.”

Dennis Seidenberg also said he has never missed a meeting in his career. He did, however, defend Seguin by echoing the youngster’s claim that he missed the meeting because he still had his phone on Boston time.

“He missed adapting to a time change, or changing the time on his cell phone,” Seidenberg said. “The wakeup call just didn’t go off, so that’s why he missed.”

It was then pointed out that, if the phone story is to believed, Seguin would have woken up an hour early.

“Oh yeah, that’s true,” Seidenberg said with a laugh.

Asked then whether he bought Seguin’s excuse, Seidenberg laughed and remarked, “I have no idea. I’ve got nothing.”

All kidding aside, Nathan Horton has never missed a meeting in his career. Dennis Seidenberg has never missed a meeting. Combined, that’s 17 seasons without a single meeting missed. Tyler Seguin has missed “more than a few” in one season and two months. Pun very intended:

That’s alarming.

Speaking with the media for the first time in nearly two weeks amidst his cold start to the season, Bruins right wing Nathan Horton touched on how things have been for him to begin his second season of the Bruins. Horton heavily implied that his struggles are somewhat related to the concussion he suffered in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals against the Canucks.

Horton is long removed from symptoms of his concussion, which ended his postseason, but he said that he still hasn’t gotten back to feeling satisfied with his game since the hit from Aaron Rome.

“I’m still trying to get my game back,” Horton said. “I obviously don’t feel 100 percent out there. I’m not myself, you know? I’m just trying to get that back. Last game, I thought we played better. Hopefully we can build off it.”

Asked specifically whether he was dealing with anything physical, Horton replied, “No, no.”

“Obviously I just need to get my timing and stuff,” he said. “I still don’t feel like I’m myself out there. Like, I’m fine, but I just need to be better obviously. That’s it. I just need to be better.”

Horton said that he has not had any issues with depression, a symptom of post-concussion syndrome.

Here’s the rest of what Horton had to say:

On playing with Milan Lucic and David Krejci:

“Obviously they help. I’ve said a ill ion times that they’re great players. I played with them last year, so it definitely feels more comfortable for me.”

On whether he felt it would take time before he would be comfortable again:

“I had never had a concussion or anything like that. I didn’t know what to expect coming in. Obviously it has, but I’ve just got to keep working through it. I know I’ve got to be better, and I can be better. It’s just a matter of time. I want to be better, so I think it’s got to come sooner or later.”

On whether the penalties he’s taken have been out of frustration:

“Obviously in the Carolina game, yeah, but in the other ones, not really, no. I just try to get in there. Guys are turning and I’m just kind of still finishing my check a little bit, and that’s how it happens. Except for the one game, [no].”

On the fact that the bad penalties have happened more than once:

“I mean I guess I’m getting myself in the wrong spot at the wrong times, but there’s a lot of calls that are being missed out there, too. I obviously have to be more cautious of when I do it, but if they’re not a call a lot of them that they get on you, you’re obviously going to get mad and want to do something, too. It’s just a matter of holding back and not getting that last whack in, because I guess that’s what they’re calling.”

On being physical coming off concussion:

“I’ve got hit, I’ve hit some people, but obviously I haven’t gotten killed. I’ve gotten hit as much as you can, I guess. I have gotten hit pretty hard. Again, I’m just trying to forget what happened and just move forward.”

On whether he thinks about his concussion when he plays:

“I’m only human. I do think of it. I think anybody else, anybody would that was in my situation. It’s not easy, obviously, but again, I’m still trying. I want to be better, and I think that’s what matters.”

On whether he is depressed:

“Nope. No depression issues. Other than the fact that I want to do better, that’s about it. No depression issues or anything.”

On opening up about his concussion:

“Whenever it’s brought up, I try to forget about it. I definitely want to move on, and it seems like it’s just kind of dragging on. People keep asking about it, so I’m going to talk about it, but obviously I don’t want to talk about it. I want to forget about it, and that’s it. I feel fine. Now I just want to be better.”

On avoiding the media:

“I’m not giving an excuse or anything. I’m just saying obviously I want to be better and that’s it. I just think I haven’t been around. I don’t know.”

On whether he is dealing with a lack of motivation:

“I actually feel like I’m trying. I’m backchecking. I think it’s all about when I get the puck, or when I don’t have the puck, I’m just thinking too much. When you think too much, it doesn’t go the way you want it too. When you’re not thinking too much, it just falls into place, and good things happen. Definitely, that’s what I want to get back to here.”

On whether his concussion impact preparation for season:

“Definitely. It did interrupt my summer. … It was a short summer, but definitely a tough one. I’m just trying to forget it, like I said, start doing better and playing more like myself and let this pass through. That’s what I want to get back to doing.”