B's shoot, punch Ducks.

Byline: Bud Barth

BOSTON - Whatever was ailing the Bruins during their seven-game tailspin - bad hotel food, lumpy mattresses, or the unending grind - they've certainly found the cure back at home.

Led by two goals apiece from the fast-breaking pair of Chuck Kobasew and Michael Ryder, and the furious fists of Milan Lucic, the B's continued their miracle metamorphosis by roasting the Anaheim Ducks, 6-0, before a stoked sellout crowd of 17,565 last night at the Garden.

After losing four of five on the road during a 1-4-2 nosedive, the Bruins have scored 12 goals in two straight wins at home, where they are now 21-4-4. Two giant steps.

"The key there is steps, because we're not there yet, not where we want to be, but we're certainly moving in the right direction," coach Claude Julien said. "Overall, I think our game is starting to come back, but we need to be hard on ourselves in order to have our game where we want to be, and not get satisfied."

Byron Bitz added his third goal in two games and defenseman Matt Hunwick produced his first goal since Nov. 26 for the Bruins, who exploded for four strikes in the second period, including two in the final 1:59 during the tumultuous aftermath of Lucic's one-sided slapdown of Mike Brown.

It was the big left wing's first fight since Dec. 30, and the Bruins remained unbeaten (7-0) when he drops the gloves.

Shawn Thornton and even Marc Savard also got into the brawling against an Anaheim team that won the 2007 Stanley Cup by intimidating opponents.

"We have a tough team here, obviously," Thornton said. "You look around the room, we're not going to get pushed around by anybody, I don't think. The big monster (Zdeno Chara) wasn't even involved - we didn't let him out of the cage. Guys stand up for each other. We've got a close locker room."

The Bruins scored their first three goals on just seven shots, leading to the departure of Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who was replaced with Jonas Hiller at 3:43 of the second period. It was the 11th time this season the Bruins have knocked a starting goalie out of the game.

Meanwhile, Tim Thomas, who owns the best goals-against average and save percentage in the NHL, improved both numbers with a flawless, 35-save performance for the Bruins. It was his fourth shutout and 27th victory.

Thomas even picked up an assist on Ryder's second goal by finding the right winger with a long pass just short of the red line.

"That's not usually my game; it's just that tonight I felt good with the stick for whatever reason," said Thomas, who has one other career assist. "You've got to pick your spots because 90 percent of the time, it's wasted. But I had a feeling there. I caught them all going to the bench at the same time."

The fact that the Bruins continued their physical play while also streaking up and down the ice all night was impressive.

"When you do something like that, you're not really thinking out there, you're reacting," said Blake Wheeler, who had two assists. "I think a lot of the guys play their best hockey when they're bumping guys, when they're playing physical, and when they just kind of play with an edge."

The Bruins had struggled against Western Conference foes this season, losing their previous four encounters (0-2-2). They are now 8-4-2 against the West. Anaheim came into the game unbeaten (5-0-0) against Northeast Division opponents.

"We really brought an awareness of the kind of slide we've been on, and just the fact that it was unacceptable," Wheeler said.

NAME: BOSTON BRUINS

ART: PHOTO

PHOTOG: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CUTLINE: Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller and the Bruins' Phil Kessel watch Chuck Kobasew's second-period goal for Boston.