The Bruins finally made their statement in Pittsburgh, and it didn't involve anybody touching Matt Cooke. 

Wednesday night featured plenty of fisticuffs -- the Bruins and Penguins had three quarrels -- but in the end the Bruins made their first trip to Pittsburgh since the Marc Savard concussion incident by embarrassing the Penguins with five unanswered goals in the third period en route to a 7-4 victory. The team will face the Canadiens for the first time this season on Thursday at the Garden, and one would have to think that they have a full head of steam following the impressive victory.

Tons of positives will get lost in the shuffle of all that went down on Wednesday, so here's a quick rundown. Mark Recchi had a goal and two assists on the night, while Tyler Seguin had his finest demonstration of playmaking in turning a steal behind the net into Recchi's tally. Blake Wheeler also had a pretty, off-balance goal to make it 6-4 in the third, and Jordan Caron picked up his first career assist. 

It's plays like these that get buried beneath the major storylines to emerge from the game. Without further ado, the Hat Trick:

CALL IT A COMEBACK

LL Cool J was wrong. Of course it was a comeback.

With the Bruins down, 4-2, thanks to a pair of Penguins goals late in the second period, the B's faced a multiple-goal deficit for the third time in their last three games. They came back against the Capitals (only to lose), so it didn't appear another comeback on the road was out of reach.

The Bruins scored five goals (one of which was a Milan Lucic empty netter, his second of the season) in the third period, an offensive explosion that more than doubled their production through the first two periods. Just as impressive as the team's response in the third period is the fact that the team has trained fans to expect it.  

[To twitter followers, here's what you're looking for:] 

The Bruins have trailed in the third period in five games this season. In those situations, they scored a combined 11 goals in the third period. That's 2.2 goals per period when they're trailing in the third. For a comparison, the Bruins had 2.39 goals per game last season.  

Of course, the Bruins have come away with victories in just one of the aforementioned games, and on Oct. 23 they posted a goose egg while trailing the Rangers in the third period. Even so, the Bruins have already established themselves as a team capable of answering the bell in the third period, even when they can't match their opponent stride for stride early on. 

FOURTH LINE'S A CHARM 

Yes, you've read that before, and it's how it will be worded every time the fourth line -- er, energy line -- proves to be game-changers.

Ilya Kovalchuk, Vincent Lecavalier, Jamie Langenbrunner and a couple of rookies named Seguin and Hall -- these are a few the players that have three goals this season. As of Wednesday night, you had better add Shawn Thornton to that list.  

Thornton scored just one goal last season, and through 11 games, he's already scored two of the team's biggest goals of the season. He tied it up against the Capitals on Friday and gave the Bruins the improbable game-winner on Wednesday. He still drops the gloves -- he danced with Eric Godard in the first period -- but Thornton is proving that he can beat up teams in more ways than one. 

Then there's Brad Marchand, who picked up his second goal of the season when he put the Bruins on the board in the first period. He was jawing prior to the goal (shocker) and he had reason to keep it up afterwards. Marchand now has six points on the season, just one less than Seguin.

IS IT TUUKKA TIME?

Stirring the "goaltending controversy on a team with two goaltenders who understand the system pot" may be the most infuriating thing a scribe can do, but allow me just a few paragraphs. 

Tim Thomas allowed four goals on Wednesday night, though he faced 46 shots. In reality, it was a better start than his last one -- a two-period performance in which he allowed three goals to the Capitals -- but it was also a sign that perhaps the time has finally come for Tuukka Rask to start racking up the starts. 

Thomas is still 8-0-0 in nine starts this season, and he has still been the best goaltender in the league. Even so, the Bruins have to expect hot streaks from each of their goalies, during which the other netminder would have to get comfortable wearing a baseball cap. 

Claude Julien said prior to the second game of the season that it would take something astonishing from Rask in the season-opener for the Bruins to not play Thomas on the second night. And it seem's that's what it's taken for the B's to give Thomas the vast majority of the starts -- astonishing play. Thomas is still playing well enough to give the B's a chance to win, but it seems now is good a time as ever for Julien to help even out the goaltending balance.