Bruins 3, Maple Leafs 0

TORONTO (AP) -The Boston Bruins are doing their part to keep the team together through the trading deadline.

Tim Thomas made 43 saves for his third shutout of the season, Jason York scored his first NHL goal in three years, and the Bruins gained ground with a 3-0 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.

P.J. Axelsson and Stanislav Chistov also scored for the Bruins, who have won five of six to move back into the playoff hunt with 62 points.

The belief is Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli won't break up the team up if the Bruins remain in contention. Boston is in 12th place in the Eastern Conference, five points behind Carolina and the playoff cutoff.

"Nobody wants to see anybody get traded," Thomas said. "Every team ends up being a family. Our job is to do the best we can in the locker room. We can't control what management does."

Toronto, which held a 43-22 shots advantage, slipped into a tie for ninth place in the East, a point in back of Carolina.

Thomas didn't have to make any spectacular saves, but he rebounded from a 5-1 loss to Toronto on Jan. 1. He recorded his fourth career shutout and is 7-2 since Feb. 3. He allowed 13 goals in his last two games against the Maple Leafs, but is 5-2 against them this season.

Thomas wanted to win this game after being reminded of the 5-1 loss.

"I didn't really think about it until someone said something in the second period," Thomas said. "I didn't want to give them anything. They've already got enough out of me this year."

York, who played in Switzerland last season, scored his first goal since Jan. 8, 2004. He gave Boston a 3-0 lead at 17:41 of the second period with a one-timer from the blue line after Brandon Bochenski made a pass from behind the net following a Toronto turnover.

York didn't return after taking a puck to the face early in the third, but said he was fine after the game.

Fans booed the Maple Leafs off the ice at the final horn.

"There was not enough urgency in our game," captain Mats Sundin said. "Even though we traded a lot of chances we just didn't have the killer instinct. We need to get back to that."

The Maple Leafs dropped to 12-13-5 at home.

"You wonder what's going on there," Sundin said. "We need to play better at home. There's no doubt about that. You can't have a .500 record at home and make the playoffs."

Toronto backup Jean-Sebastien Aubin replaced Andrew Raycroft to start the third after Raycroft allowed three goals on 13 shots. Raycroft has struggled this season to make saves with his glove, but Toronto coach Paul Maurice might also have wanted to rest Raycroft, who started his 21st straight game.

The Maple Leafs - shut out for the second time this season - misfired on a number of chances, including a partial breakaway by Bates Battaglia and Hal Gill.

Battaglia also missed the net in the first period.

The Maple Leafs finished 0-for-6 on the power play.

Chistov's shot deflected off the post and Raycroft's glove before crossing the line at 7:13 of the first.

Axelsson scored a short-handed goal with a slap shot to the glove side at 14:14 of the second to give Boston a 2-0 lead.

Notes: Glen Murray, Boston's top goal-scorer, missed the game with a strained groin. ... Patrice Bergeron missed a fourth straight game with a lower-body injury. ... Sundin needs three goals to tie Darryl Sittler for the most in team history (389).