RALEIGH, N.C. -- Tonight, Tim Thomas got his third win at the RBC Center in two weeks. Thomas put on a third-period clinic to backstop the Bruins to a 3-2 win over the Hurricanes.

The Bruins broke a 1-1 third-period tie with two straight goals. Nathan Horton put his club ahead with a top-shelf strike at 3:54. It was Horton's first goal in 11 games. At 5:06, Patrice Bergeron's long-distance shot floated through traffic and beat Cam Ward.

The Hurricanes clawed back with a power-play goal after Brad Marchand was called for an untimely takedown of Jeff Skinner. Joe Corvo ripped a shot through an Erik Cole screen that Tim Thomas couldn't stop at 8:05, making it a 3-2 game.

Daniel Paille gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead in the second period. Paille gained net-front position and deflected a Zdeno Chara shot past Ward at 4:14 to make it a 1-0 game. It was Paille's first goal of the season.

The Hurricanes tied the game later in the second. Ex-Bruin Sergei Samsonov wheeled into the offensive zone and put a shot on goal. Samsonov's shot bounced off Bergeron's blade and skittered to Jamie McBain at the far post. McBain tapped the puck past Thomas at 11:25 to tie the game at 1-1.

Paille had the best scoring chance of a scoreless first period. After taking a backhand feed from Marchand, Paille broke in on Ward and pinged a shot off the left post.

Last night was Thomas's fourth straight start. Thomas is on pace to appear in 59 games, most since he played in 66 games in 2006-07. Tuukka Rask hasn't played since Jan. 20.

"We have to manage that. There's no ifs or buts," Claude Julien said of Thomas's workload. "You try and balance it out, knowing that you have to win some hockey games and you want to go with your best goaltender. At the same time, you've got to understand that he's one of those goaltenders that's going to need some rest. We've tried to do that. Tuukka's going to have to come up big. He's going to be playing and he's going to have to play well and win us some hockey games."

Blake Wheeler centered the third line between Michael Ryder and Tyler Seguin. In the most recent games, Seguin had been in the middle with Wheeler on his left and Ryder on the right.

16:50 3d period: Bruins 3-2
Two more sparklers by Tim Thomas, first on Erik Cole, then on Brandon Sutter.

15:54 3d period: Bruins 3-2
Cam Ward kicks out a Zdeno Chara slapper. Should be a great last few minutes.

8:05 3d period: Bruins 3-2
With traffic in front, Joe Corvo rips a slap shot past Tim Thomas. Good screen by Erik Cole. Looks like it skimmed off Dennis Seidenberg.

6:13 3d period: Bruins 3-1
Untimely takedown of Jeff Skinner by Brad Marchand.

5:06 3d period: Bruins 3-1
Patrice Bergeron with the long-distance shot. Looks like it hit something before beating Cam Ward. Mark Recchi with a helper after winning a puck battle.

3:54 3d period: Bruins 2-1
Nathan Horton goes upstairs on Cam Ward. Slick dish by David Krejci. Before the goal, Tim Thomas gets his stick on Eric Staal's bid.

20:00 2d period: 1-1
Gregory Campbell moves up to center Blake Wheeler and Michael Ryder. Could be that way in third if Claude Julien goes to three lines.

11:25 2d period: 1-1
Sergei Samsonov wheels through the offensive zone and puts a shot on goal. Samsonov's shot bounces off Patrice Bergeron's blade to Jamie McBain, who taps the puck past Tim Thomas.

4:14 2d period: Bruins 1-0
Daniel Paille redirects a Zdeno Chara blast. Good stickwork by Paille to get first strike of year.

20:00 1st period: 0-0
Steven Kampfer flattens Jeff Skinner at the end of the first. Hurricanes don't like anybody going after their prized rookie.

17:32 1st period: 0-0
Big-time save by Cam Ward on Blake Wheeler's in-close bid.

16:08 1st period: 0-0
Milan Lucic vs. Jay Harrison. Not much of a scrap. Harrison gets Lucic's helmet off with a combination. Lucic fared better against Harrison last time, when he left the 'Cane with a bloodied face.

8:59 1st period: 0-0
Turnover by Tyler Seguin at offensive blue leads to Carolina rush. Interference by Michael Ryder.

3:30 1st period: 0-0
Daniel Paille hits the left post. Nice backhand flip by Brad Marchand.

2:07 1st period: 0-0
Three huge stops by Tim Thomas on the Carolina PP. Play stops after Thomas loses his lid.

0:10 1st period: 0-0
Erik Cole puts a shoulder into Zdeno Chara. First body contact we've seen at this rink in quite some time.

0:00 1st period: 0-0
Mark Stuart is the healthy scratch.