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Boston 6, Carolina 3

RALEIGH, N.C., Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Bill Guerin recorded his second career hat trick Wednesday night as the Boston Bruins celebrated Coach Robbie Ftorek's 50th birthday with a 6-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Guerin's performance overshadowed a memorable night for Ron Francis, who scored his 500th career goal in his 1,000th game with the Hurricanes franchise.

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Francis joined some elite company, putting his name next to Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Gordie Howe and Marcel Dionne as the only players in NHL history with 500 goals and 1,000 assists.

Guerin already had scored twice when Francis cut Boston's lead to 3-1 in the first period. Guerin finished his first hat trick in just over five years by hitting an empty net with 43 seconds left.

Joe Thornton had another empty-net goal for the Bruins, who passed Carolina and Toronto for first overall in the Eastern Conference by finishing a 3-1-0 road trip with their sixth win in seven games.

Rookie Erik Cole had a pair of assists for the Hurricanes, who had their unbeaten run halted at four games (3


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