ho are these guys? Will the real Bruins please stand up?
If you go by Saturday's performance against the New York Rangers, Boston is Dr. Jekyll. Last night, it was Mr. Hyde who showed up, and it wasn't pretty as the Bruins dropped a 3-0 decision to the Buffalo Sabres at the FleetCenter.
Boston has won consecutive games only once this year, when it took three in a row in early October. Since then, there have been many more downs than ups on this roller coaster.
Last night, Sabres goalie Dominik Hasek had a very easy time, making 22 stops on the way to his 48th career shutout and third this year. Buffalo forward Jean-Pierre Dumont did all the scoring, racking up a hat trick with a goal in the second period and two in the third.
It was a particularly dismal evening for Boston's top line of Jason Allison, Bill Guerin, and Sergei Samsonov, each of whom finished a minus-2.
''We've been pretty much carried by the one line, and they didn't have a very good game,'' said coach Mike Keenan. ''When they don't have a good game, we're still waiting for the rest of the people to come up behind them. We haven't found them yet.''
Keenan and his players were well aware of the loud booing from fans who were dissatisfied with the team's flat-as-a-pancake performance.
''It doesn't even look like the same team as you saw on Saturday,'' said Keenan. ''They were playing a very tight, close-checking game. We didn't generate any offense on the power play when we had the opportunity in the first period.
''We haven't learned to work through the frustration of playing a really tight-checking, close-to-the-vest style of game without the level of frustration interfering with our ability to get the job done. That's part of the maturation process.''
The Bruins weren't bad in the first period, but they were unable to generate much and couldn't solve Hasek, who has been his own worst critic in recent days. After being torched for five goals by the Rangers in a jarring loss, Hasek vented his frustration, saying he wasn't playing nearly as well as he should. He didn't have any problems last night, though.
In the first period, Guerin, set up by Allison, tried to put on some pressure during a power play. Allison, set up along the left-wing boards, dished a pass to Guerin, who was off to the goalie's right. Guerin walked in and fired a shot on Hasek but it was snuffed out. During that same power play, Allison and Guerin combined on a nearly identical play but Hasek didn't yield.
The Sabres put some heat on the Bruins during a power play late in the period.
Defenseman Jason Woolley blasted a shot from the left point that goalie Peter Skudra saved. That was followed by consecutive bids off the stick of former Bruin Dave Andreychuk, but Skudra stopped them both.
Boston had a couple of shorthanded chances right after that. Defenseman Jarno Kultanen charged down the right circle and ripped a shot on Hasek. The goalie saved it, Kultanen got the rebound, but he couldn't bury it.
The Sabres broke through early in the second during a power play after center Shawn Bates took his second penalty of the game.
Right wing Maxim Afinogenov, coming out of the right corner, hit Dumont with a pass that Dumont shoveled over Skudra for the 1-0 lead at 3:25. That goal ended Boston's home regular-season shutout streak against the Sabres at 238 minutes 18 seconds.
The second period was all Buffalo, as the Bruins seemed to go to sleep. They were outshot, 14-5, and for the most part looked out of it. The period had as much excitement as a tractor pull.
In the third, the Sabres got two more from Dumont.
Center Stu Barnes, set up below the left circle, relayed a pass to Dumont in the slot. Dumont took the puck on his forehand but immediately switched to his backhand and lifted it past Skudra at 2:07. Keenan then lifted Skudra for Andrew Raycroft, hoping it would create some kind of spark. It was Raycroft's first NHL action since Nov. 9 vs. Ottawa.
''It was one of those nights,'' said Skudra. ''They really played strong defense and we couldn't get much going on. He pulled me and I knew the reason.''
The Bruins had a chance to generate some offense at 9:13 on a power play but the Sabres didn't allow them to set up at all. The only shot during the penalty was by Buffalo.
Dumont closed it out with an empty-netter with 2.1 seconds left.
Keenan saw the game as a blown opportunity.
''It's a team that has to learn to develop the mental skills to come back night after night after night,'' said Keenan. ''They haven't been able to do it.
''Every night, as you can see, is a real roller coaster ride. You just have a higher expectation when you're playing a divisional game. When an opportunity like this is wasted, it's frustrating.''
