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BRUINS 5, ISLANDERS 2 They start trip by topping Islanders [ Game summary ]
Last night, Boston started the journey on the right foot against a team that has two left feet: the New York Islanders. There have been no easy wins for the Bruins, who have had a titanic struggle just to play two good games in a row. It should've been as easy as it gets, but, because of great goaltending by Wade Flaherty (42 saves), it was a little more difficult than planned. Still, the result was a 5-2 victory over a young, injury-plagued club.
Once again, the Bruins' top line of Jason Allison (three assists), Sergei Samsonov (goal, assist), and Bill Guerin (two goals) had a very productive night. Boston outshot the Islanders, 47-33, the most shots the Bruins have had all season. That, combined with Byron Dafoe's 31 saves, carried the day.
''They had spurts where they had some pressure,'' said Dafoe. ''Then we dominated for three or four minutes at a time. I think it was pretty evident we had a stronger lineup on paper and we talked about that. We just had to make sure we applied ourselves and we did. The knock on us has been that we haven't been good on the road and we haven't been good against teams under .500. This is a trip where we can make up some ground. This is a great start for us.''
This rink has not been the site of a great deal of success for the Bruins in recent years. Since the 1993-94 season, when the Bruins were unbeaten in two games on the Island, the club has struggled to a 3-8-2 mark in the previous 13 meetings, including a loss on Halloween.
Last night, the Bruins had no excuse for not winning. Goalie John Vanbiesbrouck, who was the thorn in Boston's side in the first meeting, couldn't play because of a bad back and four of the Islanders' top six defensemen were sidelined by injury.
Despite the best efforts of Flaherty, who was spectacular at times, facing 38 shots through 40 minutes, the Bruins racked up a three-goal lead heading into the second intermission. Eight of those shots belonged to forward Brian Rolston, five of which came in the middle period.
The Islanders actually had the lead, with their first goal coming at 5:42 of the first period. Right wing Bill Muckalt potted his third of the season when he took a pass from left wing Oleg Kvasha and beat Dafoe from the crease. Kvasha, in the left circle, made a nice backhand feed to Muckalt, who was charging the net.
The edge lasted less than two minutes as center Joe Thornton pulled Boston even with his 12th of the year at 7:35. Defenseman Hal Gill got the puck to forward Andrei Nazarov in the left circle and he relayed a pass into the slot. Thornton then gunned it past Flaherty to make it 1-1.
Boston had a multitude of chances to go ahead in the period, but Flaherty stemmed the tide until 18:59 when the Bruins took the lead for good.
Forward Mike Knuble blasted a shot that defenseman Kyle McLaren tipped home to make it 2-1. It was McLaren's first goal of the season (and first since March 29 against Montreal) and No. 30 of his career.
The Bruins added two more in the second. Guerin scored his first of two in the contest at 8:48, tallying a shorthander. With center Shawn Bates off for slashing, the Bruins took advantage of a turnover in the neutral zone. Allison picked up the puck and dished it to Guerin in the left circle, and his shot went high to the glove side to make it 3-1.
With one minute left in the period, Samsonov made it 4-1 with his 14th of the season. Allison battled defenseman Garry Galley behind the net and came up with the puck. He relayed it to Samsonov, who was parked by the net, and he patiently forehanded it over Flaherty.
The Islanders got one back 42 seconds into the third when center Dave Scatchard beat Dafoe, but Guerin potted his second of the night and league-leading 23d of the year at 4:37, set up by Allison.
''We've had scary times against teams we should beat in the past and tonight we weren't in any danger of losing that game,'' said Allison. ''That's what we wanted and that's what we got. Hopefully it's a sign of good things to come.''
This story ran on page C1 of the Boston Globe on 12/28/2000.
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NIONDALE, N.Y. - The Bruins made no bones about the fact that this road trip is critical to how the season plays out.