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BRUINS 1, LIGHTNING 1 Upturn found on third stop of trip [ Game summary ]
Three games into it, the results have been mixed. There was a satisfying win Wednesday against the New York Islanders, a dismal shutout Friday at the hands of the Florida Panthers, and last night's frustrating 1-1 tie with Tampa Bay. The Bruins outshot the Lightning, 34-23, and outplayed them for several stretches, but couldn't outscore them despite five power-play chances and a myriad of even-strength opportunities.
Now it's off to Buffalo for a matinee tomorrow that could be even more difficult.
''We had a good effort tonight,'' said Bruins coach Mike Keenan. ''Their goaltender [Dan Cloutier, who made 33 saves] was spectacular, but it certainly was a big turnaround for us in terms of effort of a night ago [a 3-0 loss to Florida]. We had some great chances even on the opening shift.... Some nights, you just run into a hot goaltender.''
The Bruins jumped in front midway through the first period with forward Brian Rolston picking up his sixth goal of the season. Joe Thornton, positioned at the right point, dished a pass to the middle of the point for Jonathan Girard, who ripped a one-timer that Cloutier saved with his stick. However, the rebound bounced into the slot and Rolston got to it. Defenseman Andrei Zyuzin tried to upend Rolston by putting his stick between his legs, but Rolston just picked his right leg high off the ice and managed to tap the puck into the net while standing on his left skate at 9:28.
Zyuzin pulled the Lightning even during a power play at 14:49. With the Bruins scrambling to clear the puck, center Martin St. Louis dished a pass from the right circle to Zyuzin, who was coming down from the left. His shot beat goalie Byron Dafoe for his first tally of the year.
The Bruins carried the play for the first half of the period, outshooting Tampa, 6-2, while gathering several good chances to put more on the board. Center Jason Allison tried to muscle his way to the net from the right circle as defenseman Cory Sarich tried to stop him. Allison went to switch to the backhand but was crosschecked down by defenseman Jassen Cullimore, putting the Bruins on the power play.
But, as has been true of the last 12 games, Boston struggled on the man-advantage. The Bruins went into this contest having converted just 5 of 57 opportunities. Not much changed last night as they came up empty on five power plays.
The second period was scoreless, with the Bruins outshooting the Lightning, 13-10.
One of the Bruins' better scoring chances came during a power play when right wing Bill Guerin set up defenseman Darren Van Impe, who blasted a shot that was denied by Cloutier, making his first start in nearly two weeks.
The Lightning had opportunities as well. One of the best was at 11:01 when St. Louis drove down the right circle, beating Hal Gill to the outside. St. Louis charged the net, but Dafoe (22 saves) stopped the shot.
The Bruins received good work from some of their supporting cast. At 14:35, left wing P.J. Axelsson and right wing Dixon Ward did a good job of cycling down low and trying to create something. Ward relayed a pass to Axelsson in the right circle. Axelsson took a shot and then followed up Cloutier's save by trying to jam the puck home at the right post.
Boston's best power-play chance came just after the 15-minute mark when Tampa defenseman Paul Mara was in the box for interference. Allison, from the left side, fired the puck toward the net for Thornton, who made a nice tip attempt that Cloutier snuffed out.
The Bruins had to kill off three of the Lightning's power plays in the period and six over the first 40 minutes as Guerin uncharacteristically was whistled off for four penalties - two in each of the first two periods before picking up a fifth in the third.
Keenan wasn't all that happy about Guerin's time in the box.
''We can't afford to have him in the penalty box for 10 minutes,'' said Keenan. ''You can't have your best player in the penalty box for 10 minutes.''
In overtime, Dafoe made a game-saving grab with 2:01 left. Right wing Alexander Kharitonov rifled the puck at the net and his shot was blocked. However, it deflected high into the air and was on a path behind the goalie, but Dafoe jumped and snared it.
This story ran on page C06 of the Boston Globe on 12/31/2000.
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AMPA - The Bruins went into this five-game road trip knowing it was going to be a battle in every city. Nothing has come eas y this season and it is obvious that's not going to change any time soon.