|
 |
| |||
 | |||
|
| | |
BRUINS 5, DEVILS 4 Late goals leave Devils stunned [ Game summary ]
That's why last night's wild 5-4 victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils was so significant.
Yes, it was their fourth straight win, something the Bruins hadn't accomplished since Oct. 28-Nov. 6, 1999. Yes, it ended the Devils' unbeaten streak at 11 games (7-0-4). But most important, it showed a resiliency that is the equivalent of another building block in Mike Keenan's blueprint to generate confidence.
After a pretty dull first two periods, the Bruins and Devils began connecting right and left, with Boston scoring four of the seven tallies in the third.
The goal that tied it, 4-4, came at 17:52 by right wing Andrei Kovalenko, who was back in the lineup after missing a game because of a wrenched back. And the winner came from right wing Bill Guerin, his 26th goal of the year, at 18:39. Guerin, who along with Jason Allison was added to the North American All-Star roster yesterday, beat goalie Chris Terreri off a scramble in front to lift his new team over his former club.
''From a coaching perspective, it wasn't the most pleasing game to coach from either side, I'm sure,'' said Keenan. ''But when you can battle back on the road against a club like this, it's a good solid sign we're improving as a hockey club. Our confidence levels have to become much richer than they are, but games like this can help.''
The game started extremely slowly. After a scoreless first period, the Bruins faced six straight New Jersey power plays in the second, including a five-on-three in the late going that lasted 1:26. The sixth carried over into the third period.
''That was huge,'' said Keenan. ''It's been a long time since I coached a game where we've had that many penalties called against one team without a call against the other.''
But the Devils had a hard time cashing in. They went ahead, 1-0, on Turner Stevenson's even-strength goal at 6:15 of the second, and Joe Thornton tied it with his first of two at 13:29.
That set the stage for the outrageous third.
Stevenson gave the Devils a 2-1 lead on the power play at the 26-second mark of the third. The man advantage came as a result of Guerin protesting the number of Boston penalties in the second to referee Paul Devorski. Guerin was whistled off for unsportsmanlike conduct with one-10th of a second remaining in the period.
''I have to do a better job of controlling my at-times big mouth,'' said Guerin, who had three penalties, all in the second period. ''He took a lot before he gave me the penalty. Now that we won, I can say I don't blame him. Paul's a good guy and he always lets the players play. I pushed it too far.''
Sergei Samsonov tied it at 3:17, and Thornton gave Boston its first lead, 3-2, on the power play at 6:12. Only 26 seconds later, Alex Mogilny pulled New Jersey even again at 3-3. At 7:45, Patrik Elias put the Devils back on top at 4-3. That set the stage for the late dramatics.
Thornton set up Kovalenko's goal by beating Jason Arnott on a faceoff in the left circle and moving the puck forward. Thornton's bid hit the post but Kovalenko was there for the rebound to pull Boston even, 4-4.
Then Guerin pulled the rabbit out of the hat.
''I don't know what happened,'' he said. ''I just shot it out of the corner and [Terreri] misplayed it a little bit maybe. I don't know how it got loose but [Allison] put it back on net, it hit something [the post] and came right to me.''
It certainly wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing win, but they did gain ground on first-place Ottawa, which the Bruins said is all that counts.
''We didn't play particularly well in any of the periods, but we kept battling back and no matter what happened we stayed with it,'' said Guerin. ''We didn't skate as well as we had been but we were pretty opportunistic and buried our chances. We did a pretty good job of keeping them in check and keeping the score close and reasonable for a while, and then it just turned into a really weird game.''
This story ran on page F01 of the Boston Globe on 1/17/2001.
|
AST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Two months ago, if the Bruins faced the situations they faced last night, they almost certainly would have folded. For a long time, any and all adversity was enough to send the team reeling backward, unable to respond or cope.