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KINGS 5, BRUINS 0 [ Game summary ]
The fact is, Wednesday night in Anaheim, Boston didn't play very well but lucky for them, the Ducks were worse and the Bruins escaped with an overtime victory.
Last night, there was no escaping how badly the Bruins played. They came out flat, were knocked on their heels early, and never recovered as Los Angeles romped to an easy 5-0 triumph at the Staples Center.
Their defensive play sloppy, their offensive chances minuscule, their penalties plentiful, it was one of those contests where nothing much goes right.
To add to their woes, goalie Byron Dafoe and defenseman Kyle McLaren were forced to leave because of injuries. Dafoe, who was making his first start in nearly a week because of a pulled left hamstring, lasted only a period before the balky leg flared up. McLaren took a shot off the left foot in the second and was forced to the dressing room.
Dafoe is likely out for the foreseeable future. Assistant general manager Mike O'Connell said Kay Whitmore, who just flew home to Providence when Dafoe was cleared to play, will be rejoining the team.
McLaren will be reevaluated today. X-rays on the swollen foot were negative and he said it will be a matter of if he can put his skate on and how much pain he's experiencing.
The Bruins got off to a brutal start, falling behind by three goals three-quarters of the way through the first period.
Dafoe surrendered the trio of strikes on 11 shots before coach Pat Burns was forced to pull him in favor of rookie Andrew Raycroft at the start of the second period.
The Kings opened the scoring at 4:23 when star right wing Ziggy Palffy potted his fourth goal of the season. Defenseman Jaroslav Modry, in the left circle, dished a pass off for Palffy, who was coming in from the right. With Bruins left wing Mikko Eloranta hauling him down in desperation, Palffy fell forward into the slot but got his shot off anyway.
Los Angeles boosted the lead to 2-0, converting on the club's first power play of the game. With Mike Knuble off for holding, Eric Belanger picked up his second goal of the season with five seconds remaining on the man-advantage. Belanger, set up below the left faceoff circle, feathered a pass to Nelson Emerson, who tried to take a shot. But it was blocked and the puck bounced right back to Belanger, who rapped it past Dafoe.
The Bruins had a terrific chance to get on the board at 14:30 when they rushed up the ice with a 2-on-1 break. Center Jason Allison, charging up the right side, took the shot but goalie Steve Passmore turned it back.
Just 10 seconds later, the Kings made it a three-goal bulge on the first of three goals by center Ian Laperriere.
Forward Steven Reinprecht, in the left circle, dropped a pass back for Laperriere, who kicked the puck with his left skate up to his stick and snapped a shot over the glove of Dafoe at 14:40.
In the second, the Bruins spent more time in the penalty box than in the Kings' zone.
Laperriere struck for a second time at 2:44 to give Los Angeles a 4-0 cushion. Jason Blake, in the right corner, flipped a backhand pass to Reinprecht behind the net. Reinprecht centered a pass in front for Laperriere, who banged it past Raycroft.
Boston, which had at least one power-play goal in each of the first four games, had a good chance to convert during a man-advantage when center Joe Thornton tried to backhand a shot from the top of the crease, but Passmore hung on.
The Bruins, who managed only four shots in the period, got into penalty trouble midway through with defensemen Jarno Kultanen and Kyle McLaren being whistled off, allowing the Kings a two-man advantage for 1:22. However, Allison and defensemen Don Sweeney and Peter Popovic killed off the 5-on-3.
The Bruins had a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:43 in the third but the power play stalled out.
Laperriere closed out the scoring by completing his first career hat trick with 2:52 remaining.
This story ran on page G01 of the Boston Globe on 10/14/2000.
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OS ANGELES - What, you thought the Bruins were going to go unbeaten all 82 games?