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BRUINS 3, SHARKS 2 They're at their best - for full 60 minutes [ Game summary ]
What was yesterday's performance at the FleetCenter? Perhaps nothing more than a baby step toward maturity. But for 60 minutes, the Hub's hockey team played with consistency and confidence - attributes that can mean a lot come April - on its way to a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks.
The Bruins scored early (Jason Allison, No. 26, at 0:52). They broke a 1-1 tie on a Sergei ''The Sensation'' Samsonov goal in the waning seconds of the middle period. They won it on the strength of a rare and somewhat fluky Mike Knuble goal, the journeyman winger connecting with a waist-high swing that these days might be the envy of Nomar Garciaparra. And to top it all off, or back it all up, John Grahame turned back 26 shots for his third consecutive win in the Boston net.
''They're understanding what it means to be competitive each and every night,'' said coach Mike Keenan, moments after his club leapfrogged Carolina for the No. 8 playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. ''You have to bring your best game to the arena.''
Against a struggling San Jose club that had lost three straight, the Bruins got an hour's worth of physical play in all three zones. By midseason, the Sharks looked capable of winning the Western Conference. These days, they look like they're strugging to hold on, and they played a heady, sometimes chippy game that the Bruins matched elbow for elbow and shot for shot (28-28).
After Allison's goal, off a pretty give-and-go between Samsonov (1-5-6 in the last three games) and Bill Guerin, provided the early lead, the Sharks tied it at 7:03. Marco Sturm, fresh out of the penalty box, sneaked one by a sitting Grahame, the big goalie mistakenly believing he was derriere-down on the puck. In truth, the puck was sitting just in front of the goal line, about 4 inches off Grahame's right hip, and Sturm tucked it in before Don Sweeney could catch up and tug him off the play.
That was Grahame's only miscue. For the rest of the game, he was confident and relaxed, fielding a few shots with the ease of a slick-gloved first baseman. A three-game win streak is impressive for the Bruins, but all the more so in that it has come without Byron Dafoe (pulled hamstring) doing the 24-square-foot duty. ''You get more comfortable out there,'' said Grahame, who two seasons ago backed the Providence Bruins to the Calder Cup championship. ''You get up to speed.''
Grahame was at his best when the Sharks skated with a five-on-three advantage for just under a minute in the second period, and he was poised in the final moments when the Sharks skated with a six-on-four power play, after Stephen Walkom whistled a ridiculous cross-checking call against Kyle McLaren.
Samsonov, playing the best he has in four NHL seasons, swept in the go-ahead goal with 46 seconds remaining in the second period, set up by a short Joe Thornton feed. The darting Russian stepped out from behind the goal line and slid the puck under Evgeni Nabokov for the 2-1 lead.
Early in third period, Knuble went to bat, literally. After linemate Brian Rolston hit Nabokov with a snap shot from the left faceoff dot, a charging Knuble knocked the rebound under the crossbar with a hip-level swing of his stick. The play went to the replay judge for a review.
''I caught the ref's eye as soon as it went in,'' said Knuble, who looked astonished when his swing lit the red light. ''I think we were all sitting there with our fingers crossed.''
Only 38 seconds later, with 5:47 gone, the Sharks pulled back within a goal when Mike Ricci slid in a doorstep backhander off a feed from Scott Thornton.
The Sharks outshot the Bruins, 6-3, over the remaining 14:13, but Grahame snuffed out every chance.
''Two steps forward, one back; sometimes one forward, three back,'' said Keenan, characterizing how his club has built its 28-24-6-7 record. ''They are learning, and they still have a lot to learn about playing in pressure-packed situations.''
The real pressure begins in April, provided the Bruins make it to the postseason. Yesterday suggested they should.
This story ran on page F01 of the Boston Globe on 3/4/2001.
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here remains about one month for the Bruins to get their game in shape, reserve a playoff spot, and try to end a drought of nearly 30 years without a Stanley Cup.