ONTREAL - The playoffs began last night for the Bruins.
That was the message delivered by coach Mike Keenan and general manager Mike O'Connell, who addressed the team yesterday morning before they played the Montreal Canadiens.
Part of the sermon, short and sweet, was delivered clearly: If you don't start playing at the postseason level, there won't be any postseason.
The club's response was immediate. After playing their best period in a long time, the Bruins let the Canadiens back in the game but survived to pick up two precious points with a 3-2 victory at the Molson Centre.
It ended Boston's winless streak at five games (0-4-1) and was the first victory for goalie Byron Dafoe since Feb. 6. This was only his second game back since a right hamstring injury.
The Bruins are within a point of eighth-place Carolina in the Eastern Conference. The Hurricanes host the New York Islanders today.
The first period was all Bruins as they dominated and went into the intermission with a 2-0 lead, outshooting the Habs by a whopping 15-3 margin.
In addition to the pep talk, O'Connell offered some technical advice, particularly to the defensemen, regarding moving the puck out of the zone.
''We were more desperate than we have showed in the past,'' said Kyle McLaren. ''[O'Connell] had some good points this morning and I do think it helped. He's played this game. I think a lot of it had to do with on-ice stuff.''
The Bruins looked comfortable in their own zone, and received some timely scoring. Sergei Samsonov accounted for Boston's first-period goals, giving him 25 for the season, which ties his career high.
Samsonov's first came at 6:10 when he took a pass from Bill Guerin, dashed in on a breakaway and lifted a backhander over goalie Jose Theodore.
At 18:08, Samsonov made it a two-goal lead. Mikko Eloranta, who was playing his first game since Feb. 24, had the initial shot but Samsonov got to the rebound, patiently curled around the outside of the crease and roofed a shot over Theodore.
''He's gotten better every game in terms of his confidence level and his ability to play in any situation,'' said Keenan of Samsonov. ''He's a game-breaking style of player and he's played very well throughout.''
Montreal's opportunities were few and far between. A backhand wraparound from Saku Koivu was denied by Dafoe, who had little work.
At 1:09 of the second, defenseman Patrick Traverse, who was swapped for defenseman Eric Weinrich Feb. 21, was called for interference. Weinrich made his former club pay on the power play, notching his seventh goal of the season, his first as a Bruin, and his first since Feb. 10.
The Canadiens, with a lot more energy in the second period, pulled to within 3-1 at 6:48. Johan Witehall skated from behind the net and flipped a backhander from the low edge of the left circle that eluded Dafoe.
Montreal climbed even closer at 3:30 of the third. Sheldon Souray teed up a slapper from inside the blue line that blew past Dafoe and into the top right corner of the net to make it 3-2.
Things got interesting in the period because the Canadiens had some good chances to tie it.
''It was a good reflection of the fact this league is a tough league,'' said Keenan. ''There's nothing that can be accomplished that's easy any night.''
