TTAWA - With only five games remaining, the Bruins' season has turned into an episode of ''Survivor.''
The only difference between the popular TV show and this team is that the Bruins might be voting themselves off the playoff island rather than having someone else do it for them.
Boston had a great opportunity last night against the Ottawa Senators but came up short in a 5-4 overtime loss at the Corel Centre.
By virtue of overtime loss, the Bruins earned 1 point. The Carolina Hurricanes, however, Boston's biggest challenger in this game of survival of the fittest, beat Washington in overtime and hold a 1-point advantage (81-80) in race for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
Left wing Martin Havlat finished off a two-on-one break by beating goalie Byron Dafoe through the pads at 2:26 of the extra period to propel Ottawa to victory.
The Bruins had a two-goal lead at 6:59 of the second but couldn't hold it. They outshot the Senators a whopping 48-26 but netminder Patrick Lalime was stellar. The Bruins had eight power plays, including five in the third period but couldn't cash in more than once.
''Lalime was better in the goal and our power play wasn't effective enough,'' said coach Mike Keenan. ''You can't score just one time in eight chances on the power play, particularly when you have a chance to win the hockey game. The other difference was Lalime. He fundamentally won the hockey game for them. It is frustrating. Any time you're on the road, you feel that a one-goal lead is a good effort. To have a two-goal lead and relinquish it ... ''
The first two periods were wild with the clubs tied at 4-4 heading into the second intermission.
Boston jumped out in front at 3:37 of the first on the first of two goals by Sergei Samsonov, who reached a career high with 27 goals. The Senators pulled even on Alexei Yashin's power-play strike at 8:47. Skating down the left wing, Yashin slapped a shot from the circle that deflected off defenseman Eric Weinrich's stick, hit goalie Byron Dafoe, and landed in the net.
Samsonov's second goal gave the Bruins back the lead at 13:56. That lasted until 17:43 when left wing Rob Zamuner scored his 19th on a terrific play. Defenseman Jason York sprung Zamuner with a long lead pass and Zamuner charged in on a breakaway and snapped a high shot past Dafoe's blocker.
In the second period the Bruins outshot the Senators, 19-10, and took a 4-2 lead on a pair of goals less than three minutes apart. The first ended a protracted scoring drought for Andrei Kovalenko. With Boston on the power play, Kovalenko cashed in on a Joe Thornton rebound at 4:01. It was the right wing's first strike in 27 games.
''Hopefully that will help him in terms of his confidence,'' said Keenan, who had continued to give Kovalenko a a regular shift despite his struggles.
Jason Allison, who set up both of Samsonov's goals, earned his third point of the night when he beat Lalime at 6:59 for his 32d goal of the year, one shy of tying a career high.
But Mike Fisher closed it to within a goal at 9:56 and Wade Redden tied it on the power play at 13:08, setting the stage for overtime.
Boston had plenty of chances to win it, the best coming during four-minute power play after Magnus Arvedson was sent off for high sticking Dixon Ward. But the Bruins couldn't solve Lalime. The Senators even had a shorthanded breakaway chance but Fisher was denied by a nifty Dafoe stick save.
''We kind of let it slip away,'' said Bill Guerin, who had two assists. ''We had a two-goal lead, we had tons of power-play opportunities. We gave them two breaks they scored on and we didn't capitalize on our power play as much as we should. [Lalime] played a solid game but I don't think he stole anything tonight. I think their penalty killing units did.''
