Bruins show keen awareness in win

[ Game summary ]

By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, Globe Staff, 10/27/2000

ny time a coaching change is made, the chance of the team winning its first game with the new bench boss increases exponentially. Chalk it up to a kick in the pants generated by the shock factor, a necessary wake-up call prompted by fear, a desire to impress the new coach, you name it. When clubs make the switch - as Boston did when it dismissed Pat Burns and hired Mike Keenan Wednesday - teams are always on their best behavior, at least initially.

That was certainly true last night as the Bruins romped over the feeble Washington Capitals, 4-1, at the FleetCenter.

Jason Allison had two goals and Don Sweeney added a pair of assists in the victory, Boston's first since beating Anaheim in overtime Oct. 11.

Given the circumstances (and it didn't hurt that the Capitals had only one win in eight games), it was assumed the Bruins would come out with intensity.

It was a particularly tough assignment for Keenan, who had the benefit of only one practice before coaching his first game with a roster he acknowledged he knew nothing about. He said he leaned heavily on assistant coaches Jacques Laperriere and Peter Laviolette to give him personnel advice.

''I relied on them completely,'' said Keenan. ''I had very little knowledge of the players and in fact, probably don't know all their names yet. I'm not proud of that, but it's been a very hectic period of time and they've been invaluable - all the trainers, the coaches - trying to make the assessment of what we were going into the game with tonight and how we were going to play.''

With regard to line combinations, Keenan said he expressed what he was looking for to his assistants and asked which players fit the bill.

''I'm very pleased with the game and very proud of our team,'' he said. ''There was a lot of pressure on them when you make a change like this, there's a tremendous amount of focus on the team. We saw the energy, we saw the work, they stayed competitive, they didn't show a lot of signs of being fragile, they showed some resilience.''

Rookie Andrew Raycroft backstopped the victory, making 27 saves.

''We have a very young goaltender in net and there's a tremendous amount of pressure on him and he got the job done,'' said Keenan.

Raycroft said he was thrilled to have so much support, both from his coach and from his teammates.

''You don't want to say it was an easy night,'' said Raycroft, ''but it was a lot easier than what the last four or five games have been. It was night and day, that's for sure. It's a lot better being up, 2-0, than being down 2-0.''

The Bruins jumped out to a two-goal lead a little more than three minutes into the first period with P.J. Axelsson and Allison netting even-strength tallies (a rarity prior to this game) at 1:52 and 3:14, respectively.

Left wing Joe Sacco pulled the Capitals within 2-1 at 18:45 of the second. But Boston broke it open midway through the third with a little help from an ex-Bruin. Right wing Joe Murphy took a double minor for interference and cross-checking Andrei Kovalenko and the Bruins scored on the ensuing power play.

Allison scored his second of the night and fifth of the season at 9:37, one-timing a shot from the left point. The shot was redirected off a Capitals defenseman and past goalie Craig Billington for the 3-1 lead.

The Bruins put it out of reach on the back half of the power play when Mikko Eloranta, who played like a man possessed for the entire contest, kept at the puck and finally jammed it under Billington at 10:27 to close it out.

It's only one game, but Keenan liked what he saw.

''They played with emotion,'' said Keenan, ''and they played with passion and that was the thing that was most significant for me tonight.''

Asked if there was an appreciable difference between Burns and Keenan, defenseman Hal Gill said it's going to take longer to evaluate than one game.

''Honestly, I don't see that much of a difference,'' Gill said. ''I think I see a little more active defense and we're trying to be up more and more aggressive. That's really the only big difference, taking the same basics and moving them forward.''

The Bruins were certainly helped by the adrenaline push that accompanies any significant change.

''When we were out there, we were fired up,'' said Gill. ''And we were happy to be home. We had a tough road trip and we got back and we've got a new coach. There's all this excitement and anxiety and everyone wants to show how good they can play and impress the coach, and that was a big part of our success tonight.''