[ Game summary ]

By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, Globe Staff, 10/31/2001

razy bounces, unlucky caroms, pucks going off skates, legs, and heads.

The game the Bruins played last night against the New Jersey Devils won't win any style points, that's for sure. Each goal was almost uglier than the one before. And in the end, the Devils got the better of the bounces as they scored with 52 seconds gone in overtime to beat Boston, 4-3, at the FleetCenter.

If the extra session seems familiar, it's because the Bruins' last four games all have gone to overtime - the first time that has happened since Nov. 13-19, 1986.

In all, six of the last eight and seven of the club's first 13 have gone beyond regulation.

The deciding goal was particularly unlucky for Boston. Defenseman Sean O'Donnell had the puck behind the net. He thought he saw some daylight, so he tried to fire it up to Jozef Stumpel. But it didn't find its target. Instead, it went to Sergei Brylin, who dished it to defenseman Scott Niedermayer in front, and Niedermayer tallied his second goal of the game.

''I should've just held it and skated it up the other side,'' said O'Donnell. ''But I wanted to move it up as quickly as possible. I saw probably a foot, a foot and a half there, and Don [Sweeney] was battling with a guy and I just wanted to slide it up to Jozef on the half-wall.

''Just when I passed it, Don was kind of battling, and the next thing I knew, he kind of moved into the lane and it was a freak bounce. Obviously, if I could have it over again, I wouldn't have done it, but I don't necessarily think it was a terrible play. You like to be 100 percent sure, but hindsight is 20-20.''

The Bruins had to play catch-up most of the night. A mix up in defensive coverage led to New Jersey scoring on its first shot of the game. Scott Gomez, behind the net, centered a pass to John Madden in front. Madden, who was all alone with no defender in sight, beat goalie Byron Dafoe for his first goal of the season at 7:33.

At 14:41, the Devils made it a 2-0 lead on Niedermayer's first score, which was unassisted. He skated the puck behind the net, right to left. At the left post, on his backhand, Niedermayer flung the puck at the net. It caromed first off the stick of defenseman Hal Gill and then hit the skate of defenseman Nick Boynton before squirting past Dafoe.

The Bruins began the climb back early in the middle period, getting a lucky bounce of their own.

Glen Murray dished the puck to Bill Guerin in the right circle and then went to the net. Guerin teed up a slapper that glanced off the skate of defenseman Colin White and past goalie Martin Brodeur at 1:22. It was Guerin's third goal of the season and second in the past two games.

Murray tied it when he took advantage of a rare mistake by a very reliable blue liner.

Veteran defenseman Scott Stevens was behind the net, skating the puck from left to right. With Stumpel pressuring him, Stevens made a pass out in front. But instead of finding a teammate, the pass was a tape-to-tape feed to Murray, who rapped it past Brodeur at 4:30 to pull the Bruins even, 2-2.

The best goaltending of the night came at 14:10 and wasn't by either Brodeur or Dafoe.

With Boston hemmed in its own end and Dafoe down and out outside the left post, Sweeney jumped into the crease and while on his knees stopped two tough shots by Gomez. Gomez's third try, as Dafoe came back into the crease, went off Sweeney's head and rolled out of harm's way.

Madden put the Devils ahead again in the third, making it 3-2 at 6:58. Defenseman Brian Rafalski teed up a slapper from the right point that pinballed through several bodies. It hit Madden's skate and stopped near the right post. Madden, who didn't get good wood on it, swiped at it and it trickled into the net.

Murray pulled Boston even again when he scored his second of the game with 5:13 remaining in regulation. With Boston on the power play, Guerin flung the puck at the net from below the left circle. It caromed off the left skate of Murray, who was positioned on the right side of the crease, and past Brodeur at 14:47.

That goal earned the Bruins a point, but they were disappointed to let the other one slip away.

''We've got to find a way to win the game in regulation,'' said Murray, who has played four games since being traded back to Boston, none of which has ended after 60 minutes. ''We got 1 point and now we just have to be ready for Saturday [a rematch in New Jersey].''

O'Donnell thought Boston played as well as the Devils but wound up with little to show for it.

''That's a pretty good team we played over there,'' he said. ''I don't think they outplayed us tonight. I think they're just a veteran team who maybe found a way to win tonight with not their best game. I thought we played pretty well. We're still kind of learning as a team how to get this winning thing down. We did a pretty good job; we just didn't get the right bounce tonight.''

This story ran on page F1 of the Boston Globe on 10/31/2001.
© Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company.