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BRUINS 4, THRASHERS 3 [ Game summary ]
So there was Bill Guerin last night, flat on his back, looking heavenward midway through overtime. But this time disaster took a detour.
Without even looking at the net, the Bruins right winger made an instinctive backhand sweep of the puck, virtually a no-percentage chance of eluding Atlanta goalie Milan Hnilicka. End result: A 4-3 Bruins victory at 2:38 of overtime at the FleetCenter that delivered Boston a second triumph in as many games this season.
Take a lot of hockey sense, mix in a little dumb luck, and voila, Boston's 2001-02 season is showing signs of promise.
"I think you have to credit our work ethic," said Bruins netminder Byron Dafoe, dismissing much of the dumb-luck theory. "I think sometimes you have to make your own breaks. Sure, it was a fluky goal, but I think we deserved to win."
Case in point: The Bruins outshot the Thrashers, 42-20.
The most noticeable difference in this squad is its agility and speed on the transition game. These Bruins get the puck and go with it. Absent is the hesitation that was so evident last year when they failed to make the playoffs for the second straight sesason.
"We've got this whatever-it-takes attitude," said veteran defenseman Don Sweeney, noting the difference in the transition game. "It starts with the fact that we have the right people back supporting the puck on the backcheck. Support is there, all over the ice. Very rarely is a guy going to be in a space, feeling he's alone."
The Bruins scored the night's first goal off a rush. Scott Pellerin connected on a 20-footer at 5:48 of the first after Brian Rolston nailed Hnilicka with a wrister from the right circle. Hnilicka made the stop, but he left a hot rebound in the slot, which Pellerin converted.
Atlanta pulled even with 3:06 left in the first when highly touted rookie Ilya Kovalchuk snapped in a wrister from the left side while the Thrashers were on the power play (Hal Gill off for roughing). Kamil Piros, picked up at the trade deadline in the deal that sent Donald Audette to Buffalo, set up the strike with a pretty dish across the slot.
The Bruins moved ahead, 2-1, when another newcomer, Rob Zamuner, potted his first in black and gold. And it was fellow newcomer (noticing a trend here, folks?), Martin Lapointe, who made the key play, zipping a pass off the left-wing board that sent Zamuner in free from the blue line.
But five minutes later the Georgia wonders pulled even again when Shean Donovan popped a true softy through Dafoe's pads. It should have been a simple, routine stop for the Bruins' No. 1 netminder. However, the Bruins also have learned the last two seasons that nothing comes easy in the hometown net.
Before the period ended, the Thrashers handed the Bruins their first deficit of the season, again with Donovan providing the tally. Immediately after a faceoff to Dafoe's right, Donovan was set up in front, with Sweeney slow in getting over to put up resistance. Donovan's first shot was stopped, the puck ricocheted in the air, and the Thrashers forward reached waist-high to knock the rebound by Dafoe.
Back came the Bruins at the start of the third. Rolston knotted it, 3-3, with only 2:25 gone. Trailing puck-carrier Pellerin, Rolston walked into a nicely-feathered backhand dish and snapped in a 15-foot wrister that beat Hnilicka low to the glove side for the equalizer. It was Rolston's second goal in as many games. The versatile 28-year-old totaled only 35 the last two seasons.
This story ran on page C10 of the Boston Globe on 10/7/2001.
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he Bruins spent a lot of time the last two years flat on their backs, with little or no chance of winning. They ended up staring at the ceiling of one arena after another and wondering not if, but when, the roof would come crashing down.