[ Game summary ]

By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, Globe Staff, 12/21/2001

here have been few easy games for the Bruins this year. Most nights, it has been nip and tuck, fighting for every goal, every victory, every point. Even when the Bruins have had the lead heading into the third period, it has turned into an adventure.

Last night was one of those rare exceptions, where the opposing team came out flat, and failed to execute, in part, because of fatigue, and the Bruins romped to a 5-0 victory at the FleetCenter. It was Boston's biggest margin of victory this season.

There were all kinds of subplots in this one.

Byron Dafoe made 23 saves, earning his 25th career shutout.

The game marked the return of Sergei Samsonov, who had missed six games because of a sprained left knee. Samsonov didn't figure into the scoring but he appeared comfortable playing with a brace on his knee.

Andy Hilbert made his NHL debut and scored his first goal.

Rob Zamuner potted two goals.

The Bruins only scored five goals on 125 shots in three previous games, all losses. Against the Canadiens, their last home game prior to Christmas, the Bruins scored five goals in the first 35 minutes. When it rains, it pours.

''It's very tough to play when you dominate another team and you can't get the puck in,'' said Dafoe. ''If you get a couple of goals early, it obviously boosts the team up, but as a goaltender, it gives you something to work with. It's a lot easier to play with a lead than if it's a 0-0 game and you can't get any goals. It was nice to have the second half of the game with a five-goal cushion to just play hard but kind of relax and have some fun with it.''

The Bruins' first two goals came 22 seconds apart, the first by Brian Rolston during a power play.

He took a pass from Glen Murray at the top of the left circle. The puck landed at his feet and he kicked it to his stick. With Joe Thornton working the front of the net, Rolston fired a shot that beat goaltender Jeff Hackett at 5:25 for his 17th goal of the year.

At 5:47, Hilbert made it 2-0. Bill Guerin took a shot from the right circle that Hackett stopped. Guerin got the puck back and fired it toward the net again. It glanced off a Canadiens' player, to Hilbert near the right post. Hilbert swept the puck past Hackett and it was 2-0.

''It's what I've been dreaming of my entire life,'' said Hilbert. ''To get out there was extremely exciting. I can't really even describe it in words. It was an unbelievable experience.''

Just 30 seconds later, the Bruins made it a three-goal bulge. Rolston beat Habs' center Doug Gilmour in the left faceoff circle. Martin Lapointe teed up a slapper from the left wing and Hackett made the stop. But Rolston got to the rebound and centered to Zamuner in front and he tapped it in. It was Zamuner's second goal of the season and first since the second game of the season.

The Canadiens, who were playing their second game in as many nights, thought they scored at 7:07 of the middle period. Dafoe had smothered the puck with his glove when Chad Kilger came flying into the net. The contact dislodged the puck as Kilger and the puck slid into the net. The officials ruled Dafoe had control of the puck.

Guerin's 15th goal of the season boosted the score to 4-0 at 11:35 when he charged through the slot and beat Hackett with a forehand shot over the netminder's left leg.

It was Zamuner's turn again at 14:40 when he beat Hackett on a rebound that trickled through Hackett's legs. Zamuner had six shots on net in the first 40 minutes, and a game-high eight. It was the first multiple-point game of the season for Zamuner, who had five last season, all two-point efforts.

Coach Robbie Ftorek thinks his team could show some more killer instinct but they continue to be a work in progress.

''We haven't had an opportunity to be ahead by a lot of goals this year very many times,'' said Ftorek. ''There's a way to play when you're in that position and we didn't really do it the whole game but we did it in important parts of the game.''

He credited the return of Samsonov and the energy of Hilbert as part of the reason for the turnaround.

''There was an intensity level that was there that hasn't been around for a few games,'' said Ftorek. ''Just because we had some juiced-up players in Sammy, he's electrifying, and Andy, who is quick and has a shot. He's small and he has a little electricity to him, too. I think that puts the team in a different frame of mind a bit.''

This story ran on page D1 of the Boston Globe on 12/21/2001.
© Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company.