Shut-eye aids well-rested Maple Leafs

[ Game summary ]

By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, Globe Staff, 1/4/2002

ith little gas in the tank and a battle for the top spot in the Eastern Conference on the line, the Bruins couldn't muster enough energy to fend off the Toronto Maple Leafs last night, losing, 2-1, at the FleetCenter.

While the Bruins were sitting on a plane in snowy Raleigh, N.C., until 2 a.m. Wednesday night/Thursday morning after two games in three nights, the Maple Leafs were in Boston catching up on their rest for two days.

With that handicap in place, coach Robbie Ftorek knew some creativity might be needed since the Bruins obviously didn't have the legs the Leafs had.

Toronto had a 1-0 lead after one period on a goal by Alexander Mogilny at 1:52. Goaltender Byron Dafoe kept the Bruins in the game and heading into the third period, the Bruins were down by only a goal.

Lack of execution, too many turnovers, and a state of weariness enabled Toronto center Mats Sundin to make it 2-0 at 4:02 of the final period as the Bruins struggled to generate offense. Glen Murray pulled Boston to within a goal when he scored his 17th of the season at 12:51. That got the wheels turning in the minds of the coaches on the Bruins' bench.

With time winding down and a power play ensuing, assistant coach Jim Hughes thought the radical solution would be to pull Dafoe and go for it. ''I made the suggestion of let's pull the goalie and make it a six-on-four [when the Bruins went on the power play at 13:12],'' said Hughes. ''But we felt we had the momentum and that maybe we didn't need to do it at the time.''

After discussing the situation with Ftorek, they came up with another solution - put Brian Rolston out as a defenseman, as they did for a brief time against Dallas when they were trailing the final four-plus minutes of regulation.

''It was a change of scenery that might have created a little bit of energy,'' said Hughes. ''At that point, we didn't have a whole lot going on. With Rolston playing the point, it created some spark. The resilience of this team is great. The fight, the never-say-die [attitude], but unfortunately, we didn't have any legs. We didn't have any energy. It was that simple.''

When the Bruins need to pull a rabbit out of a hat, they turn to Rolston. He's their leading goal scorer, their top penalty killer, and when things get desperate, he's a defenseman, sort of.

Rolston went out there and tried to stir things up with his skating, his strength, his passing, and his reach. It nearly worked.

''I'm comfortable there,'' said Rolston, who is a fixture at the point on the power play. ''I don't mind playing there at all. It's a little different five-on-five because there are a lot more rushes.''

But, down a goal, the risk is well worth the potential reward. The Bruins almost made it happen when Sergei Samsonov nearly scored with five seconds remaining, but goalie Curtis Joseph prevented the Bruins from coming back.

''It's tough,'' said Ftorek. ''We didn't have the jump we would've liked to have had. We didn't skate as well as we would've liked but the work ethic was there. The oomph wasn't there. They had a little bit better legs than we did tonight.''

No one was making excuses but the fact was, after a grueling six-game-in-nine-night rat race, the batteries needed recharging.

''We were getting in late and playing all those games on the road and knowing Toronto was here and hungry and ready for us,'' said Murray. ''You can't use it as an excuse and we know that. It was 1-0 during most of the game. In the third period, maybe we got a little tired and when you get tired, you make mental mistakes, but we were still in the game.''

This story ran on page E1 of the Boston Globe on 1/4/2002.
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