Bruins squander chance as Leafs gain tie for division

[ Game summary ]

By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, Globe Staff, 3/15/2002

ll tied up again.

The Bruins had a chance last night to put a little distance between themselves and the Maple Leafs in the race for the top spot in the Northeast Division. They also had an opportunity to at least keep pace with, if not gain ground on, Philadelphia (which lost to Buffalo last night) for first place in the Eastern Conference.

The teams have an equal number of points (82) and wins (35), but Toronto moves into second behind the Flyers by virtue of the head-to-head advantage. (The Maple Leafs are 4-1 against the Bruins.)

The first two periods certainly won't go down as the best the Bruins have played, but they certainly were an adventure.

The first half minute set the tone as the Maple Leafs, who were waiting in Boston as the Bruins were battling the Rangers in New York Wednesday night, came out flying. Only 26 seconds in, Bruins center Benoit Hogue got knocked off the puck, and Maple Leafs right wing Jonas Hoglund picked it up and dished a long lead pass to center Mats Sundin. Sundin took off in alone on Dafoe and tried to beat him with a forehander between the pads, but Dafoe stopped it.

As good as that save was, he couldn't stop the one that came at 8:28 during a Toronto power play. With Hal Gill in the penalty box for high-sticking, Sundin fed defenseman Bryan McCabe at the left point. McCabe teed up a slapper and with right wing Alexander Mogilny in front after bumping Dafoe, the puck sailed past the netminder's glove for the 1-0 lead.

That was all the scoring in the period but it wasn't all the drama. With just under 19 seconds left on the clock, an errant puck flew into the Bruins' bench, striking equipment manager Peter Henderson in the head. After a couple of stitches, Henderson returned to his duties.

Dafoe came out for the middle period but for the most part, his teammates failed to. The Bruins were tested in the early going when Sean O'Donnell was assessed a double minor for high-sticking Sundin. They managed to kill it off with no small amount of the credit going to Dafoe.

One of the Maple Leafs' best chances came at even strength at 9:03. Right wing Paul Healey, positioned along the right-wing boards, fed center Alyn McCauley as he was driving to the net. Dafoe stopped the forehand bid and Hogue helped corral the loose puck in the crease, ending the threat.

Meanwhile, the Bruins' offense was nowhere to be found as the team went until the 10:49 mark without a shot. Brian Rolston finally gave goalie Corey Schwab some work. A little more than two minutes later, Rolston drew a penalty on forward Gary Roberts, which led to the tying goal.

A pass intended for Bill Guerin pinballed slightly off the mark but Guerin fought off defenseman Aki Berg for the puck, kicked it to his stick, and raced down the right circle. He wristed a shot that beat Schwab at the 12-minute mark for his 35th goal.

With 5:22 left, the Maple Leafs went back on top. Center Travis Green took the initial shot that Dafoe saved. With the puck loose, Sergei Samsonov tried to prevent Green from getting another opportunity but in doing so, knocked Green into the crease and into Dafoe. McCauley got the rebound and roofed it into the net to make it 2-1. The score was initially waved off by referee Mick McGeough, but was overturned by video replay.

Less than two minutes later, the Bruins thought they should've been going on the power play when defenseman Wade Belak leveled Samsonov. Coach Robbie Ftorek objected to the point where he was assessed a bench minor for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The Maple Leafs didn't cash in, but the Bruins nearly did while shorthanded. Rolston broke in alone on Schwab, but his backhand shot wasn't quite high enough to get over the netminder.

This story ran on page D1 of the Boston Globe on 3/15/2002.
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