Leafs shut them out in finale of road trip

[ Game summary ]

By Kevin Paul Dupont, Globe Staff, 10/24/2001

ORONTO - The sky isn't falling, panic isn't setting in on Causeway Street, wholesale roster changes aren't in the making, and no one will be denied shore leave just yet.

But suddenly the bright promise of a new season is looking disturbingly dull for the goal-challenged, net-phobic, buddy-can-you-spare-a-score Bruins.

Stifled by Curtis Joseph on all 30 shots last night at Air Canada Centre, the Bruins wrapped up their six-game October sojourn with a 2-0 loss to the Maple Leafs. The defeat sent them winging south on a late-night charter that deposited them at Hanscom Field with a 1-3-2 record for their fortnight of high mileage, hard work - and some hard luck.

Tops in the hard luck department: Free agent acquisition Rob Zamuner injured his collarbone early in the second period. His right arm in a sling after the loss, the 32-year-old forward said the training staff suspects the collarbone is fractured and he could miss up to six weeks.

''He's hurting,'' said coach Robbie Ftorek, ''and that's not good.''

The totals from the trip were not pretty. The Bruins allowed only 11 goals, but they scored only 8. They amassed 210 shots, but failed to score on 96.2 percent of them.

For the better part of two weeks, bounding from Minnesota to San Jose, Phoenix to Anaheim, and Nashville to southern Ontario, they controlled play, totaled more shots, and consistently outworked the opposition. All of that added up to 4 of a possible 12 points for a .333 winning percentage.

''Not a good record for the road trip,'' agreed netminder Byron Dafoe, another of his strong efforts gone for naught. ''But there were good signs. We were in every hockey game. There wasn't one game where we didn't show up. If we keep this up, we'll win our fair share.''

They should win more than last year, by virtue of solid work ethic and near-perfect game-plan execution. But the trip no doubt underscored to management that it will have to swap holdout Jason Allison, their No. 1 center and scorer, for a forward with the ability to create more goals. Perhaps it will be a big center who can pick up rebounds and pop them in the cage. Maybe it will be a rabble-rouser who will create offense amid mayhem.

Whatever the definition, the need is clear and certain. Without more goals, no matter how good the defense or how airtight the netminding of Dafoe, they will be pointed to a third straight season without making the playoffs.

''We've had good chances,'' said Ftorek, unwilling to label the cold streak for what it is: the Siberia of slumps. ''The puck will go in for us. If we weren't getting those chances, I'd be worried.''

The Leafs had enough to win when Mats Sundin deposited the 1-0 lead on a power play with 5:29 gone in the second period. Left alone to hack repeatedly at the puck near the left post, Sundin finally popped the winner over Dafoe's outstretched right pad. Dafoe had his toe anchored on the post, hoping for someone to clear, but Sundin claimed squatter's rights and eventually alley-ooped his fourth of the season.

The Bruins bellyached on the score, contending that referee Terry Gregson initially waved it off. According to Dafoe, the ref went to wave it off, hesitated, and then blew his whistle.

''I wish he had blown the whistle and then waved it off,'' said Dafoe. ''But, hey, that's the way it goes.''

Travis Green connected for an empty-netter with 7.1 seconds to go for the 2-0 final. Just seconds earlier, Joseph made the stop of the night at the other end, foiling Sergei Samsonov on a one-timer from the left circle.

''Just a matter of time,'' said Martin Lapointe, the club's high-profile free agent signing of the summer. ''The shots will go in. We've got to be patient. We're only nine games into the season.''

But there are seats to sell, thousands of them, back at the Vault. There are two failed seasons to erase from the bruised egos of fans who have waited 30-plus years for another reason to line up on a June day in Government Center - for reasons other than to share in Ray Bourque's Rocky Mountain high.

True, there is time, with 73 games to go in the regular season. But in the Hub of Hockey, it's a clock that has run on borrowed time for quite a while.

This story ran on page F1 of the Boston Globe on 10/24/2001.
© Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company.