Power play a hit in KO of Ottawa

[ Game summary ]

By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, Globe Staff, 11/10/2002

he game had something for everyone. Goals? Check. Fights? Check.

Strong goaltending? Yes, well, at least at one end of the ice. A penalty shot? Check. A strong power play? Check.

It all added up to the Bruins' best home performance of the season and a 7-1 rout of the Ottawa Senators last night at the FleetCenter. It was the most goals the club had racked up since the final regular-season game last year, when they beat the Penguins by an identical score.

Left wing Sergei Samsonov had been hoping to return but his sprained right wrist was still too tender so Mike Knuble filled in again on the top line. The result was a goal and two assists for him, a goal and three assists for center Joe Thornton, and two assists for right wing Glen Murray.

Center Jozef Stumpel added one goal and two assists, Rob Zamuner had one goal and one assist, and P.J. Axelsson had a goal and an assist to round out the multiple-point scorers.

Goaltender Steve Shields turned back 22 shots on the way to his fifth victory of the year (5-1-2). The Bruins took advantage of the Senators, who were coming off a 3-2 loss a night earlier to the Kings and then had to fly from Ottawa.

''LA's a tough team and I think they were a little tired,'' said Thornton. ''We got on them early and it just went on from there. [Knuble] has a great shot, he just came down and wired it and that's what started it all off. Obviously, it's a big divisional game for us and to beat them this way was great.''

In its first 12 games, Boston had managed to generate just six power-play goals. Last night, they had three in the first two periods on the way to a 3-for-8 night.

After Knuble's strike at 3:48 of the first, Thornton scored on a one-timer from the left faceoff dot during a power play to make it 2-0 at 7:30.

Axelsson took advantage of a loose puck to boost the lead to 3-0 at 12:27. Zamuner was falling in the left corner but still managed to connect on a pass to center Brian Rolston, who was skating down the left circle. Rolston got a shot off but goalie Patrick Lalime stopped it. Axelsson got to the rebound, deked down Lalime, and beat him with a backhander to the glove side.

With only 12.4 seconds remaining in the period and Boston on a power play, Stumpel slipped a pass to defenseman Bryan Berard in the slot. Berard's shot bounced off center Shaun Van Allen, changed direction, and sailed past Lalime for the four-goal lead. Lalime, who had played every minute of Ottawa's 11 games, slammed his stick against the post in frustration.

Coach Jacques Martin decided a change was in order for the second, installing Martin Prusek.

The first period wasn't all good for Boston, however. Steady defenseman Sean O'Donnell was lost to an elbow injury, but it's not believed to be serious.

The Bruins kept rolling in the second, with Stumpel connecting on the power play at 1:37.

But then Boston lost another player at 9:48 when forward Sean Brown was assessed a five-minute match penalty for intent to injure when he cross-checked former Bruin Dennis Bonvie in the face before they started throwing punches at each other. Brown was ejected and his actions will be automatically reviewed by the NHL office with the possibility of additional discipline.

Brown, who is a former teammate of Bonvie's and a good friend, said he would never try to hurt anyone.

''I respect him a lot,'' said Brown. ''He's a tough guy and he has a job to do. Everything happened so quick. It's a tough position for a ref to be in with the game kind of out of hand. I definitely didn't try to hurt him. I thought maybe it kind of rode up by accident. I think when they see it, they'll see it was an accident.''

The Senators spoiled Shields's shutout bid at 11:01 when Marian Hossa scored during the ensuing five-minute power play on a shot from the left circle.

Less than a minute later, the Bruins had a great chance to score when Murray was awarded a penalty shot - the second of his career - after being hauled down on a breakaway by Radek Bonk with 2:49 left on the Senators' man advantage. Murray, whose only other penalty shot came Feb. 7, 1998 when he was unsuccessful against Anaheim goalie Guy Hebert, tried to beat Prusek through the five-hole with a forehand shot but the netminder stopped it with his right pad.

When asked what he was thinking, Murray laughed ruefully.

''Way too many things,'' he said. ''I've never been that nervous before. I was out there for a long time trying to get my breath. You see the replay and you think, `I should've done this' or `I should've done that.' It's one of those things. I should've gone blocker side or deked to the backhand. But I'll be thinking about that all night, or all year.''

At 18:24, Zamuner scored the sixth Boston goal. During a three-on-two, Axelsson relayed a pass to Michal Grosek on the right side. Prusek kicked it out, but Zamuner, completely off balance, managed to get control of the rebound and fired it into the net.

''The puck came into my feet and I didn't want to kick it in because I kind of had an empty net,'' said Zamuner. ''That's why I looked like I was doing a shuffle out there.''

Defenseman Jonathan Girard closed it out at 4:50 of the third. Then things turned ugly at 14:40 when Ottawa's frustration boiled over and turned into a massive scrum at center ice.

''When the game is 6-1 or 7-1, I think they're going to take a little exception to that, but guys responded and everyone stuck up for each other,'' said Thornton. ''It was a good solid win for us.''

This story ran on page D1 of the Boston Globe on 11/10/2002.
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