Sabres give them a battle but fall short in end

[ Game summary ]

By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, Globe Staff, 11/13/2002

UFFALO, N.Y. - When the Bruins gave up a goal to Chris Gratton with 32 seconds left in regulation, their lead had shrunk from three goals heading into the third period to just one.

But instead of panicking - knowing the Sabres would pull goalie Martin Biron to create a six-on-five advantage - everyone on the Boston bench stood up for the remainder of the contest, surprising even coach Robbie Ftorek.

Perhaps it was nerves, perhaps it was showing a unified front, perhaps it was a way to will their energy to their teammates on the ice. Whatever the reason, the Bruins staved off the Sabres' final push and held on for a 4-3 victory at the HSBC Center last night.

The Bruins are now 10-2-2-1 overall and have earned 7 of a possible 8 points in their last four contests (3-0-0-1).

''They weren't nervous, they just changed the whole thing around,'' said Ftorek, impressed by his players' demonstration at the end. ''They were involved and it was really nice. They weren't nervous but they just wanted to make sure it got done. They knew the importance of it. I liked it. To me, it was exciting.''

Historically, Bruins-Sabres games have been ugly, grinding, sweaty, and sometimes bloody affairs, and this one was no different. The Sabres came in the more desperate team, having gone winless in eight (and now 0-7-2 in nine). But after outplaying the Bruins badly in the first period, they were able to muster only a 1-1 tie heading into the intermission. Joe Thornton potted his first of two, scoring right out of the gate at the 21-second mark, and J.P. Dumont pulled the Sabres even at 13:53.

The Bruins turned the tables in the second, scoring three times, all at even strength. Marty McInnis, moved up to the second line with Jozef Stumpel and Michal Grosek when the coaching staff decided to give rookie Ivan Huml a night to observe, got the ball rolling at 3:30. Then Thornton and P.J. Axelsson tallied only 1:08 apart (at 7:30 and 8:38), and that was all for starting netminder Mika Noronen.

If Noronen (four goals on 14 shots) was mediocre, Steve Shields was excellent for the Bruins. He wound up with 34 saves, 10 of which came in that first period.

''I felt like I gave our team a chance to win,'' said Shields, a former Sabre. ''I made some saves early and got into the game, and then other than that, I was able to get into a good groove and ended up being successful.''

That success was in jeopardy in the third.

Brantt Myhres, called up yesterday morning from Providence to make his Bruins debut, was whistled off for an instigator penalty and five-minute fighting major when he mugged Sabres enforcer Rob Ray, who didn't drop his gloves. Ray got no penalty but Eric Boulton, who jumped in late, got a game misconduct. Still, it meant the Sabres had a seven-minute power play with 7:37 left on the clock.

''[Ray] punched me in the back of the head and he didn't get a call for it,'' said Myhres, who was told after the game that he was headed back to Providence. ''I gave him a hook and said, `Let's go.' I was thinking that if I dropped my gloves, he'd drop his and we could start going, and he didn't drop them. I don't know how I can get a five-minute major for grabbing him and pulling him to the ice. I didn't throw a punch and they gave me a major.''

Gratton scored on the power play at 17:26, some three seconds after the major expired and thus negating the final 1:57 of the man advantage.

''I had the sweats going,'' said Myhres, ''but the boys pulled it out.''

Indeed they did. And the message they were sending from the bench as time ticked down was clear.

''I think we knew we had the game,'' said Nick Boynton. ''Last year, we'd get into that situation and we're on edge. This year, we know we should beat them and we go out there and beat them. Last year, we seemed to find ways to lose, where we're finding ways to win this year. It's just confidence. On some teams you've got guys that don't care. Everybody cares on this team.''

Sean O'Donnell said it wasn't pretty, but in no small part because of Shields's efforts, they'll take it.

''We didn't play a real sharp game tonight,'' said O'Donnell. ''We were lucky to get 2 points. The puck seemed to be bouncing. It wasn't a smooth game out there. I don't know if you want to dissect it too much or just say it's one of those games. It was an ugly game. We got the 2 points and move on.''

This story ran on page F1 of the Boston Globe on 11/13/2002.
© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.