It's his night, and Islanders can't spoil party

[ Game summary ]

By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, Globe Staff, 11/15/2002

he Bruins started off last night celebrating defenseman Don Sweeney's 1,000th career NHL game.

They wound up the evening celebrating their fourth straight victory - a 4-1 decision over the New York Islanders at the FleetCenter that gave them an 11-2-2-1 record. They've won four games in six days, outscoring foes, 21-6.

Once again, the Bruins received a multitude of contributions. There were four scorers - Joe Thornton, Glen Murray, P.J. Axelsson, and Brian Rolston - and John Grahame (30 saves) turned in a strong performance in net. The penalty killers wiped out five power plays, including a five-on-three in the first period. They scored a pair of power-play goals and the defense smothered the Islanders all over the ice.

Most notably, the Bruins have developed something they haven't always had - a killer instinct.

''Last year, we struggled with that,'' said Murray, who had a goal and an assist. ''Good teams put teams away. Last year, we'd be up maybe, 2-0, or 3-0 in the third period and we'd lose, 4-3, or be tied. Good teams get big goals to finish it off.''

Their start was a little sluggish, in part because they had to kill off three power plays. But when Axelsson scored at 8:31, it changed the momentum.

Former Bruin Shawn Bates was at the right point and appeared to be looking to pass to defenseman Sven Butenschon in the slot. But his pass got picked off by Axelsson, who skated down the slot and snapped a high shot over Chris Osgood. It was Axelsson's fifth goal and extended his point streak to four games (three goals and three assists).

''Axy's been working not just on his shooting but his goal scoring, and that's a big difference,'' said coach Robbie Ftorek. ''He's starting to shoot to score and not just to shoot. He's got quite a few goals, which is nice, and that was a very timely goal because we had just killed off some penalties and you always want to get the first goal of the game.''

Axelsson said he's being more patient but also expects to score, which wasn't always the case.

''I'm trying to take my time a little bit more,'' he said. ''I think I had a lot more confidence coming into this year and that helps a lot. Instead of hitting the post or the goalie, when it goes in, your confidence rises.''

The power play, which was rated next to last in the league Nov. 8, has been connecting on a 33 percent clip since. In the last four games, the Bruins have eight goals in 24 opportunities, including 2 for 4 last night.

Murray helped get it rolling early in the second when he was driving to the net down the right circle and had defenseman Roman Hamrlik checking him from behind. Although off-balance, Murray managed to drop the puck to Thornton. Thornton switched from his forehand to his backhand, fooling Osgood, and lifted a shot for his ninth strike of the season.

''I heard Joey yell and Hamrlik was just kind of grabbing me from behind,'' said Murray. ''I tried to tip it back to him and he made a great move.''

The Islanders were dealt a stunning setback when they lost their captain again. During a power play, Axelsson's stick got caught in Michael Peca's skate behind the Bruins net and Peca went down in pain. He skated to the bench, smashing his stick along the boards in frustration, and after flexing his knees in the runway a couple of times, he went to the dressing room, where he was diagnosed with a right knee sprain.

It was just the latest setback for Peca, who came back on Nov. 2 for a shift against St. Louis in order to bolster his struggling team's confidence. Peca had reconstructive surgery on his left knee last May and an operation on his shoulder. He wasn't expected back until early next month, but felt well enough to return last night.

He played just eight shifts over 5:05 of ice time with one shot on net and finished a minus-1. Axelsson said he wasn't sure what had happened until he saw the replay.

''My stick got caught in his skate,'' said Axelsson. ''It sucks. When I looked back, I saw him take a step and it didn't look good.''

The Bruins increased their lead to 3-0 on their second power-play goal. Jozef Stumpel dished the puck to Rolston at the point. Rolston teed up a slapper that Osgood saved, but Murray was there for the rebound. It took a second for him to settle the puck down, but then he got it on his backhand and roofed it at 4:33 for his seventh tally of the year.

Coach Peter Laviolette called a timeout and replaced Osgood with Wrentham native Garth Snow.

The Islanders tried to chip away at the lead in the third but managed just one goal on Grahame - a Brad Isbister redirect at 4:19 before Rolston closed out the game with an empty-netter at 19:24.

Next up is the battle of the titans when the Bruins face the Flyers in Philadelphia tomorrow.

''It's going to be tough,'' said Murray. ''They're playing great, no question about it. The two best teams in the East right now, so we're looking forward to it.''

This story ran on page E1 of the Boston Globe on 11/15/2002.
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