Bruins topple Canadiens at full FleetCenter

[ Game summary ]

By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, Globe Staff, 11/30/2002

hen Michal Grosek signed with the Bruins as a free agent over the summer, he was hoping a fresh start would ignite his career after a frustrating one-year stint in the Rangers organization. Grosek scored a career-high 20 goals in 1998-99 in Buffalo, but had just 13 (with the Sabres and Chicago) and nine the next two seasons, respectively.

In 18 games with the Bruins prior to yesterday, he had been playing well in several roles but hadn't broken through offensively.

So when yesterday's one-timer from beyond the right circle rocketed into the top left corner of the net over the glove of Montreal goalie Jose Theodore, you could feel the relief all the way up to the top row of the FleetCenter seats.

Even better for his first one in the black and gold, scored at 5:40 of the third period, it held up as the winner as the Bruins continued their impressive run with a 4-2 victory over the Canadiens before a sellout crowd of 17,565. It was the Bruins' fourth straight triumph.

Grosek acknowledged he'd been pressing lately in an attempt to get his offense on track.

''I had opportunities in other games, I just never scored,'' he said. ''It's nice to get the first one. After [19] games, it was nice to get the first one. The last few games, I tried to get the puck to the net, and it was stopping. I was unlucky. Sometimes you need the first one to continue.''

Grosek's linemate, Sean Brown, was trying to pass to someone else and wound up fanning on it after he pulled up just over the blue line in the Canadiens' zone. He didn't even know Grosek was coming late.

''I was looking for [Jonathan Girard] on the far side and it just kind of went off the heel of my stick,'' said Brown, who grinned from ear to ear when he saw Grosek's shot go in. ''It was a good thing it was right on Grosek's stick. You definitely don't want to turn the puck over in the neutral zone or just at the blue line. Just the way Grosek skated into it and picked the corner. It's nice to see he's getting rewarded.''

Glen Murray (seven goals in his last four games) got things rolling with his 14th of the season at 7:19 of the first period. But the Habs answered right away on a power-play strike by Richard Zednik at 10:06.

Jozef Stumpel, who along with Martin Lapointe and P.J. Axelsson returned to the lineup from injuries, put Boston back on top at 2:19 of the third, but Zednik (his 12th) and the Canadiens answered again, pulling even at 4:09.

Coach Robbie Ftorek said it was a challenge to integrate the three into the mix.

''With three guys being put into the lineup right away, you might think it would be a real positive thing, but in some regards it's a tough thing,'' said Ftorek. ''Because those three guys are not used to the pace and they're not used to the flow of the game.''

After Grosek's tally, Joe Thornton (20 points in his last 12 contests) capped the victory with a goal that will likely be seen on highlight films for years.

Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov (minus-4) had the puck in the defensive zone and was desperately trying to protect it. Thornton chased him through the right circle and up the boards and stole the puck. Then he charged at the net, deked Theodore on his forehand, and beat him with a backhander.

''Joey's like a lot of guys in the league who never cease to amaze you,'' said Ftorek. ''That was a great play. The goal was a great goal, but more importantly than the goal was the effort of picking the guy's pocket. He could've kind of lallygagged back up the middle, but instead he pursued that guy and picked his stick up and then not only stole it but attacked the net instead of looking to make the play. And he made a gorgeous deke as well.''

Thornton's development has been a joy for his teammates to watch. Mike Knuble, who has been riding shotgun on the left wing while Sergei Samsonov recovers from a right wrist injury, has been enjoying the view.

''We have the best seat in the house,'' said Knuble. ''You're 5 feet from it. When you're right there, it's pretty fun to watch. He's on top of his game right now. It's a lot of fun playing with them. [He and Murray are] both on top of their games. I got here at the end of the 2000 season and guys in the league knew he was the No. 1 pick and that he was going to be a good player eventually. But I think the steps he's taken in the two years have not been gradually. They've been huge steps. He demands a lot and he demands a lot from himself.''

In addition to the aesthetics of the goal, Ftorek said he was just relieved to get some breathing room on the pesky Habs.

''We were very pleased when we saw Michal's goal go in and obviously, Joey's goal was icing,'' he said. ''There are certain teams you just don't want them to stick around, and Montreal is one of them. It was a hard-fought win.''

This story ran on page E1 of the Boston Globe on 11/30/2002.
© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.