In OT, Bruins bury Dafoe on Murray strike

[ Game summary ]

By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, Globe Staff, 12/6/2002

t was billed as Lord Byron vs. his former backup and teammates.

It was one of the top teams in the NHL vs. a club with twice as many losses as wins.

In the end, the Bruins and John Grahame prevailed over Byron Dafoe and the Atlanta Thrashers, 4-3, at 1:53 of overtime on Glen Murray's second goal before 10,444 snow warriors.

Bruins players called it a character victory, but in some ways it was as much a cautionary tale.

Even with a 3-0 lead, it's no time to stop playing.

''We stopped skating,'' said coach Robbie Ftorek, whose club wasted a 3-0 lead in the second. ''Nothing was said but we didn't get the puck in, we didn't get it going offensively because we just didn't skate through the neutral zone. A little bit of it was what they were doing. But most of all we just got away from it a little bit and then we took the penalties. It was unfortunate, but we were able to prevail with the `W.'''

After a scoreless first period, it appeared the Bruins were going to run up the score in the second. Murray found the back of the net less than a minute in. Joe Thornton centered a pass through traffic and Murray chopped at it several times before it went in at the 50-second mark.

''It was probably a high stick, but thank god they dropped the puck pretty quick,'' said Murray, who recorded his 15th goal and 400th NHL point.

Jozef Stumpel doubled the lead just 10 seconds later. Working a give-and-go with Marty McInnis, Stumpel relayed a pass to McInnis in the right circle. McInnis drew the defenseman for a split second, then dished it to Stumpel skating down the slot and he beat Dafoe to the stick side.

Former Bruin Jeff Odgers tried to spark his team when he took on feisty P.J. Stock. Stock answered the challenge and at one point, it appeared an Odgers punch smashed into the glass.

If the bout got anyone going, it was the Bruins. Hal Gill gave his team a three-goal cushion with his third of the year at 3:32.

He took a pass from Martin Lapointe and teed up a slapper from the right circle that blew by Dafoe to make it 3-0, and it appeared the Thrashers were going to be run out of the building.

But instead, the visitors turned the tables because of penalty trouble and climbed all the way back.

''They really took it to us,'' said Murray. ''We kind of sat back after we got the 3-0 lead. We thought we were going to win it just like that. It doesn't happen in this league. Obviously, they're not an expansion team now. They've been in the league a few years. They just keep working hard. Teams get up on them in the first period and they just sit back. That's a habit, I guess, around the league. But they never give up, they keep coming at you. We really wanted to get the win for Johnny and it happened.''

Yannick Tremblay scored on a two-man advantage at 12:03 and shifty Ilya Kovalchuk potted another power-play goal - this time on a five-on-four - at 13:04 with a one-timer from the left circle off a backhand feed from former Bruin Shawn McEachern. Kovalchuk struck again, this time at even strength, to pull Atlanta even when he snapped a shot under Grahame's arm at 14:02.

Grahame came up big in the third, stopping 11 shots. Dafoe turned back 14, many of which weren't all that threatening.

The Bruins started the period with more penalty trouble. Thornton was whistled off twice for hooking, but the Bruins managed to kill off both penalties.

In overtime, with Boston on the power play, Jonathan Girard did a terrific job keeping the puck in the zone when he knocked down a clearing attempt by Atlanta. He teed up a slapper from the left point that Dafoe stopped. But Murray was there for the rebound and he roofed a backhander for the win.

''Any time you've played behind somebody for a while, you want to go out and play well and have a good showing and be kind of a backbone for the team,'' said Grahame. ''It was a good win for everybody.''

Even though Dafoe isn't yet the Dafoe of old, given that he has played just four games.

''Byron is still looking, from my point of view, for his timing,'' said Ftorek. ''He's really good on the first shots but he's not controlling himself like he usually does. He's a little bit off-balance. But he hasn't been playing. He has been skating but he hasn't seen the traffic and the shots. It's going to take him a little bit more time. For Byron to be on top of his game, you'll see Byron as Byron after Christmas.''

Mark your calendar: Lord Byron vs. the Bruins, the Sequel, is Dec. 28.

This story ran on page D1 of the Boston Globe on 12/6/2002.
© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.