Many play roles as Bruins keep rolling

[ Game summary ]

By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, Globe Staff, 12/9/2002

EW YORK - After a grueling Saturday afternoon, in which the Bruins fought back from a two-goal deficit to beat Tampa Bay, 3-2, in overtime, coach Robbie Ftorek knew his strategy of shortening his bench and relying on his big guns might put extra pressure on his team in yesterday's matinee against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

After all, it was the Bruins' third game in four days, and the first two went to OT. But Ftorek said he thought it was worth the gamble. His hunch worked, and despite a sluggish start yesterday, the Bruins went back to utilizing all four lines and all three sets of defensemen, and it paid off in a 4-1 victory.

''It crossed my mind for about a half a second [on Saturday],'' said Ftorek, asked if he was concerned that his team would have no gas left in the tank for yesterday. ''We wanted to beat Tampa Bay and we really weren't generating a lot, so we made a couple of changes there. I'm not big on that but every once in a while you have to do it. It worked out well. [On Saturday night] I was thinking about it a little bit but I felt confident we'd be going with four lines [yesterday] as much as possible. It paid off for us.''

The Bruins actually held the Rangers to no goals. The only score was off the stick of Boston defenseman Nick Boynton on a New York power play, giving the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 7:32 of the first period. Mark Messier skated the puck from the right point to the right circle and fired a shot at Bruins goalie John Grahame, who was making his third straight start. The puck was deflected in front and wound up between the skates of Eric Lindros. Boynton, not liking that situation, tried to clear the puck into the corner but his shot went over Grahame's shoulder and into the net. Messier was credited with his 11th goal of the season.

''I don't know what I was thinking, to tell you the truth,'' said Boynton, who was the hero Saturday when he scored in overtime. ''It was just a bad mistake. I thought I was aiming it a little more toward the corner. I buried it in the middle of the net. I got excited because I saw the puck there, and I just wanted to clear it away and I knocked it in.''

But the Bruins are nothing if not resilient and the next four - all at even strength - belonged to them. Bryan Berard potted his seventh of the season at 16:12 of the second. Joe Thornton gave the Bruins the lead for good with his 14th at 18:16. Rookie Ivan Huml made it a 3-1 game at 4:40 of the third, and Marty McInnis's pass to P.J. Stock caromed off the stick of Rangers defenseman Dave Karpa and into the net past goalie Dan Blackburn at 15:59, canceling out the early bad karma for Boynton.

Thornton admitted fatigue was a factor for the Bruins, although they played much better in the second half of the game than in the first. It also didn't hurt that their opponents were without Pavel Bure (possible season-ending knee injury), Brian Leetch (bruised ankle), and Matthew Barnaby (sprained knee).

''We had some guys tired but we have four lines who can play against any four lines in this league,'' said Thornton. ''That's a credit to the depth of this team. We were rolling four lines pretty much the whole game and it was key for especially our line because we were a little tired.''

The Bruins improved to 8-0-0 when giving up just one goal. They're also 19-0-3 when scoring two or more. But if you're looking for players on this team to blow their own horns about their 19-4-3-1 record, think again.

''As crazy as it sounds, I think what happened in the playoffs last year is in the back of our minds this year,'' said Sean O'Donnell. ''So it doesn't matter what we are. We know we have to stay on an even keel because we finished first in the East last year and it didn't matter. We know with every period that we can't take any off. It's all a buildup to the playoffs. We're not getting too high because it comes down to what we do in the playoffs. After what happened last year, it keeps you pretty humble.''

As understandable as that attitude is, though, Boynton said they were celebrating - just a little bit.

''It's a lot of fun coming to the rink when things are going the way they're going,'' he said. ''Especially beating these guys. Nobody likes the Rangers. They're a hated team and it's a good rivalry.''

This story ran on page D2 of the Boston Globe on 12/9/2002.
© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.