[ Game summary ]

By Kevin Paul Dupont, Globe Staff, 12/31/2002

here is no secret to the New Jersey Devils' success. They stick sure-shot Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur in the net, pop the lids on a few 55-gallon drums of penny nails and distribute liberally through the neutral zone, then wait 60 minutes, pass some Zamboni water over the whole thing, and pick up 2 points at the end of the night.

"They kind of stand in the neutral zone and wait for you," lamented Bruins center Brian Rolston following Boston's mummifying 1-0 loss at the hands of the Devils before a bored-stiff full house of 17,565 last night at the Vault. "Cross-ice passes aren't going to work against a team like that, and we tried too many cross-ice passes."

There are a couple of ways to try to unspring such a trap: 1. beat the opposition with speed through the neutral zone; 2. fire the puck in deep and try to retrieve it during scrums on the rear board. The Bruins did little of either against their old coach, Pat Burns, and ended up finishing the month of December with a very forgettable 5-8-1 mark. The calendar year, which included a disappointing first-round loss to the Canadiens in the playoffs, came to a merciful end for the Black and Gold.

"They played well," said Bruins coach Robbie Ftorek, who not long ago directed the New Jersey bench. "But it shouldn't be as difficult to play against them as we made it."

Ftorek would not elaborate, other than to say he wishes his club had done some "different things" in the offensive end. To wit: They could have created more traffic in front of Brodeur (career shutout No. 59). They also could have stripped down their playmaking tactics between the blue lines, opting for more basic passes and quicker reads to push the puck deep. They made better choices in the third period when they tossed 11 shots Brodeur's way while limiting the Devils to a half-dozen attempts on John Grahame.

"I think when we figured it out, we carried the play," said Mike Knuble, back at left wing after a taking a forced hiatus with the flu. "But then Brodeur was the difference. When we finally got it going, he stood pretty tall."

New Jersey nursed a 1-0 lead, posted by Jay Pandolfo late in the first period, right into the final period of regulation.

Pandolfo, who grew up in Burlington and starred at Boston University, connected with 3:47 remaining in the first, following down the slot after John Madden first hit Grahame with a wrister from just above the left circle. As the Boston defense collapsed to retrieve the puck, only to leave the rebound hot, the 6-foot-1-inch former Terrier closed in for the doorstep shove. It was his third goal this season, only his 39th in 363 career games.

Grahame, according to Ftorek, outplayed Brodeur. That's a stretch, considering the outcome, and even Grahame acknowledged that. But in two games, including his 1-0 win over the Thrashers Saturday, Grahame allowed only the Pandolfo goal -- an indication that his game is getting better. Still, he wished he could have had another crack at the shot Madden made preceding Pandolfo's goal.

"I saw it all the way," said a disappointed Grahame. "I went down to cover the holes, and the shot hit a funny part of my body and went out front -- not where I wanted it to go, not where I expected it to go. It created their second and third chance."

The Devils, of course, don't blow anyone out of the building. Give them that one chance, and that's all they might need. Burns, who took over at Exit 16W over the summer, still employs the same methodical, trapping ways that he brought to Boston.

As the entertainment business goes, it's not exciting to watch, but it's successful, and New Jersey general manager Lou Lamoriello has seen his franchise win a pair of Stanley Cups paying attention first and foremost to defensive detail. Shame on the Players' Association, however, if it keeps telling the public that its rank-and-file members must be paid as entertainers.

Case in point: In their six games prior to last night, the Devils allowed only 13 goals, a mere 2.17 per game. Even with that stingy defense, backed by one of the game's premier netminders, they managed to go only 3-2-1 in that stretch. Why? In part because their game is so conservative on offense -- even on the power play -- that they barely produce enough offense to win. While they were allowing those 13 goals, they were scoring only 14. Stockbrokers can make big money on those kinds of margins, but it's tough to keep winning hockey games with a 2.33-2.17 scoring edge.

"They jump on your mistakes," said Rolston. "We had one, and it cost us."

This story ran on page E1 of the Boston Globe on 12/31/2002.
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