Breakdown lane

Bruins skid further with late collapse

[ Game summary ]

By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, Globe Staff, 1/8/2003

ORONTO - John Grahame sat in his locker stall last night, staring a hole in the dressing room floor. The Bruins had just dropped their fourth game in a row, giving up three goals in a 2:24 span of the third period. While the Toronto Maple Leafs were down the hall celebrating a 5-2 win - extending their home unbeaten streak to 12 games (11-0-1) - the Bruins were shellshocked.

Glen Murray had potted his 22d goal of the season at 3:31 of the third, putting Boston in good shape. The contest was tied, 2-2, and the Bruins could see light at the end of the tunnel.

Then came the barrage. Alexander Mogilny snapped a shot between Grahame's legs at 13:54. Jonas Hoglund buried his own rebound at 15:07, and Travis Green added insult to injury with a goal at 16:18.

Grahame has lost his last three starts and doesn't look like the goaltender he was in the first two months of the season.

''I actually felt great the first two periods and I felt good at the beginning of the third,'' said the crestfallen netminder. ''It's frustrating because it's the last four or five minutes, and that's the time you really have to buckle down and play well.

''It's just frustrating. The guys played gritty and I've got to take the blame for that third goal. If that doesn't happen, it's a whole different game. It comes down to the wire, 2-2, and you never know.''

It looked as if the Mogilny goal shook up Grahame, but he said that wasn't the case.

''You have to shake it off,'' he said. ''It wasn't like I was thinking about it when the fourth and the fifth one went in. It was just a good shot by him. The fourth goal was kind of a weird goal. I made a couple of saves and the third shot went in. Not much you can do about that one. The fifth one, I don't even know what happened.''

Boston is a woeful 2-10-1 in its last 13 games.

After numerous team meetings that included general manager Mike O'Connell addressing the troops, the coaching staff going over adjustments, and the players caucusing among themselves, the Bruins had said they were tired of talking and just wanted to get back to business.

But they had to do it shorthanded last night (although the injury-riddled Maple Leafs were even more shorthanded). The Bruins were without their top scorer and captain, Joe Thornton, who was sidelined because of an infected bursa sac in his left elbow. Then they lost versatile forward Rob Zamuner, one of their more effective penalty killers, early in the first period when he broke his right foot.

The bad karma didn't end there.

Shortly after Zamuner left, backup goalie Steve Shields was hit in the head by an errant puck and took a few stitches. Forward Marty McInnis also required stitches later on.

After a scoreless first period, center Brian Rolston broke through at 12:15 of the middle period when he tallied his 14th goal, his first in eight games. Left wing P.J. Axelsson did the dirty work, beating defenseman Robert Svehla behind the net and centering a pass that went off the stick of goalie Ed Belfour. Rolston got the puck, kicked it to his stick, and backhanded it past the netminder.

The 1-0 lead lasted less than three minutes, though. Bruins left wing Mike Knuble tried to clear the puck out of the Boston zone but Svehla got to it first. He dished it to center Robert Reichel, who fired a one-timer from the right circle. Toronto agitator Tie Domi was positioned in front of Grahame and tipped the shot high into the cage at 14:53.

A defensive breakdown led to Toronto's second goal, with only 28.7 seconds remaining in the second period. Mogilny, who had the puck along the right-wing boards, threaded a pass to Alyn McCauley coming over the blue line. He split the defense - Nick Boynton and Bryan Berard - and beat Grahame with a top-shelf backhander for his first goal in 28 games.

''I actually expected him to cut to the middle because he did have a step,'' said Grahame. ''I kind of positioned myself to push toward the center. Obviously, he kind of chipped it and it hit the post and went in. That's another situation where I need to come up with the big save right then as well.''

Murray tried to come to the rescue. During a two-on-one break, Jozef Stumpel tried to take a shot on Belfour but it was blocked. Stumpel got his own rebound and passed to Murray at the top of the slot. Murray beat Belfour into the top left corner of the net and it was tied, 2-2.

Then the bottom fell out - again.

''Obviously at the end there, they got a few on us,'' said coach Robbie Ftorek. ''It's tough because the guys played really, really well. Until you get out of it, you've got some downs, and tonight was one of those again, unfortunately.''

What makes it even more painful is that the Leafs' home run began Nov. 19, when they shut out the Bruins, 2-0.

This story ran on page F1 of the Boston Globe on 1/8/2003.
© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.