Bruins snap out of a slump

[ Game summary ]

By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, Globe Staff, 1/19/2003

he Bruins finally stopped the bleeding.

The Bruins dropped their third straight game last night, a 3-1 decision to the Atlanta Thrashers, and have lost 14 of their last 18 (3-14-1-0).

Losers of eight of their previous nine games, they snapped out of their slump in style last night, pounding the Columbus Blue Jackets, 7-2, at the FleetCenter. The victory ended the Bruins' three-game losing streak and featured their biggest offensive output since a 7-2 victory over Calgary Nov. 26.

Whether it's a one-game reprieve like their triumph over Toronto Jan. 11 that ended their previous losing streak at five games, or the start of a legitimate turnaround remains to be seen. But for the first time in a long time, the club showed flashes of being the team that was a powerhouse in October and November.

Was it perfect? No, but it was far better than has been seen in these parts in better than six weeks.

''We've been struggling and everybody knows that, but tonight, we really wanted to win this game and hopefully we'll win some home games in front of our home fans,'' said Bruins captain Joe Thornton, who had one goal and two assists.

When asked what the difference was between this game and so many others, Thornton said the Bruins were able to take advantage of their scoring chances last night.

''Personally, I think we just beared down,'' he said. ''Our scoring chances, we beared down. We hit the net. We got the puck out of our end, but I think just bearing down was the key.''

As they did Friday night in Atlanta, the Bruins scored first on a power play. Against the Thrashers, it was Brian Rolston who popped one in. Last night, it was Thornton.

In his return Friday from a five-game absence because of an infected elbow, Thornton was ejected at 15:05 of the first period for being the third man into an altercation. Last night, Thornton was a force for three periods. His first-period goal came at 3:55 on a terrific feed from Glen Murray.

Murray, with the puck at the left point, faked a pass and Columbus's Andrew Cassels bought it. When Cassels turned his back, Murray fired the puck to Thornton, who was positioned along the goal line. He swept it into the net for his 22d goal of the season and 300th career point.

Columbus tied the game in the final seconds of the period.

Goaltender Steve Shields went to play a deflected puck but fanned on the clear attempt and got tied up with Cassels. The puck glanced off Cassels and into the net with only 4.7 seconds left.

If that deflated the struggling Bruins, they recovered quickly, as they scored three goals in the second period. The first came at 6:45 when Murray potted his 24th of the season. Thornton centered a pass to Murray in the left circle and he slapped it past Marc Denis to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead.

The Bruins got a look at the skills of recent acquisition Krzysztof Oliwa, who got the better of fellow heavyweight Jody Shelley in a bout at 7:21.

The Bruins got their third goal on an odd-man rush. Defenseman Jonathan Girard, a healthy scratch in Atlanta, dashed up the right side, carrying the puck through the neutral zone with rookie Martin Samuelsson on his left. Girard skated into the right circle, waited, then flipped the puck over Denis for his fourth of the year at 8:37.

Another odd-man rush led to the Bruins' fourth goal less than a minute later. This time it was P.J. Axelsson buzzing down the ice with the puck on a three-on-two. He skated through the right circle, switched to his backhand, and lifted the puck over Denis to give the Bruins a 4-1 lead.

The Blue Jackets got one back on the power play at 17:36. With Axelsson off for slashing, Jaroslav Spacek blasted a slap shot from just inside the blue line that trickled through Shields's legs.

The Bruins lost winger Martin Lapointe in the second period, Lapointe suffered a groin injury that will keep him out for some time, coach Robbie Ftorek said.

Left wing Mike Knuble, moved up to the Thornton line where he's had success, put the game out of reach at 8:10 of the third with his 11th of the year. Murray had the puck at the right point and dished it to Knuble in the right circle. His one-timer blew by Denis. Bryan Berard scored at 17:11. The icing on the cake came with 5.7 seconds left, when P.J. Stock - called to the ice by Murray and Thornton, who told regular linemate Knuble to sit out a shift - scored his first regular-season goal in a Bruins uniform and first since Feb. 15, 2001, a span of 112 games. ''The drought is over for him,'' said Thornton, grinning from ear to ear. For a night at least, all the Bruins were grinning.

This story ran on page C3 of the Boston Globe on 1/19/2003.
© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.