Point taken by Bruins

[ Game summary ]

By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, Globe Staff, 3/12/2003

ANATA, Ontario -- If there was a lesson learned by the Bruins last night, it's that they'd better get moving during the final 12 games of the year because they do not want to finish in the eighth and final Eastern Conference spot.

There's no such thing as an easy first-round matchup by any means, but it would behoove the Bruins, currently in the seventh spot, to move up into sixth to make sure they avoid Ottawa.

Sure, the Bruins outplayed Ottawa last night for some portions of the contest. But the Corel Centre has been a very difficult building for them to win in. Last night's 4-3 overtime loss extended their winless streak here to nine games (0-4-1-4). They haven't beaten the Senators on the road since March 24, 1999.

The Bruins did give it a valiant try. They were down, 2-0, and battled back to take a 3-2 lead, but the Senators tied it midway through the third period. At the 28-second mark of the extra session, center Radek Bonk slid a backhander under goalie Jeff Hackett and it was all over.

''That's arguably the best team in the NHL, and we played a pretty good game against them,'' said defenseman Sean O'Donnell. ''We got a point. I don't necessarily feel we deserved to win the game, but we got a point and it's something to build on.''

It was especially encouraging given Sunday's 8-5 stinker in Chicago, which was one of the Bruins' worst performances of the year -- if not the worst.

''In Chicago, both teams were just horrible,'' said defenseman Nick Boynton. ''That's the worst game I've ever been involved with, and that's putting it politely. [Against the Senators] it was a little unfortunate. We had them down there in the third, but they're a good team and right now we'll just take any point we can get.''

The Senators scored a pair of goals by defensemen 2:07 apart late in the first period to take a 2-0 lead. Karel Rachunek tallied the first at 16:39 as he beat Hackett from the slot. The next one was a deflection by Curtis Leschyshyn at 18:46. Center Mike Fisher dished a pass to right wing Martin Havlat in the right circle. Havlat surveyed the situation and, looking for a better scoring chance, skated it out of the circle and into the slot. He fired a shot through a screen that deflected off Leschyshyn and past Hackett for the defenseman's first goal of the year.

The Bruins rallied during a strong second period. O'Donnell, who was playing in his 600th NHL game, sprung center Joe Thornton for a breakaway during an Ottawa power play, and Thornton cut the deficit in half. O'Donnell backhanded a pass out of his own zone for Thornton in neutral ice. Thornton skated right down the slot and beat Patrick Lalime with a forehander at 1:43 to make it 2-1. It was Thornton's first tally in eight games.

Special teams led to the Bruins' second goal, also scored by Thornton. New acquisition Rob Ray, whom the Senators got from the Buffalo Sabres, was called for interference at 4:19. Less than 10 seconds later, Thornton buried his second of the game and 34th of the season.

Right wing Glen Murray dished a cross-ice pass for Thornton, who was positioned in the right circle to one-time a shot past Lalime.

The Bruins got their only lead of the contest on a goal by P.J. Axelsson in the third period. Axelsson was rewarded for his terrific play of late by being moved up to the top line with Thornton and Murray, and he buried a rebound of a Murray shot for his 16th of the year at 10:09 to make it 3-2.

Unfortunately for Boston, the lead didn't last long. Mammoth Ottawa defenseman Zdeno Chara blasted a slapper from just inside the blue line that beat Hackett under the right pad at 12:13, making it all even again at 3-3. It began with Thornton losing the faceoff in the left circle to Bonk and ended with Chara's shot that gave him his eighth goal of the season.

As good as Thornton was on the scoresheet, he had a rough night in the faceoff circle, losing 16 of 23 draws. He was less than pleased that one of them resulted in a goal.

''I kind of went in wrong,'' said Thornton. ''I didn't really take my time, and he just kind of won it clean. I kind of went in and I was going to go to my backhand but I thought I should go to my forehand and by that time he had won it back. So I got kind of confused there but he made a good play.''

But when it was all said and done, it was a point in the bank.

''There's no question it's a good point,'' said coach Robbie Ftorek. ''But we had chances to put them away and we came back from a pretty good deficit.''

This story ran on page F1 of the Boston Globe on 3/12/2003.
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