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BRUINS 3, MAPLE LEAFS 2 Leafs turned over New, improved Bruins rake in a win [ Game summary ] By Kevin Paul Dupont, Globe Staff, 3/25/2003
They weren't perfect, but they were better, improved in their hitting, keener on preventing turnovers, more in control of their tempers. All of that, along with some minute-by-minute improved goaltending by Steve Shields and a game-breaking goal by Mike Knuble, added up to a 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs and a giant step toward securing one of the last two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. ''At times I thought the team played very well,'' said Mike O'Connell, who stood behind the Boston bench as head coach for the first time at the FleetCenter, after cashiering Robbie Ftorek last Wednesday. ''I think we have to continue to be aggressive to the puck carrier ...'' The list could go on, just as the losing went on and on for the better part of three months. Poised to fall into also-ran oblivion in the East just last week, the Bruins have won two of three in the O'Connell era, and have shown in their last two outings that they still remember - when reminded enough - how to hit and how not to drop-kick valuable points away. The win lifted the Bruins to 82 points, 8 more than the Rangers, and both the Bruins and Blueshirts have six games to go. It's all but a lock that the Bruins will secure a postseason spot, the Rangers now down to the slim hope that they can slip past the Islanders for the No. 8 spot in the East. As much as they needed Knuble's goal - the broad-shouldered winger bumping Robert Svehla off the puck in the corner and walking around for a quick strike early in the third - they needed Shields's sharp work in net. After letting in two of the first six shots he faced, the erratic Shields stopped the next 20, including an Alexander Mogilny attempt in the last minute that had the talented Russian winger raising his hands to celebrate the tying (not) goal. ''That actually looked better than it was,'' said Shields. ''I had a few better saves than that. It was a good shot, but I could see it. I had good position and my glove was right there.'' The Leafs looked as if they would beat Shields all night, given their early success. Darcy Tucker potted the 1-0 lead at 3:15, putting one through the five-hole at short range, and Tomas Kaberle broke a 1-1 tie with another through the five-hole at 16:27 of the first. Later in the period, when Shields snuffed a weak 58-footer from the blue line, the crowd of 14,055 gave him a Gardenlike mock cheer. While Shields warmed to the task, the Bruins, front to back, did a much improved job of working the boards, jumping loose pucks, and playing smart. Their work paid off when they scored the only goal in the middle period, Martin Lapointe connecting with a 20-foot wrister in the slot after Jozef Stumpel set him up with a pinpoint-perfect feed out of the right corner. The Toronto defense stuck somewhere between Southern Ontario and an early-spring siesta, Lapointe snapped the equalizer past a surprised Eddie Belfour. Knuble, who figured late in training camp that he might be placed on waivers, then mashed in h is career-high 27th goal only 15 seconds into the third. He overpowered Svehla in the corner to Belfour's right, chugged behind the net, and twirled out from behind the right post for the shot. Such was the grit and determination often lacking - who knows why? - in the Ftorek regime. ''Something I'm happy about - I've been pretty consistent this year,'' said Knuble, who began the night by receiving the Seventh Player Award as the club's unsung hero. ''As you get older, you realize the importance of consistency. I can't write a better story for the year.'' A week ago, the Bruins looked as if they would be written off. Now they have two wins under their tightened belts and at least a hint of momentum with April at their door. Lost in the game summary: Dan McGillis keeping his cool with 6:10 to go in the third, with a frustrated Mats Sundin smacking him on the back of the head. McGillis did not retaliate, Sundin went to the penalty box, and, lo and behold, the night didn't dissolve into yet another fire alarm. ''We're getting there,'' said O'Connell. ''We're a little better in all aspects of the game.'' That's entertainment.
This story ran on page F1 of the Boston Globe on 3/25/2003.
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nto every season a little entertainment must fall, and last night the Bruins put some pizzazz back on Causeway Street.