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BLUES 4, BRUINS 0 [ Game stats ]
Turek, St. Louis shut out Boston
The Bruins looked slow afoot, out of synch, and offensively challenged as they were run over by the Blues, 4-0, the third time this season Boston has been shut out.
The Bruins couldn't get control of the puck and when they did, they couldn't do anything with it. After a victory in Atlanta Friday night, it was a step backward.
After the game, forward Rob DiMaio was one of the most visibly upset Bruins. ''It's a shame,'' he said, ''because the coaches know exactly what to say and when to say it and how to win. We go out and we're on our own program some nights. We know better and it's got to stop. This is nuts. It's not acceptable.''
Goalie Byron Dafoe was equally perplexed. ''We kept it close,'' he said, ''but I don't know. The emotion was not there tonight. It's been a bit of a trend the last 10 games or so. We come out with a good game, and then, for some reason or another, we're not getting up for the next game. It's a serious problem that we really have to fix.''
The Bruins actually came out pretty well, getting their first scoring chance just over a minute into the game. Forward Steve Heinze, who has struggled offensively with one goal in his last 16 games, made a nifty move down the slot to avoid Blues' captain Chris Pronger, who was diving. Heinze dished a pass to DiMaio, whose shot at 1:07 was turned back by goalie Roman Turek.
With 2:25 gone, left wing Dave Andreychuk centered a pass to defenseman Darren Van Impe, whose one-timer from the left circle rocketed on net only to be denied.
Center Joe Thornton, who went into the game with no shots in his last three games, took a shot from the left point at 10:26, setting up a rebound chance for right wing [and ex-Blue] Joe Murphy. But Murphy's shot from the right circle was gloved by Turek.
Then the game turned completely around with St. Louis outshooting Boston, 10-3, the rest of the period.
One of their best chances came at 13:32 as a result of a Bruins' turnover. Left wing Tyson Nash relayed a long lead pass for center Craig Conroy. Conroy tested Dafoe with a backhander from the left side, but Dafoe made the save.
The Blues got on the board with a power-play goal at 16:45. With St. Louis skating with a four-on-three advantage, Pronger, at the left point, slid the puck across for defenseman Al MacInnis, who possesses one of the hardest slap shots in the league. He demonstrated it again as he drilled a shot from high in the right circle that blistered past Dafoe high to the glove side.
It was MacInnis' fifth goal of the season and the Blues were up, 1-0.
The Bruins struggled even more in the middle period as they simply couldn't get their offense on track. They had a power play early in the period when left wing P.J. Axelsson was high-sticked at 4:34. But the only shot they mustered was by Heinze at 6:13. The rest of the time, the Bruins were hard pressed to keep the puck in the offensive zone and at one point, the Blues had a two-on-one shorthanded break.
Boston's fortunes took a turn for the worse at 9:59, when Clinton native and former BU standout Scott Young gave the Blues a 2-0 lead.
Forward Scott Pellerin scampered up the left side and made a perfect feed across the slot for Young, who banged a shot in at the right post.
Through two periods, the Bruins were having a hard time in the faceoff circle and center Jason Allison, who had been able to take them faceoffs the last few games, didn't take any.
Dafoe was called on to make tough saves back to back with about four minutes left. Center Mike Eastwood tested him with a forehand shot from in tight and then got the puck back, this time trying a backhanded wraparound at the right post but the goalie held the fort.
The Bruins' most inspired moment came at 3:05 of the third period, but it was also one of the more devastating because the Blues wound up with a five-minute power play.
Nash battled Ray Bourque along the boards and Bourque knocked him down. Taking exception, Nash charged Bourque from long distance and hit him from behind. Bourque turned and threw Nash to the ice. Murphy, seeing Nash's hit, jumped him and started pummeling Nash in defense of Bourque.
Murphy was the only player penalized, being hit with a five-minute major and game misconduct.
Coach Pat Burns said it was not the proper time for such an action. ''I don't think it was the right way to do it,'' he said. ''I was shocked and surprised more than anybody on the whole thing. At least he showed some fire and some care anyway, but it's not the way you want to do it.''
Then the devastation began as the Blues scored twice on the man advantage.
Young picked up his second goal of the night at 3:54, scoring on a breakaway. MacInnis sent a long lead pass for Young, who got behind Bourque and Hal Gill, and charged in, beating Dafoe to the glove side.
MacInnis assisted on the fourth St. Louis goal at 6:49. His slap shot was stopped by the glove of Dafoe, but the goalie couldn't hang on to it and Michal Handzus buried it from in front for the 4-0 romp.
This story ran on page D01 of the Boston Globe on 12/19/1999.
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T. LOUIS - Burn the video, folks, because this one wasn't pretty. Last night's game was delayed almost a half-hour because of a problem with the boards at the Kiel Center. Perhaps it would've been better for the Bruins if it had never gotten started.