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SENATORS 5, BRUINS 4 [ Game stats ]
They close out '99 with OT setback
Eight decades of ups and downs closed with a thud when Jason York, trailing ex-Bruin Joe Juneau into the offensive zone, collected a nifty through-the-legs drop pass and launched a 50-footer by Boston netminder Byron Dafoe with 1:23 gone in sudden death.
''We're playing like we're afraid to lose,'' said Bruins forward Anson Carter, aptly describing the excruciating streak the Bruins have endured since the Thanksgiving break. ''We were sitting back on our heels and the other club took advantage of it.''
In fact, the fleet and skilled Senators ran off with the triumph after entering the third period in a 4-2 deficit. Parlaying a handful of Ottawa penalties and some opportunistic work on the power play, the Bruins appeared to have win No. 14 in the bank when they came out for the third period. In a matter of seconds, however, it was obvious they were about to go bankrupt.
Only 1:41 into the period, and only 18 seconds after getting turned back by Dafoe on a 30-footer, ex-Bruin Shawn McEachern made it 4-3 with a quick snap shot from the left circle off a Vaclav Prospal feed. For the most part, Dafoe was sensational. He made five strong saves in the opening six minutes and his best of the night came with 1:35 left in regulation when he turned back a Radek Bonk point-blank attempt with a sparkling toe save. Had it not been for Dafoe, the Bruins easily could have lost in regulation, by as many as three or four goals.
The Senators tied it with 5:23 left, when York sent in a wrister from the blue line that looked dead in the slot. But Magnus Arvedsson kept hacking away and eventually jammed it by Ray Bourque, Don Sweeney, and Dafoe for the 4-4 equalizer.
''We're fighting it. We're nervous,'' said Boston coach Pat Burns, who was issued a strong backing from general manager Harry Sinden Wednesday night, only hours before the Bruins lost to the Devils, also in OT, also 5-4. ''We're trying to win a game so hard. We do things that get us in trouble.''
The error first and foremost here was Boston's near refusal to do anything but flip the puck out of its own end in the third period. Witness Ottawa's shot edge for the final 20 minutes: 19-6. It was as if the Senators were storming down Heartbreak Hill for the Boston Marathon and the Bruins were on the sideline, handing them gulps of water as they passed (''Way to go, Magnus! Keep with it, Igor!''
''We just can't seem to find it,'' said Burns.
The Bruins, for once, did find a trace of a scoring touch. Sergei Samsonov popped in a pair of goals and Joe Thornton and Carter each had one. The Senators weren't using their trademark speed for the first 40 minutes and their star captain, Daniel Alfredsson, kept picking up stupid minor penalties, especially in his own attacking zone. Ottawa also didn't get help in net, where the usually steady Ron Tugnutt, burned on 4 of 17 shots in the first two periods, yielded to Patrick Lalime to start the third.
In five weeks, the Bruins have gone for a frightening tour back to the past, well beyond their last-place finish in 1996-97 under Steve Kasper. They are now mid-'60s bad. Two wins in 15 games. They barely cling to the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Now what? Sinden says Burns is his guy and he made a bold reinforcement of that point Wednesday when he said the coach has complete autonomy. He can play whoever he wants. He can play however he wants. There will be no meddling from the offices high above Causeway Street.
When the season's over, the wins, losses, and ties will be totaled and Messrs. Sinden and O'Connell will say they left it all in the hands of the bench as of Dec. 29, 1999. Never has Sinden been so emphatic about the delineation of power in his 28 seasons as GM. He boldly stated that Burns will stay. Then he as much as added, ''It's all yours, big guy.''
If that's the case, then the next shoe to fall could be a trade. As for now, the 20th century has come to an end for the Bruins, and it ended, somewhat curiously, in the midst of one of their poorest showings in decades. Time marches on, with the Bruins severely out of step.
This story ran on page C02 of the Boston Globe on 12/31/1999.
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ANATA, Ontario - The Bruins sealed their 20th century time capsule with one last donation of frustration here last night, a 5-4 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators that extended their recent hapless-and-hopeless run to 2-9-4 over the last 15 games.