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BRUINS 4, MAPLE LEAFS 2 [ Game stats ]
McLaren slaps one home to stop Toronto's rally
It gave the Bruins a 2-1-1 mark in their last four games heading into the All-Star break and moved them to within four games of .500 (18-22-14) with 28 left to play. More important, they gained confidence in their home building (something that has been sorely lacking) and now hope to finally put all the negative drama that has plagued the team all season to rest.
''I asked the players to really stand up and be counted,'' said coach Pat Burns. ''You could really see a different attitude in the dressing room, too. You could see guys talking a little bit different. It was good. I was almost confident before the game.''
That confidence showed in his team as it built a 3-0 lead midway through the game. The Maple Leafs of late have had a habit of starting slowly then rallying. That again was true last night. Though the Bruins were forced to weather a third-period storm, for the most part they were in command.
Boston got its first two goals less than four minutes apart in the first period. Sergei Samsonov cashed in on the power play at 4:29 for his 12th goal of the season. Darren Van Impe started the play by dumping the puck in from the left point. Samsonov finished it when he made a nice move from the right circle and lifted a backhand shot into the top right corner of the net past goalie Curtis Joseph.
The Bruins made it a two-goal advantage on Cameron Mann's first tally of the season. Mann had been summoned from Providence yesterday morning after the club had indefinitely suspended right wing Joe Murphy for insubordination.
The goal was set up by a superb effort by Andre Savage. He carried the puck down the left side, skated backward deep into the circle, and waited out Tomas Kaberle. As the Toronto defenseman moved toward Savage, he threaded the puck through the blueliner's legs and right on the stick of Mann, who was charging down the right side. Mann rapped it past Joseph for the 2-0 lead at 8:14.
''I enjoy playing with him,'' said Mann, who spent the bulk of his time in Providence last season on a line with Savage. ''He's a great passer. He protects the puck well, sees the ice really well, and we just seem to click.''
In the second period, Boston built on its lead at 11:33 with Joe Thornton potting his 14th of the season. It was a fine individual effort by Thornton, who shrugged off right wing Jonas Hoglund behind the Toronto net and skated the puck out into the right circle. Thornton curled around and flicked the puck at the net, beating Joseph to give the Bruins a 3-0 advantage.
At the other end, Byron Dafoe faced 12 shots in the first 40 minutes but very few were legitimate scoring chances. The Maple Leafs had three power plays in the first two periods but Boston's penalty killing, which has been much maligned this season, killed them off and held the Maple Leafs 0 for 4 on the night.
The Bruins got into a bit of trouble in the third. The Maple Leafs, who seem to be masters of the comeback, tried it again. Center Mats Sundin, who had been hot of late, broke through for Toronto with his 25th goal of the season at 4:47. Steve Thomas, positioned at the left point, dished a pass to Sundin in the slot. Sundin fired it past Dafoe, who appeared to have been screened. Less than two minutes later, the Maple Leafs pulled to within a goal when right wing Mike Johnson drilled a slapper that caromed off the skate of Kyle McLaren and past Dafoe to make it 3-2 at 6:26.
McLaren closed it out with a 75-foot slap shot at 13:34, giving the Bruins some needed breathing room.
''We didn't get any of those in a while,'' said Burns, whose team has been short on good fortune recently. ''Those make a big difference.''
This story ran on page E01 of the Boston Globe on 2/4/2000.
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here have been many more low points than high points for the Bruins this season, but one of the highs came last night when they went up against one of the league's best teams - the Toronto Maple Leafs - and emerged with a 4-2 victory at the FleetCenter.