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FLYERS 3, BRUINS 0 [ Game stats ]
The bizarre 1999-2000 Boston Bruins season took on a surreal quality yesterday.
Yes, they were overwhelmed by the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-0, at the FleetCenter, which seemed to hold as many Flyers fans as it did Bruins rooters.
But the game, which was just another reminder that the season is already lost, was a mere subplot to the situation surrounding Boston captain Ray Bourque.
The scoresheet said Bourque logged 23 minutes 30 seconds over 25 shifts, finishing with four shots in what many believe is the last game he will play in a Bruins uniform. Bourque was given the puck by an official at the end of the game, which furthered the belief that Bourque will be traded imminently, perhaps today.
An NHL source said Bruins president/general manager Harry Sinden spent yesterday fielding offers for the 39-year-old defenseman, from the Flyers, Colorado Avalanche, Detroit Red Wings, and St. Louis Blues.
After the game, Bourque remained in the back area of the dressing room for a prolonged period, then emerged to tell a huge media contingent only that he wasn't talking. ''Sorry, guys,'' were his only words.
The atmosphere in the room was funereal. Other players did speak, but the sad state of the team, the distraction caused by the Bourque situation, and the constant losing seemed to take a toll.
Embattled coach Pat Burns, who has done his best to remain upbeat and therefore keep his team the same, was only slightly less terse than Bourque.
''We did our best,'' said Burns, his voice quiet.
The fact is, the Bruins are a shell of their former selves. In the press box, seated together, were 32 goals and 43 assists in the persons of Jason Allison and Anson Carter, both of whom are out for the year with injuries. Next to them were five goals and 16 assists in the form of gritty winger Rob DiMaio, whose real value rarely shows up on a scoresheet.
At home recuperating from surgery was goalie Byron Dafoe.
The game itself was nothing to write home about. Simon Gagne gave the Flyers all the offense they would need with a goal at 14:42 of the first period. Eric Lindros, making his return from injuries, finished off a nice feed from John LeClair at 3:39 of the second for his 25th goal of the season, and Keith Jones closed it out later in the period with his sixth at 16:08.
Brian Boucher picked up his second career shutout, making 21 saves, but the fact is he was rarely tested. The Bruins were simply in way over their heads.
''It doesn't get any easier,'' said goalie Rob Tallas, who made 21 saves, several tough ones. ''Ottawa comes back in town [tomorrow night]. We just have to stay confident. We keep saying that but we have to continue to work, it's still our job, we're still getting paid. It's pride, it's personal, we have to play for each other and not worry about other things in our surroundings. We need to do that.''
Easier said than done. The players have tried to go about their business, but the likely departure of Bourque was hanging in the air, signaling a storm on the horizon.
''For us, we can't look at that,'' said Tallas. ''We've got to worry about ourselves as a team in here and what we're going to do and if that happens, that happens and then we deal with that.''
The Bruins have struggled since opening day, but it was sadly obvious yesterday that they just couldn't compete against the bigger, stronger Flyers.
''You look at this team and there are so many young guys on here, including myself,'' said Tallas. ''Other teams see confidence in playing us. They're excited to play against us and right now, that's a big team to go up against.
''It's lack of experience, too, that's hurting us a little bit. We have a team that's working pretty hard. You look at our chalkboard in their dressing room [listing the lines and defensive pairings] and you look at theirs in ours and they're intimidating. [The Flyers look at the Bruins' roster] asking, `Who's this?', `Who's that?' and it's not as intimidating. That confidence in the dressing room goes out the ice.''
There are only 17 games remaining in the year that mercifully will end April 9 and the Bruins will have to play with half an NHL lineup and half an AHL lineup and likely without the man who has patrolled the blue line for the last 21 years. That's a pretty tall order.
''We're missing a ton,'' said Tallas, who wasn't figuring the loss of Bourque into the equation. ''Anson Carter was having a career-high year. Even Byron getting hurt, he brings confidence. Losing Jason Allison, that's a blow to us.
''You look at all the ties and the one-goal games. He might have been the difference in getting a tie or a win. That's tough, that's really tough. But there's been a cloud over the Bruins this year.''
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