Aimless Bruins struggle in defeat

By Shira Springer, Globe Staff, 3/7/2000

The final period was barely five minutes old when the fans at the FleetCenter - announced as a crowd of 15,836 for the start of the post-Ray Bourque era - began a somber chant: ''We want Ray. We want Ray.''

The calls for the captain's return came as the Bruins' defense collapsed and the Senators ensured victory with a four-goal outburst. The ease with which Ottawa scored brought home the reality that the Bruins had lost their best defenseman. And it was the loss of Bourque, traded to Colorado, that was most difficult to swallow last night. Not even a late goal by Joe Thornton could improve the sour atmosphere.

By the time the game concluded and Ottawa had a 5-1 win, the FleetCenter was nearly empty. Some who remained took the final two minutes to boo and hurl expletives. Some chose to exit with paper bags over their heads.

''Before the game, you think about it,'' said defenseman Hal Gill. ''It's hard to miss him and it hurts when you hear the fans cheering for him. Obviously, they want him to stay. It's hard to deal with. You have to go out and do your job and get past it.''

Ottawa broke open a 1-0 game early in the third with three strikes in two minutes.

At 3:38, Vaclav Prospal rushed to get his own rebound and sneaked the puck between goalie Rob Tallas's legs. The next tally came at 4:43 when Shawn McEachern took advantage of a bad clear by the defense and beat Tallas short side. McEachern struck again as a shot from the right circle hit Tallas's stick and went in at 5:18. Nothing fancy, just three solid shots that got past the blue liners and Tallas (28 saves).

''If we can find a way to get that goal that gets us over that hump rather than making a mistake and have it come back and make the hump bigger, we're going to be that much better off,'' said defenseman Don Sweeney. ''We've been playing teams that have been playing well, so you can't afford to make mistakes. You also have to bury the chances that you do have.''

But even before the Senators put the game away, it was clear the fans and the Bruins had other matters on their minds. The hundreds of empty yellow loge seats that usually fill up during the first period remained vacant throughout. The home team was without its captain and any trace of urgency as it tried to end a three-game losing streak against Ottawa.

As they sat on the bench, the Bruins showed no emotion. They often skated aimlessly, managing just a few solid shots. Ottawa expended little effort into its first goal. A soft shot from the left point by Sami Salo 10:16 into the first period passed through traffic untouched, slipped between Tallas's legs, and dropped behind the goal line.

The Bruins' frustrations persisted through the second period as Ottawa's Ron Tugnutt (25 saves) kept them off the scoreboard. And when Thornton finally tallied with 8:47 to play, the ''celebration'' lacked enthusiasm. Shortly thereafter, boos filled the arena, paper bags went on, and mourning for the loss of Ray Bourque, not the game, began.

This story ran on page D08 of the Boston Globe on 3/7/2000.
© Copyright 2000 Globe Newspaper Company.