Bruins get to the point in Dallas

By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, Globe Staff, 10/16/99

DALLAS -- They were desperate, unbelievably desperate. As badly as coach Pat Burns had tried to keep his troops on an even keel, as hard as he had tried to keep practice upbeat and keep his players from being discouraged, it was clear the team's 0-4-2 start was wearing on all of them.

It was the Bruins' worst start since 1964-65 and the players were trying to put a happy face on a rough situation, saying all they needed was a victory.

At practice Thursday, Burns had challenged his players to be better, especially the forwards on the top two lines. Last night, against the defending Stanley Cup champion Dallas Stars at Reunion Arena, they were.

However, it was only good enough for a 2-2 tie, although a hard-earned one.

"The team was playing so well. It always makes it harder [to end in a tie],'' said goaltender Rob Tallas, who saw only eight shots in the first 40 minutes. "I just told myself to have fun out there. I kept saying that to myself over and over.''

Tallas, who was making his first start in four games, had 21 saves against the Stanley Cup champions. "It's been nine days, and that's a hard nine days,'' he said.

It took the Stars just 2:07 to get on the board. Mike Modano had been pulled off the top line after a disappointing outing against the Sharks on Wednesday night. The new combination of Jere Lehtinen, Brett Hull, and Pavel Patera combined for Dallas's strike. Patera centered a pass for Lehtinen, who banged home a shot from in front.

The Bruins took some time to score, but it wasn't for a lack of opportunity as they put tremendous pressure on the Stars. At 5:32, Dave Andreychuk's blast trickled through the legs of Ed Belfour, but the Dallas goalie was able to recover and keep the puck from going over the goal line.

At 7:14, left wing Sergei Samsonov, who had been singled out by coach Pat Burns as needing to bear down, nearly scored on his shot from the right point.

The Bruins' top defensive line was again very effective at both ends of the ice with left wing P.J. Axelsson firing a shot off the post at 9:30.

Steve Heinze, another forward who had been struggling, had a tailor-made chance when he took a centering pass from Joe Thornton and one-timed it, but the goalie turned it back. The most impressive save Belfour made was on Samsonov. With 2:16 left, Samsonov had a point-blank chance that Belfour somehow got his glove on.

At the end of the period, the Bruins had a 17-5 shot advantage. Although they trailed, 1-0, they were clearly carrying the play.

Defenseman Ray Bourque tied the game at 10:41 with his second goal of the season. Jason Allison was battling down low for the puck when Samsonov grabbed it and began putting on a show. He finally dished the puck up to Bourque at the point, and he blasted it past Belfour to pull Boston even.

The Bruins continued to keep the heat on, taking a 2-1 lead on the power play at 17:44. Allison relayed a pass up to Bourque, who rapped a one-timer that glanced off the glove of Andreychuk in front of the net, and past Belfour. It was Andreychuk's third goal of the season.

The Bruins, in their hungriest game of the year, outshot Dallas, 13-3, in the second period, and held a 30-8 shot advantage through 40 minutes.

But as hard as they tried to hold the lead, they couldn't. The dangerous Stars came out firing in the third period, outshooting Boston, 14-3. Modano, reunited with Lehtinen and Hull, scored the tying goal off the rush at 14:16 with his linemates assisting.

The Stars continued swarming the Boston net with Tallas forced to make some very tough saves. Tallas got a little help from the left post when defenseman Richard Matvichuk rapped a shot from the left circle off the post with 24.7 seconds left in regulation.

"There were some tough saves. I'm pleased with my performance,'' said Tallas. "I just wanted to be given a chance to play.''