Finally home owners

Unable to buy a win at the FleetCenter, they now have two in a row

By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, Globe Staff, 03/22/2000

Home has been a horrid place for the Bruins this season. The victories at the FleetCenter have been few and far between.

That's why last night's 4-0 thumping of the Tampa Bay Lightning was so notable. Coming on the heels of its win over Pittsburgh Saturday, it marked the first time Boston has won back-to-back home games since Nov. 11 and 18, when it knocked off Toronto and the New York Rangers.

Goaltender Rob Tallas would've been credited with the shutout, his first since Oct. 18, 1998 (a span of 39 games), if he'd been able to finish the contest. However, he was forced to leave after the second period because of stiffness in his neck and a headache after being run over by Tampa Bay's Todd Warriner. Tallas was credited with the win and improved his record against the Lightning to 8-1-1.

The matchup was one of similarly young, inexperienced players who were just looking to play spoiler for other clubs as the regular season winds down.

The Bruins came out strong early, taking advantage of their offensive opportunities.

It was a rough outing for 23-year-old netminder Zac Bierk. The Bruins started the barrage on the power play at 13:31 of the first period. Darren Van Impe, manning the left point, dished a pass to Brian Rolston at the right. Rolston ripped a one-timer at the net and Mike Knuble tipped it in for the 1-0 lead.

"He's a big guy," said coach Pat Burns of Knuble. "We haven't had too many big forwards like that who will go to the net."

Early in the second period, in which the Bruins outshot Tampa Bay, 13-4, they went up, 2-0, on Rolston's 14th goal.

Sergei Samsonov, who had three assists, relayed a pass to Rolston at the right point. Once again, Rolston one-timed a hard shot at the net and this time, Knuble screened Bierk for the strike at 2:10, which also gave Samsonov his second assist of the night.

Rolston said Knuble's presence made all the difference.

"It's huge," he said. "The goalie is going to stop a shot from the point usually. If he sees them, he's going to stop them. Mike was standing right in front and [Bierk] had no clue where the puck was. He made a great tip on the first shot I had and on the second one, the goalie had no idea where it was."

Since arriving from Colorado in the Ray Bourque deal, Rolston has infused both energy and leadership into the lineup.

"He's consistent," said Burns. "He brings something to a team. With Colorado, he said he was barely playing except on the power play and the fourth line. You can see he's taken the leadership. He sees a real young team in front of him and now he feels like he's been around for a while, and he feels like he wants to step up and he's doing very well."

Tallas, who wasn't available for comment after the game, was felled at 3:15 when he was slammed into by 200-pound left wing Warriner. Warriner, who lost his balance, barreled into the cage on top of Tallas. After a few minutes, Tallas, who appeared shaken, remained in the game. However, he was pulled for John Grahame at the end of the period.

At 7:53 of the second, Joe Thornton had a terrific chance when he took a feed from Samsonov and tried to beat Bierk with a backhand flip shot at the right post but the goalie made the stop.

A few minutes later, Thornton converted on a similar backhand flip shot to put Boston in front, 3-0.

Samsonov intercepted an errant Lightning pass and dished it to Thornton, who beat Bierk over the right shoulder for the three-goal lead at 11:15. It was Thornton's 21st goal.

The Bruins built on their lead early in the third period. Only 16 seconds after killing off a penalty to Don Sweeney, Mikko Eloranta gave Boston all kinds of breathing room with his sixth goal, which made it 4-0.

Eric Nickulas fed a pass to Eloranta in the left circle and he fired it between Bierk's pads at 3:48.

It was a satisfying win for the young Bruins, and newcomers such as Rolston feel as if they've been given new life.

"Guys count on you when you get that kind of ice time," said Rolston, who logged a team high 22:45 among forwards over 22 shifts. "It's been great so far. It's been an easy transition for me. I got that kind of ice time in New Jersey my last year. This year was tough for me, going to Colorado. They have a lot of superstars and I just didn't feel comfortable. I'm just happy to be back in the East and playing for the Bruins."