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BRUINS 2 DEVILS 2 [ Game stats ]
Late Murphy goal earns tie with NJ
There was nothing wrong with Murphy's stick last night. The newest Bruin, who made his debut against the New Jersey Devils, scored a fluke goal from an impossible angle at 15:29 of the third period, lifting the Bruins into a come-from-behind 2-2 tie at Continental Airlines Arena.
''That was real lucky,'' said Murphy, who twisted his knee slightly in the first period but was well enough to continue. ''It hit a stick and happened to get behind the goalie. I felt good. I was trying to concentrate on each shift. All in all, I'm happy with my first game in seven months.''
Murphy logged 12:02 of ice time in 16 shifts.
From where coach Pat Burns was standing, he didn't think his team earned any credit.
''I didn't think we deserved a point,'' said Burns. ''We got the point, we'll take it, but we didn't play very good in the first half of this game. They were all over us. We were fortunate. We made some bad decisions with the puck.''
Rookie forward Scott Gomez gave New Jersey the lead at 5:55 of the first period with his fourth goal of the season on a shot Bruins goaltender Rob Tallas would like to have back.
Tallas, getting his first start in 19 days, allowed a fluttering shot from Gomez to bounce off his pad and into the net.
The Bruins rallied in the last few minutes of the period but couldn't solve goalie Martin Brodeur, who made several spectacular saves.
In the second, the Bruins had opportunities to tie the game, including 1:44 of a five-on-three advantage, but Brodeur was flawless.
Midway through the period, defenseman Ken Daneyko was penalized for high-sticking Anson Carter, setting up Boston's power play. Sixteen seconds later, Devils defenseman Scott Niedermayer hooked Heinze, giving Boston a two-man advantage, but Brodeur was impenetrable.
A couple of skirmishes ensued later in the period as the Bruins were trying to get something going. Rob DiMaio, who returned after missing two games because of a bruised foot, went toe-to-toe with tough New Jersey defenseman Scott Stevens.
Later Joe Thornton and Lyle Odelein enaged in fisticuffs in a spirited battle.
As Thornton and Odelein squared off behind the play, the Bruins kept going despite the whistle, and a Samsonov backhander from the slot caromed off Brodeur's head.
A lost faceoff and some strong work by the Devils resulted in a 2-0 lead on the power play at 18:50. The Bruins were called for too many men on the ice and with 21 seconds left on the man advantage, the Devils cashed in.
In the left circle, Brendan Morrison won a draw back to defenseman Sheldon Souray at the left point. Souray dished the puck to Niedermayer, who teed up a slapper that was deflected in by center Sergei Brylin.
With 6:56 gone in the third, the Bruins cut the Devils lead when wing Mikko Eloranta took a pass from Samsonov and beat Brodeur over the shoulder on the power play to make it 2-1.
The Bruins gained strength as the period wore on but Brodeur shut the door. At the other end, Tallas made some very tough stops. The best was with under six minutes remaining. Brylin made a perfect pass to left wing John Madden, who fired a shot near the left post as he drove to the net, but Tallas robbed him.
Then Murphy's goal, a wacky shot from deep in the zone off to Brodeur's left, sent the game into the extra session.
Jason Allison had the best chance in overtime, but hit the crossbar in alone against Brodeur.
In the end, it was Murphy's night.
''You put it at the net, good things happen,'' he said. ''It was a good point for us.''
This story ran on page E01 of the Boston Globe on 11/18/99.
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AST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Five days ago, Joe Murphy's skate was thrown into Long Island Sound and his sticks hacksawed to the point where they were useless because he signed with the Bruins rather than the Rangers, with whom he'd been practicing.