Trip ends with win over Hurricanes

[ Game summary ]

By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, Globe Staff, 1/3/2002

ALEIGH, N.C. - It wasn't pretty. It was far from perfect. It sure won't go down as one of their better efforts. Aesthetically, on a scale of 10, it was somewhere around a 2, but the Bruins got what they came for - 2 points - in a 6-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes last night, even though they spent much of the contest hanging on by their thumbs.

It gave the Bruins 6 points out of 8 on their four-game road trip and they now sit atop the Eastern Conference with 51 points. That sets the stage for a showdown with Toronto (50 points) tonight at the FleetCenter.

The Bruins made it look easy in the first period as they raced to a 4-1 lead. Boston took it to Carolina from the start and had a bushel full of scoring chances.

The Bruins started their four-goal barrage with a power-play strike by Bill Guerin, his first of three. Sean O'Donnell dropped a pass to Guerin, who dished it over to Jozef Stumpel in the right circle. Stumpel relayed it back to Guerin in the slot and he beat Tom Barrasso at 4:24.

A miscue nearly tied it. Byron Dafoe played the puck behind the net and tried to clear it but his attempt went right to Hurricanes left wing Erik Cole. Cole tried a centering pass to Rod Brind'Amour, but defenseman Jonathan Girard did a good job of preventing Brind'Amour from getting a shot on net.

At 7:22, Glen Murray potted his 16th goal of the season, giving Boston a 2-0 lead. Don Sweeney started the play with a strong outlet pass to Sergei Samsonov. Samsonov left the puck for Murray at the right point and Murray then gave it to Joe Thornton on the right side. With Murray skating in the left circle, Thornton threaded a hard backhanded pass to his linemate and Murray buried it past Barrasso.

Guerin struck again at 8:50, giving the Bruins a three-goal advantage. Guerin, positioned in the left circle, took a stride forward and drew in Carolina defenseman Glen Wesley. Guerin backed up and then wristed a shot that sailed past Barrasso for his 20th goal of the season.

Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice then replaced Barrasso, who surrendered three goals on eight shots, with Arturs Irbe. It marked the first time this season Barrasso has been yanked.

The Hurricanes got on the board at 13:12 on a power-play goal by Ron Francis. Francis, who scored on a rebound, potted the 500th goal of his career and was also playing in his 1,000th game as a member of the Hurricanes/Whalers organization. Francis became just the fifth player in NHL history to reach both 500 goals and 1,000 assists.

Brian Rolston gave Boston back its three-goal lead when he scored his 21st goal of the year with 53.1 seconds left in the period after taking advantage of an awful Carolina turnover.

Defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh tried to clear the puck on his backhand. The puck was batted down by Rolston and he charged the net, beating Irbe for the 4-1 lead.

It was downhill from there for Boston, which was badly outplayed in the second period and for much of the third.

Wesley tallied his third of the year at 10:58 of the second with a shot from the left circle that beat a screened Dafoe.

Shane Willis made things interesting when he pulled the Hurricanes to within one goal at 13:13. Sami Kapanen skated the puck through the neutral zone and dished it to Francis on the right side. Francis attempted to pass it to Willis, who was going to the net, but it bounced off O'Donnell. Unfortunately for the Bruins, it bounced right back to Willis in the slot and it was 4-3.

''We weren't trying to play defensive, by any means,'' said Bruins coach Robbie Ftorek, who was celebrating his 50th birthday. ''We wanted to keep pushing the puck up the ice. But we were making some turnovers and they were playing pretty well. They gained some confidence and momentum when they got the power-play goals in the second period.

Guerin completed his second career hat trick with 42.1 seconds left on an empty-netter, giving him his first three-goal game since Jan. 31, 1996, at Buffalo, when he was playing for the Devils. Thornton added another empty-netter with 10.4 seconds remaining.

''They were getting a lot of power-play opportunities and they were having success,'' said Ftorek. ''We changed it up in the third a little bit and that helped.''

This story ran on page E1 of the Boston Globe on 1/3/2002.
© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.