Daylight knocked out of the Panthers

[ Game summary ]

By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, Globe Staff, 2/10/2002

penalty shot stopped by the home team. A total of 154 minutes in penalties. And, oh yes, a victory. What more could you ask for from a Bruins matinee?

In the end, the Bruins prevailed, 4-1, over the Florida Panthers at the FleetCenter in a game that deteriorated into something more reminiscent of the WWF than the NHL. The Bruins are unbeaten in their last six contests (5-0-1) with two to go before the Olympic break.

They got goals from Bill Guerin (No. 32), Sergei Samsonov (No. 20), Glen Murray (No. 25), and Brian Rolston (career-high No. 25). Samsonov's goal gave Boston its fifth 20-goal scorer, tops in the NHL.

Guerin opened the scoring at 14:44 of the first period on a power-play goal. He took a pass from Joe Thornton and walked out of the left corner. He lifted a shot over the shoulder of goaltender Roberto Luongo, giving the Bruins the lead for good.

Samsonov, taking a centering pass from Jozef Stumpel (two assists), made it 2-0 at 15:57.

At 9:10 of the second, the Panthers had a chance to narrow the deficit when Pavel Bure was awarded a penalty shot after being hauled down by defenseman Sean O'Donnell. Bure, who has struggled on breakaways all year and missed his first penalty shot of the season against Carolina, tried to beat Byron Dafoe with a backhander at the right post. But the puck rolled on him and wound up hitting the side of the net.

''No question that was a big turning point in the game,'' said coach Robbie Ftorek. ''If they get that goal, then they're right back into it. When you score those penalty shots, it brings the whole bench up. It was a very important part of the game.''

Dafoe said it was a matter of making Bure commit first.

''You're dead if you make the first move,'' he said.

At 15:46 of the second, the Bruins pretty well put it away when Murray potted one on Trevor Kidd, who replaced Luongo. Valeri Bure broke up the shutout at the 34-second mark of the third and Rolston closed it out at 8:18. It was a big goal for Rolston, who had 21 in his first 40 games but only three in his last 16.

''The falling off of it was mostly because he was tired,'' said Ftorek. ''He'd be cruising just because he's been asked to do power plays, penalty killing, regular shifts, sometimes shadow [an opponent], sometimes faceoffs. He was asked to do a lot. He was fatigued.

''I would suspect after the Olympics, even though he'll be playing in the Olympics and will probably be playing a lot because of his speed, he'll get some rest and be able to come back strong for the final run.''

The third period was marred by tussles all over the ice. In the final 20 minutes, 128 penalty minutes were called. Dennis Bonvie, who was recalled from Providence to take the place of P.J. Stock (facial injury) as the club's enforcer, battled twice with Florida's Peter Worrell, who is among the fiercest fighters in the game. Bonvie collected a game-high 22 minutes in penalties.

''That's my role and that's the job I have to do,'' said Bonvie, who has racked up 269 PIMs in 48 games with Providence this season. ''They just said go out, be smart, go up and down your wing, play rough and tough and if that situation arises, then address it. Other than that, go play.

''I think we frustrated them a little bit. I just tried to go out and continue to bang and crash. It's an honor to play in the NHL. Every time you get the call, I'm elated. I want to come up and do my job.''

Of late, the entire team has been doing its job and the winning continues.

This story ran on page D1 of the Boston Globe on 2/10/2002.
© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.