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BRUINS 4, PANTHERS 1 Good news bears: Bruins swat Panthers [ Game summary ] By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, Globe Staff, 3/16/2003
For whatever reason, the Bruins winger bunted in a goal for the second straight contest against the Panthers. In Sunrise, Fla., Feb. 14, it was strike one of a two-goal flurry by Knuble that set an NHL record for the fastest two goals by a player at the start of a game (27 seconds). Knuble's goal yesterday wasn't the winner in Boston's 4-1 victory at the FleetCenter, but it came at 14:44 of the third period and gave the revived Bruins a two-goal lead and full control of the contest. Boston has won two in a row and five of seven (5-1-0-1) after a nine-game winless stretch. ''It was a big goal, I was happy to get it,'' said Knuble, who has 23 goals and continues to build on his career season. ''It was just one of those things where you just try to focus for a second and make sure you hit it with your stick. I was just happy to put the game out of reach.'' Knuble said he didn't know whether his instincts came from playing ball hockey as a youngster or his short-lived baseball career. ''I played [baseball] all the way growing up,'' he said. ''I quit in high school because hockey started to get in the way. I was a lefthanded infielder so that tells you how high [a level] I played. What would that be, Little League?'' The goal came after he and center Joe Thornton (with whom Knuble was reunited in the third period) battled for a loose puck in front of Florida goalie Roberto Luongo. Knuble effectively chipped it to himself and then swatted it in. ''It was a lot of practice but I won't lie to you, it was lucky,'' he said. ''I just tried to pop it up and get it over everything. It was right in the air for me. It's really hard to wait for it to come down so you want to take a swing at it.'' P.J. Axelsson got the ball rolling for the Bruins with a shorthanded goal at 17:35 of the first. He intercepted a pass by defenseman Igor Kravchuk, who was playing his first NHL game in nearly a year, and dished it to Brian Rolston. Rolston relayed it to Axelsson, who beat Luongo with a forehand from the left side of the slot for his 17th goal of the year. Marcus Nilson pulled the Panthers even when he scored on a power play at 11:42 of the second, the only shot to beat Jeff Hackett. Defenseman Jonathan Girard put the Bruins ahead to stay with a power-play goal at 6:28 of the third. Martin Lapointe added an empty-netter at 18:52, his fourth goal in two games. The Bruins will continue their quest to improve their playoff position during a three-game road trip that takes them to Phoenix, San Jose, and Los Angeles. That will go a long way toward determining whether this team really has turned a corner. ''I think we have to prove it on the road,'' said Axelsson. ''We haven't played good on the road. We have to prove that before we can say we're back on track.'' The Bruins have 10 games remaining, and Knuble thinks a successful stint out West could help them reach a logical goal: sixth place in the Eastern Conference, which means a first-round date with the Southeast Division winner, Tampa Bay or Washington. ''This is a going to be a great trip for us, I think, I hope,'' said Knuble. ''We're playing three teams that are supposedly not in the playoffs but they still have a whole lot to play for and those are 6 points for us we desperately need if we want to gain the sixth spot.'' A couple of weeks ago, it looked as if the team would have trouble making it to the postseason. Now they're hoping for sixth. ''I think that's a great spot for us to try to finish at,'' said Knuble. ''Toronto might be out of reach a little bit in fifth but I think the sixth spot is an excellent spot for us to finish in. It's most advantageous to us moving on in the playoffs.''
This story ran on page E1 of the Boston Globe on 3/16/2003.
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erhaps Mike Knuble's thoughts turned to baseball because Florida was yesterday's opponent. Perhaps he was subconsciously remembering those bunting drills he did as a kid before quitting baseball in high school to concentrate on hockey. Maybe it was just being in the right place at the right time.