Thursday's Bruins - Playoff Edition

[the mugs]

It's early but it's probably a do or die night for the faithful wearing black and gold...

BOSTON BRUINS at
MONTREAL CANADIENS
Thursday, April 25, 2002
Molson Centre; Montreal, Quebec
7:00 pm (ET) - Gametime
6:30 pm (ET) - Bruins Digest
NESN
Tonight's Game
The Bruins visit the Canadiens tonight in the fourth game of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference Quarter-Final series with Montreal leading the series two games to one. The Bruins are making their 60th post-season appearance in their 78-year history, while the Canadiens are making their 78th post-season appearance in their 85-year history. This marks a return to the playoffs for both the Bruins and Canadiens, as the Bruins' prior playoff appearance was in 1999 and the Canadiens' was in 1998.

2002 Eastern Conference Quarter-Final Series - Boston vs. Montreal
Game One: The Bruins dropped the first game of this series with a 5-2 loss to Montreal in Boston on Apr. 18. Joe Thornton and Bill Guerin scored the Boston goals, while Donald Audette (two), Saku Koivu, Doug Gilmour and Gino Odjick netted the Montreal scores. Byron Dafoe took the loss in goal for the Bruins with Jose Theodore recording the win in net for the Canadiens.

Game Two: The Bruins took a 4-0 lead just 11:49 into the first period on goals by Brian Rolston (two), Glen Murray and Bill Guerin, but Montreal scored the next three straight on two Richard Zednik scores and a Patrice Brisebois tally to close the score to 4-3. P. J. Axelsson scored the eventual game-winner to put Boston up by a 5-3 score at the end of the second period, Doug Gilmour answered for Montreal with just under five minutes to play in the third to pull the Canadiens within a 5-4 score but Joe Thornton settled the game with an empty-net tally with 34 seconds remaining in the third for the 6-4 final. Byron Dafoe (29 saves) earned the win in net for Boston while Jose Theodore (39 saves) took the loss in goal for Montreal.

Game Three: The Canadiens opened the scoring on a Yanic Perreault score but the Bruins scored the next three goals by P. J. Axelsson (shorthanded), Bill Guerin and Nick Boynton to lead 3-1 at the end of the second period. The Canadiens scored four times in the third period with goals by Donald Audette, Doug Gilmour, Saku Koivu and Joe Juneau (empty net) for the 5-3 victory. Byron Dafoe (18 saves) took the loss in goal for the Bruins with Jose Theodore (29 saves) earning the win in goal for Montreal.

Lifetime Series
The Bruins and Canadiens have met more times in post-season play than any other two NHL opponents, as they are playing their 29th lifetime series. The Bruins are 7-21 in playoff series vs. the Canadiens as these teams split their first four series, Montreal won the next 18 series between these teams, and the Bruins have won five of the last six series including the last four straight.

These teams have played 142 lifetime playoff games with Montreal holding an 89-53 advantage in those contests. The Bruins are 37-32 in games vs. the Canadiens on home playoff ice with a 194-189 scoring advantage in those 69 games. The Bruins are 16-57 lifetime vs. the Canadiens in playoff games played in Montreal with the Canadiens holding a 256-156 scoring advantage in those 73 contests.

The Bruins finished the regular season with a 3-2-0-0 record vs. Montreal in their season series. The Bruins won a 5-3 game in Boston on Nov. 13, a 5-0 win in Boston on Dec. 20 and a 4-3 overtime victory in Montreal on Jan. 30. The Canadiens won a 3-2 decision in Montreal on Nov. 20 and a 5-3 decision in Montreal on Mar. 6.

Bruins Regular Season
The Bruins finished their regular season with a 43-24-6-9 record, 23-11-2-5 at home and 20-13-4-4 on the road. The Bruins won 40+ games for the 22nd time in their history and the first time since they compiled a 40-31-11 record in 1995-96 and their 43 wins were their highest total since they went 51-26-7 in 1992-93. They won 20 road games for the 15th time in their history and finished with a winning record on the road for the first time since they compiled a 20-14-7 road mark in 1997-98. The Bruins hit the 100-point plateau for the 16th time in their history and the first time since a 109-point season in 1992-93. The Bruins finished first in their Division for the first time since the 1992-93 season when they won the Adams Division title with a 51-26-7 record. It was their 23rd Division title. The Bruins finished first in their Conference for the first time since the 1990-91 season when they took the Prince of Wales Conference crown with a 44-24-12 record and 100 points.

Canadiens Regular Season
The Canadiens finished their regular season with a 36-31-12-3 record, 21-13-6-1 at home and 15-18-6-2 on the road.

Upcoming Series Games
G5 - Saturday, April 27 @ Boston - 1:00 p.m. - ABC/WBZ Radio
G6 - Monday, April 29 @ Montreal - 7:00 p.m. - UPN38/WBZ Radio (If Necessary)
G7 - Tuesday, April 30 @ Boston - 7:00 p.m. - NESN/WBZ Radio (If Necessary)

Bruins Injuries
Jarno Kultanen: April 1 knee surgery; out indefinitely. Jeff Norton: Groin strain; out indefinitely.

Bruins Recent Transactions
Apr. 17: Ivan Huml, Jonathan Girard, Zdenek Kutlak, Chris Kelleher, Andrew Raycroft and Andy Hilbert recalled from Providence/AHL on standby for the playoffs.
Apr. 21: Andy Hilbert loaned to Team USA for 2002 World Championships in Sweden.

Canadiens Injuries
Jeff Hackett: Shoulder injury; out indefinitely.

 

[the mugs]

Recent games, trends

Recent games, trends

Recent Meetings
Date Home Away Line ATS
G3 4/23/2002 Mtl. 5 Bos. 3 0,110/5 Mtl./O
G2 4/21/2002 Bos. 6 Mtl. 4 0,-250/5 Bos./O
G1 4/18/2002 Bos. 2 Mtl. 5 0,-230/5 Mtl./O

Regular Season
3/6/2002 Mtl. 5 Bos. 3 0,110/5 Mtl./O
1/30/2002 Mtl. 3 Bos. 4 0,105/5 Bos./O
12/20/2001 Bos. 5 Mtl. 0 0,-200/5 Bos./P
11/20/2001 Mtl. 3 Bos. 2 0,100/5 Mtl./P
11/13/2001 Bos. 5 Mtl. 3 0,-200/5 Bos./O

Recent Trends
The last five meetings have played over.
BOS has lost their last three road games ATS.
The Bruins last four overall have played over.
MONT is 3-1 ATS in the last four meetings.
MONT is 5-1 ATS in their last six games at home.
The over is 5-1 in the Habs last six overall.

The Canadiens have been strong at home ATS this year while the Bruins with a better then .500 road record have been very good also.

ATS Records
Boston on road - 20-17-4
Montreal at home - 22-14-6

 

[the mugs]

Down and doubt

Down and doubt

Bruins can't escape Game 3 aftershock

MONTREAL - All across New England, no doubt, TV repairmen were zipping around yesterday faster than the Domino's Pizza deliverer on Super Bowl Sunday, asked to pull shoes and hand-flung remote controls and cellphones out of shattered screens big and small.

Customer: ''Thanks for coming. It's in the family room - what's left of it.''

Repair man: ''Uh ... what's left of the TV, or the family room?''

Customer: ''I'd suggest you work quickly. I'm prone to, you know, let's just call 'em violent flashbacks.''

Tuesday night was no night to be a Bruins fan. On the verge of taking a comfortable 2-1 series lead over the dreaded Habs, the Hub's hockey team folded up faster than the XFL. What was a 3-1 third-period lead disappeared in a bleu-blanc-et-rouge blur of buzzing Canadiens, a feeding frenzy all too reminiscent of the Flyin' Frenchmen days of old back in the Forum of Horror.

And then to wake up the next morning here, of all cities, to try to overcome the hangover. Bon chance. There is no hockey city in the world like the home of the Canadiens. Not even the Red Sox are as much a part of Boston culture as the Habs are the fabric and fancy of this city.

''Yeah, I was telling our guys when it was over,'' said Boston goalie Byron Dafoe, who was at the epicenter of the mother of all meltdowns, ''`Look, don't even think about turning on the TV the next two days, because all you're going to see is me, our D-men, and the puck going in the net.'''

But the lingering reminders of the carnage were inescapable. TV reports and radio talk filled the broadcast airwaves, a city reveling once more in its rich, proud hockey heritage.

''The Ghosts are Finally Back'' was one of the headlines in yesterday's Montreal Gazette.

''One for the Ages,'' beckoned the headline over the report of the esteemed Red Fisher, the Gazette's columnist of the ages. There are no good times to blow games, especially playoff games, but the Bruins had to live with this one, wallow in it, for almost 48 hours before getting back to work here tonight in Game 4. There was no going home to see the kids, play with the dogs. No escape. Turn on the radio, and it was there. Click through the channels, and whoa, ugly. La Belle Province became their own ugly purgatory.

''Thank God there's a lot of French channels,'' said Dafoe, not the least bit compelled to enroll in a crash Berlitz course. ''The Montreal Canadiens are the be all and end all in Montreal. What do we do? I don't know ... put on hats, sunglasses and go out to shop, I guess. If we're watching TV, you can bet it's a movie channel.''

Dafoe was not very good in the final stages of Game 3, but he was not alone in blunderland. He let in a long-range softy on the Donald Audette goal that cut Boston's lead to 3-2, but that goal began with Jozef Stumpel losing yet another key faceoff. Dafoe also was sloppy on another goal, the winner by Saku Koivu. But who could forget Martin Lapointe at one point failing at least three times to tap the puck out over the defensive blue line? Or how about Sean Uh-O'Donnell being out there for Montreal goals 2, 3, and 4? Brutal.

Everywhere you look, there are these David-and-Goliath matchups between the diminutive Montreal forwards and, for the most part, hulking Boston backliners. The results? Soon, the official scorer will be recording slingshots on goal.

''It's not any better the day after, is it?'' lamented Jeff Gorton, the club's assistant general manager, leafing through a stack of newspapers yesterday afternoon at the edge of an indoor public skating rink. ''Well, hey, I guess we made our bed ... now let's see our response.''

In the Bruins' dressing room following the morning practice, there were the expected statements of hope and promise and, above all, correction. Prior to a brief on-ice workout, they watched the game tapes. They listened to coach Robbie Ftorek. In the appropriate spots, they shielded their eyes when the tape showed defensive coverages collapsing, pucks whizzing by Dafoe. All situations they could fix, they said.

''You have to put your emotions aside,'' said veteran forward Bill Guerin, adding that he was sure a lot of people back home were mad enough at his team to take out the frustrations on the television. ''That's the way you feel when you leave the rink, too. But if you're constantly beating yourself up over it, that's no good. There's enough pressure in all this without killing yourself on top of it.''

No matter what anyone says now, no one saw this series playing out this way, or could have predicted the Game 3 cavalcade of errors. At the tail end of their fine regular season, the Bruins played poorly, often looking tired, almost disinterested in the final two weeks. There were warning signs of possible trouble, based on that lethargy.

But they came out with a bang in Game 1, with such a gush of emotion, in fact, that it might have cost them the game. Game 2, despite nearly blowing a 4-0 lead, was an impressive improvement. Through two-plus periods here Tuesday night, they looked as if they would make it a five-game dismissal of their longtime nemesis. Then came the crash.

''Right around the 13-minute mark,'' noted Jumbo Joe Thornton. ''I don't know what it was, but we couldn't seem to get our feet under us.''

''It was kind of like gradual,'' said a mystified Guerin, asked if the tapes helped to identify a trigger point of where things went wrong. ''There were little breakdowns here and there, and then the game's tied, and it's like, `Holy [expletive].'''

In the light of the day, Ftorek didn't doubt his decision to pass up the opportunity to call a timeout when the Habs pulled to within 3-2. As instinctual as he was as a player, the former Needham High star lets his senses tell him when it's time to flash the `T'.

But this time his senses clearly failed him. Horribly. Montreal's second goal wasn't the winner, but it indeed was the game-breaker. The situation ached for a break. Only 53 seconds later, Doug Gilmour snapped the equalizer under the crossbar.

The building shook like the old Forum. The fans were in a froth. Dejected Bruins, hunkered over with clutched sticks perched horizontally across their knees, instinctually seemed to know their fate. It was one their forebears lived for decades.

Someone asked Ftorek if he, a native son of New England, was tempted to fire his own shoe through the monitor when watching the replays.

''I wasn't very happy with what I saw,'' said Ftorek, quickly adding, though, that it was important not to allow emotions to dictate response. ''So ... I keep my shoes on.''

For the Bruins and their fans, this is truly a time that tries their soles.

(Soles - get it? That's funny)

 

[the mugs]

Reflection time is over

Reflection time is over

Swift response needed by Bruins

MONTREAL - Bruins right wing Bill Guerin may have been upset, but he tried to remain upbeat after his team collapsed and gave the Canadiens a 5-3 victory in Game 3 Tuesday night.

Guerin was clearly smarting from the way he and his teammates watched a two-goal lead evaporate in the third period. Instead of being ahead, two games to one, in the best-of-seven, first-round playoff series, the Bruins trail heading into tonight's Game 4 at the Molson Centre.

He could offer only one prediction - that the sun would come up.

''It's a new day,'' said Guerin. ''You can't worry about what happened. We have to stay positive and get going. We're not eliminated. Everybody is still disappointed, but we're just letting it go. You just have to learn from your mistakes. We need everybody to kind of look in the mirror and ask if we're all doing enough to win. I think it's everybody's individual commitment. We all need a little bit more, from everybody.''

After electing not to talk after the game, leaving that duty to players and assistant coach Jim Hughes, coach Robbie Ftorek addressed his team yesterday morning. He went over video of the decisive third period, and he let them know how he felt about what they had let slip away.

''I was angry this morning a little bit,'' Ftorek acknowledged. ''But you've got to keep your composure on the bench, you've got to make sure you know what you want to do and when you want to do it and how you want to do it, and you've got to be able to try to get that across to your players. If you allow anger to get in there, then you're not working on all the right cylinders.''

If the morale Tuesday night could best be described as devastated, yesterday was more calm.

''We're not jolly, we're not overly happy, but we still know that it's a long way from being over,'' said defenseman Kyle McLaren. ''We haven't packed our bags, not in the least. It's only 2-1. That's the good thing about it. We can go out and tie the series heading back home, and that's our intentions. The only way we're going to do it is if we start buckling down and playing 60-minute hockey games.''

In addressing the problems, Ftorek said he hopes his players listen to the criticism, learn from it, but then turn the page.

''You get on the ice, you start to think about the next game instead of the last game,'' he said. ''That's what we wanted to do. So I feel all the guys are in good shape. They obviously know we let something go by that we really shouldn't have and didn't want to, they also know Montreal played a good third period and we've got to make sure we play for 60 minutes.''

If there is something to take out of the lost opportunity, it's how well the Bruins played in the first 40 minutes. In the third period, they still had plenty of scoring chances, but their defensive play was, once again, a nightmare.

''You just don't have any time to hang your head and worry about it,'' said Guerin. ''It's done, it's over. We made mistakes and we'll learn from them and be better next game. That's the only thing you can do. I think we have to be a more focused team, more patient, more committed.

''[Tuesday night] everybody was down, it was a tough pill to swallow. Right now, with the guys we have in this room, guys who have been around and played in a lot of playoff series, you can't let this affect you for long or else you're done. So you've got to let this roll off your shoulders and get back to work. You can't cry about it, you can't change it, it's done.''

McLaren said the mourning can't go on indefinitely.

''I don't think guys want it drilled in their heads what happened. This game is going to be in the back of your head but it can't be. In the regular season, it might be a little more difficult to put it behind us, but it's playoffs. If you stay down too long at a time like this, it can come back and bite you in the butt. We need to be mentally ready. The leadership in here has been strong all year as it was [Tuesday night]. We addressed it. If guys see their teammates hanging their heads, they're going to be over there making sure they're not hanging them for very long. This series is far from being over. We win [Game 4], it's tied up.''

All the talking and philosophizing is great, but the $64,000 question remains: Can this team bounce back?

''That's our job,'' said Ftorek. ''That's what we have to go out and do.''

 

[the mugs]

Dafoe can't be saved from disappointment

Dafoe can't be saved from disappointment

MONTREAL - He is the last line of defense, a role he relishes about 99 percent of the time. But it wasn't easy being Byron Dafoe Tuesday night. The third period against the Canadiens in Game 3, during which the Bruins surrendered four unanswered goals in a 5-3 loss, is one of those times that constitutes the other 1 percent.

The goal that was particularly painful was Saku Koivu's at 11:59, which held up as the winner. Dafoe tried to break up a pass by Donald Audette, who was dishing it out of the right corner, but the puck went off the netminder's stick and right to Koivu, who, for reasons no one can explain, was all alone in the slot.

''The Koivu goal was obviously a broken play,'' said Dafoe, following the Bruins' practice yesterday at the Molson Centre. ''Audette made the blind pass and it was just out of my reach. I felt I had to try and get it or try to deflect it away. I just got a little piece of it. I was surprised that Koivu was the first one coming back. I was assuming a D-man would be there.''

While Koivu was beating Dafoe with a backhander, the Bruins' defensemen were up ice, still trying to figure out how Chad Kilger and Andrei Markov had managed to keep the puck in the zone.

Dafoe knows that with playoff pressure being what it is, he feels a bit more obligation to rise to the occasion. But one player isn't going to carry the team.

''I'm not going to lie to you, we're getting to crunch time now,'' he said. ''It's 2-1 in the series and there are only so many games left. I'm trying to play at the highest caliber I can play at and be as intense as I can be and as smart as I can play. I hope all 20 of us can do that, and I think we'll be successful. I'm trying to play my game and everyone's trying to do what we normally do, but we're still not in that comfort zone we were in during the season. It was good to see it for two periods, that was encouraging. Now we just have to carry that on.''

Dafoe said he's no different than any other NHL goaltender. When he gives up a goal, he lies in bed at night replaying it over and over.

''I do that every night, unless I have a shutout, then I pretty much go to bed with nice, happy thoughts,'' he said. ''As a goaltender, I always replay every goal and say to myself, `What could I have done here to maybe prevent it?' Obviously giving up the lead in the third, it's even more magnified.''

If Dafoe's own memory wasn't enough, there were plenty of reminders of the Canadiens' comeback.

''I had no problem seeing the goals [Tuesday night] because they were on every French station in the city,'' said Dafoe. ''So, I couldn't watch any TV. We went over the goals with [coach Robbie Ftorek] and saw the mistakes that were made. It wasn't one guy or a couple of guys, it was a whole team out there. It was a combination of four or five mistakes that lead to an actual goal. All of us have to pull up our socks and be ready to go [for tonight's Game 4] and play for a full 60 minutes.''

Frequent fliers

General manager Mike O'Connell and assistant GM Jeff Gorton left here yesterday to take in last night's Game 4 between the Senators and Philadelphia Flyers at the Corel Centre in Ottawa ... The Bruins were better in the faceoff circle in Game 3, winning 51 percent of the draws. But Jozef Stumpel continued to struggle, winning just 3 of 12 ... The Bruins came into the series with the reputation of being bigger hitters than the Canadiens, who are known for their speed and elusiveness, as well as goaltender Jose Theodore. But in Game 3, the Habs were credited with 22 hits to only 16 for the Bruins ... Tuesday night's game was just the 11th postseason game played at the Molson Centre since the arena opened in March 1996. It had been 1,440 days since the city last hosted a playoff contest.

 

[the mugs]

B's attempt to bury loss

B's attempt to bury loss

MONTREAL - The finest Bruins season in nearly a decade hangs in the balance tonight at the Molson Centre.

With a win against the Canadiens in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals (7:05, NESN), the Bruins will head home to Boston tied in games, 2-2, and back in control of the best-of-seven matchup.

If the B's are unable to bounce back from their stunning Game 3 setback on Tuesday, if they lose again to the pesky and quick, never-say-die Habs, they will be facing a seemingly insurmountable 3-1 deficit.

Trying to remain positive and optimistic, Bruins players yesterday insisted they can, and will, recover from Tuesday's emotional calamity, a 5-3 loss during which they allowed four third-period goals.

``As devastating as (Tuesday) night was, in all honesty if we win (tonight), it's all even and we're right where we want to be,'' goalie Byron Dafoe said. ``We'll have acomplished what we wanted to do coming to Montreal.''

The key yesterday for the Bruins was coming to grips with Tuesday's devastation. In a brief practice at the Molson Centre, players seemed both somber and chagrined. It appeared they tried to have some fun and some laughs, but the smiles quickly faded, with memories of what happened the night before never very far away.

It was a game in which the B's played a strong first period and a virtually perfect second, taking a 3-1 lead into the final 20 minutes and looking for all the world like a team vastly superior to the Canadiens.

``In the second period we did a terrific job,'' general manager Mike O'Connell said. ``In a playoff game like that, to get the home fans booing their team the way they did, well, it just looked like we were totally in control.''

That evaluation disappeared quickly, as the Habs poured in four third-period goals. It was about as painful and embarrassing a night as most of these players have known.

``One of the worst nights ever, losing the way we did,'' defenseman Kyle McLaren said. ``We had the game in our grasp and we let it go. And we have nobody to blame but ourselves.''

O'Connell talked about being recognized by Montreal fans during the short walk back to the team hotel ``and having them laughing at you.''

``It hurt, it really hurt,'' O'Connell said. ``It was a game that you have total control of and then it breaks down. But you've got to win four and that's the way we're looking at it. I'm confident in our team, I'm confident in the players we have. We've got to put this behind us, learn from it and go on.

``We've got a new game to play. It's not going to do us any good to worry about what happened Tuesday night.''

If the B's can play all 60 minutes as they did the second period of Game 3, they have nothing to worry about. But in none of the three games have they been able to consistently contain the speedy and tenacious Montreal forwards such as Saku Koivu, Donald Audette, Doug Gilmour and Oleg Petrov.

At the top of the playoff standings, the St. Louis Blues have clamped down and played superb playoff hockey, allowing just two goals in four games. At the bottom, the Bruins have given up 14 in three games. The B's 4.67 goals-against average is nearly double their regular-season GAA (2.42).

``It's not like during the regular season, where if you drop a couple of games, you can try to find a way out of it within a week,'' Dafoe said. ``In the playoffs, you've got one game to turn it around. You can't afford to get down on yourself. If we hang our heads and get into woulda, shoulda, coulda, what's going to happen (tonight)?

``This isn't an act we're putting on, this is behind us.''

 

[the mugs]

Act lacks magic: Making B's reappear a tough trick for Ftorek

Act lacks magic: Making B's reappear a tough trick for Ftorek

MONTREAL - To many observers, the task at hand for Bruins coach Robbie Ftorek seems so daunting, so overwhelming. Actually, impossible might be the best description.

Recovery was Ftorek's overall mission yesterday, but helping his team get past the collosal collapse it produced during a 10-minute span in the third period of Tuesday night's 5-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference playoff series seemed like a job akin to watching someone get run over by a train, then trying to prod them into getting up and walking away.

It's one thing to correct fixable problems, but the longer you watch the Bruins in this series, the more it looks like their problems fall into the incurable category.

After all, how can Ftorek force his players to win those important battles along the boards, to have the inner fortitude to want the puck more than the Canadiens?

How can he make Sean O'Donnell and Hal Gill - or any of the Bruins defensemen - a few steps faster in order to pick up the blazing Habs forwards, who look like they're skating with a bunch of beginners on double-runners?

How can Ftorek make his defensive zone turn into something other than The Panic Room, especially when his defensemen look so overmatched, his forwards aren't helping out for 60 minutes, and his goalie isn't bailing them out as often as he was able to during the regular season?

How can Ftorek possibly recreate Ray Bourque?

Sorry folks, but speed, skill, desire, mental toughness and a knack for being in the right place can't be taught by any coach. Now add on the fact that Game 3's embarrassing spectacle occurred here on the hallowed ground of the Bleu Blanc et Rouge, where everywhere the Bruins turn, they're reminded of how inept they played.

There's no escape, and as Dafoe half-heartedly joked, the only thing to do yesterday was put on a disguise and hope to avoid being noticed by Habs fans waiting to unleash a barrel of belly laughs.

So with all that baggage as a backdrop, Ftorek arrived at the Molson Centre and went about the business of trying to get his team, down 2-1 in the series to the home team, back in the frame of mind to rebound in tonight's must-win Game 4.

While Ftorek gave his players the silent treatment immediately following Tuesday night's loss, he was a little more talkative yesterday. Before conducting a light practice, he provided a lecture with video accompanyment illustrating all the ills of Game 3.

According to the players, Ftorek didn't rant and rave, or throw the typical coaching nutty that occurs after such a disgusting loss. He just sternly went about pointing out the obvious.

Ftorek claimed he wasn't as perturbed as many fans in the world of Black 'n' Gold, who probably did their version of a coaching nutty in front of their TV screens during that frightful third period.

``I was a little angry this morning,'' Ftorek eventually admitted, ``but, you've got to keep your composure on the bench. You've got to make sure you know what you want to do when you want to do it, and how you want to do it. You've got to be able to get that across to your players. If you allow anger to get in there, then you're not working on all the right cylinders.''

Nutties just aren't Ftorek's style, so manufacturing a Harry Sindenesque blow-up would probably seem too contrived to be effective. Although, if any team deserved a tongue-lashing, it was the Bruins.

After playing so well through two periods, executing the type of game plan necessary to mask those problems on defense - a job they did so well during the regular season - then going out in the third and inexplicably suffering a meltdown, positive reinforcement wouldn't seem like the way to go. Except it's the way that's worked for Ftorek.

``One of the key things with Robbie is he has remained positive when we've had tough stretches,'' said Dafoe. ``At this point of the year it wouldn't make sense to start something new. We're all professionals. We've gone through times like this before. You have to know how to turn it back on

``There's no sense ranting and raving and going crazy. It's just not his way. He's effective by being positive, by sometimes not saying anything at all. It sends a bigger message.''

Only for three games now, the Bruins have been plagued by the same woes. Even during a 6-4 win in Game 2 at the FleetCenter, a game the Bruins led by a 4-0 margin in the first period, the trouble in their zone was still there, so it's been one continuous re-run.

 

[the mugs]

P.J. gets the point

P.J. gets the point

MONTREAL - Months ago, Bruins coach Robbie Ftorek made it a special project to convince defensive specialist P.J. Axelsson he could become a more effective scorer. The fact that Axelsson has recently earned a spot on the B's No. 1 line with Joe Thornton and Bill Guerin shows how far the spindly Swede has come.

Axelsson scored the game-winning goal in the B's 6-4 victory over Montreal in Game 2 at the FleetCenter on Sunday with a long, perfectly placed slap shot, then scored again in Game 3 last night. His goal, coming shorthanded in the first period, totally changed the momentum and got the B's started. But they suffered a total third-period collapse, squandered a 3-1 lead and lost, 5-3.

``He has been working very, very hard in his shot for, I would say, the last 2, three months,'' Ftorek said. ``I've kept telling him, if he keeps working on it it's going to start going in for him. They are now. That shot he took the other night was a great shot. If he doesn't put it right inside the post, it's not going to go in.

``When you bear down on your shots in practice - and then you get those shots in a game - your confidence level is up and you've got a better chance to score.''

Ftorek elected not to address the team after last night's debacle, instead sending assistant coach Jimmy Hughes to have a quick talk with the players. ``This hurts,'' Ftorek said. ``We have to play 60 minutes. Now we have to learn from this and move on.''

Stumpel draws a blank

On a night the Bruins managed to win more than half their faceoffs (29-28 edge), they again lost the big ones. The biggest was by Jozef Stumpel to Saku Koivu at 7:04 of the third, setting up Donald Audette's goal that launched the Habs' comeback and the B's collapse. In three games, Stumpel has won 15 draws and lost 33. . . . With Byron Dafoe pulled from the B's net with 37 seconds left, Sergei Samsonov put a shot from the left circle off a pipe. . . . The Habs got one lucky goal, when an obvious Yanic Perreault kick-in was allowed to stand, and also had an apparent Richard Zednik goal taken away because the net had been knocked off its pegs an instant earlier by Nick Boynton.

Souray joins cast

Habs defenseman Sheldon Souray is playing with a nasty, fingers-to-midarm cast protecting a broken left wrist. The Bruins were apparently unaware Souray is, literally, shorthanded, unable to do much with his left. He missed much of the season after suffering a displaced fracture and undergoing surgery to install a screw in the bone in December. He is playing in pain now and knows he may have to have the injury repaired after the season.

``I don't really have a feel for the puck or my stick - not that I ever did before I had the cast,'' quipped Souray. ``But I'm still trying to do what I normally do. Sometimes the shot isn't very hard, or I fan on the puck. There's some pain sometimes, but once you get into a game you don't really have time to think about it.''

Norton sits again

Veteran defenseman Jeff Norton was again scratched by the B's. He confirmed he was unavailable recently because of a muscle strain, but said he is now ready. . . . Also watching from the press box were rugged winger Dennis Bonvie and swingman Jamie Rivers. . . .

It's clear the Habs have lots of respect for Bruin Joe Thornton.

``I think he's one of the top three players in the NHL,'' said defenseman Craig Rivet. ``He's confident, he's playing physical, he's taking it right at people and he's passing really well.'' . . .

The B's five call-ups from Providence (AHL) did not accompany the team for Games 3 and 4, staying home to skate under the watch of Baby B's coach Bill Armstrong.