Thursday's Bruins...

[the mugs]

Like I said last game, this is a huge stretch for the B's...Making up all those "games in hand" that they have vs. the Rangers. Trying to put some space between that 8th place stronghold and the Canadiens & Rangers in 9th & 10th places. At the same time, trying to tie in points the Isles and avoid that sweep in the first round by HORNS' Sens

BOSTON BRUINS vs. NEW YORK ISLANDERS

Thursday, March 6, 2003
FleetCenter; Boston MA
8:00 PM (ET) - Gametime
ESPN

Tonight?s Game
The Bruins host the Islanders tonight in the fourth and final game between these clubs this season and the Islanders' second visit of the season to the FleetCenter. The Bruins are 29-26-8-3 overall and are 17-10-4-2 on home ice thus far this season. The Islanders are 30-25-9-2 overall with a 12-11-5-2 record on the road thus far this season. The Bruins are 6-6-2-1 vs. Atlantic Division opponents this season and they are 21-20-6-1 overall vs. Eastern Conference foes. The Islanders are 7-6-2-0 this season vs. Northeast Division opponents and they are 21-18-7-2 overall vs. Eastern Conference foes.

Lifetime Series
The Bruins are 57-39-18-1 lifetime vs. the Islanders with a 408-359 scoring edge in those 115 games. On home ice, the Bruins are 30-15-10-1 lifetime vs. New York with a 209-159 scoring advantage in those 56 contests. The Bruins are 1-1-1-0 vs. New York in the first three games of this season's series with a 4-1 win in Boston on Nov. 14, an 8-4 loss in New York on Jan. 3 and a 4-4 tie in New York on Feb. 23.

Recent Bruins Games
The Bruins snapped their nine-game winless streak at 0-5-3-1 with a 4-2 win in Carolina on Mar. 4. That followed a 5-2 loss in Tampa Bay on Feb. 15, a 5-1 setback in Nashville on Feb. 17, a 1-1 tie in Carolina on Feb. 19, a 3-2 loss in New Jersey on Feb. 21, a 4-4 tie at NY Islanders on Feb. 23, a 5-5 tie with Dallas on Feb. 25, a 4-1 loss at NY Rangers on Feb. 27, a 3-2 overtime loss to Philadelphia on Mar. 1 and a 6-4 loss to Vancouver on Mar. 3. Their previous win was a 6-5 overtime victory in Florida on Feb. 14. They have taken points out of 13 of their last 21 games at 7-8-4-2.

Recent Islanders Games
The Islanders are winless in their last two games at 0-1-1-0 with a 1-1 tie at NY Rangers on Mar. 3 and a 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay on Mar. 4. They are 1-2-3-0 in their last six games and are 6-5-3-0 in their last 14 contests.

Upcoming Bruins Games
The Bruins will host the Washington Capitals on Mar. 8 (1:00 p.m.; NESN & WBZ Radio). They will then face the Blackhawks in Chicago on Mar. 9 (3:00 p.m.; ESPN & WBZ Radio) and the Senators in Ottawa on Mar. 11 (7:00 p.m.; NESN & WBZ Radio).

Upcoming Islanders Games
The Islanders will next return home to host New Jersey on Mar. 8. They will then face a six-game road trip from Mar. 11-20, traveling to Vancouver, Edmonton, Ottawa, NY Rangers, Toronto and Montreal.

Bruins Injuries
Richard Brennan: Right ankle bruise and fractured foot suffered Jan. 28 vs. Nashville; out indefinitely.
Sergei Samsonov: Dec. 24 right wrist surgery; out indefinitely.

Bruins Recent Transactions
Feb. 17: Ivan Huml recalled from Providence/AHL.
Feb. 21: Shaone Morrisonn recalled from Providence/AHL.
Feb. 22: Zdenek Kutlak returned to Providence/AHL.
Feb. 26: Ivan Huml returned to Providence/AHL.
Feb. 26: Andy Hilbert recalled from Providence/AHL.
Feb. 28: Andy Hilbert, Shaone Morrisonn and Kris Vernarsky returned to Providence/AHL.

 

[the mugs]

Injuries

Injuries

Injuries - Nothing new on the B's injury front.

EDIT - See below for Samsonov update

N.Y. Islanders Injuries
Roman Hamrlik D Hip day-to-day
Kenny Jonsson D Knee day-to-day
Eric Cairns D Shoulder Early Mar
Chris Osgood G Knee day-to-day

EDIT - From NHL.com
The Islanders lost two of their best offensive defensemen, Roman Hamrlik and Kenny Jonsson, to injuries this week. Jonsson is out with a sprained knee and Hamrlik, who didn't play against the Lightning, is day-to-day.

Boston Injuries
Rich Brennan D Ankle Mid Mar
Sergei Samsonov F Wrist Late Mar

 

[the mugs]

Trends...

Trends...

Recent Trends
The Isles are 4-1 ATS in their last five away.
The under is 9-1-1 in NYI's last 11 away.
The over is 8-2 in the past 10 meetings.
The Bruins are 6-3-1 ATS in the past 10 meetings.
The over is 4-1-1 in Boston's last six overall.
BOS is 2-5 ATS in their last seven at home.


Islanders playing some serious "D" and kicking ass on the road lately.

B's have fared well and scoring is high vs. NYI in last 10

B's "D" just not there with all these overs lately

B's just not getting it done at home either...

 

[the mugs]

Recent Meetings
Date Home Away Line ATS
2/23/2003 NYI 4 Bos. 4 -0.5,-120/5.5 Bos./O (02-03)
1/3/2003 NYI 8 Bos. 4 -0.5,125/5.5 NYI/O
11/14/2002 Bos. 4 NYI 1 -0.5,-150/6 Bos./U

4/4/2002 Bos. 1 NYI 2 0,-220/5.5 NYI/U (01-02)
2/26/2002 NYI 3 Bos. 3 0,-130/5.5 P/O
1/12/2002 Bos. 4 NYI 5 0,-185/5 NYI/O
12/22/2001 NYI 2 Bos. 4 0,-150/5 Bos./O

4/7/2001 Bos. 4 NYI 2 0,-200/5.5 Bos./O (00-01)
3/31/2001 Bos. 4 NYI 2 0,-260/5.5 Bos./O
12/27/2000 NYI 2 Bos. 5 0,110/5.5 Bos./O

 

[the mugs]

Boston Globe 3-6-03

Boston Globe 3-6-03

THE BOSTON GLOBE FINALLY PUT IN WRITING ALL MY BITCHING OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS!!!

Normally, I edit out the staff writers to save time & space for you guys but this time, he deserves his name left on.

Here's to you Kevin Paul Dupont!!! :toast: (I spelled the guys name wrong, I was so excited)

Here's to you Jeremy Jacobs... :thefinger :gf: :fingerc:

=====

Direct blame up front

Bruins have managed to tie Ftorek's hands

By Kevin Paul Dupont, Globe Staff, 3/6/2003

The mystery here these last three months really is not why the Bruins have been so awful. More to the point, how could they have been so outstanding for the first eight weeks of the season?

Had Robbie Ftorek and his now-downtrodden charges rolled along the way they did for those first two splendid months, at a sizzling 19-4-3-1 clip, he already would have Coach-of-the-Year (if not the Century) honors wrapped up. His boss, Mike O'Connell, would be the empty-net winner as the NHL's executive of the year.

But three months later, Ftorek looks as good as gone, his rumored firing updated almost hourly on every website, radio, TV, and print outlet in the hockey land. Meanwhile, O'Connell, who inherited the once-mighty empire well past its dynasty days, put together a flawed team over the summer, one that everyone on the outside looking in figured to be the stumbling product it became.

Fire Ftorek? It only makes sense in one context: When a club flatlines the way the Bruins have (10-22-5-2, .346 win percentage), everyone expects change. That in itself is not good enough. But imagine if the Bruins miss the playoffs. What will an already-frustrated fan base think of O'Connell et al., if the only change along the way was to rush Jeff Hackett here on a fire engine? Everyone has watched this team's meltdown since early December. If it misses the playoffs, and the switch to the slow-to-get-it-together Hackett is all management can show in the good-faith-effort department, then the expected response across Bruins Nation will be: ''Huh!?!''

Ftorek could be doing better with those under his charge, but probably not a lot better. Just as he was last year (especially in the fast-unraveling playoff run), he is painfully slow to spot who is having an off night, and virtually never sits the deadwood, opting time and again to show faith even in those who don't deserve it on a given night. Those in whom he invests his patience rarely pay off in kind.

Result: Too many games, too much deadwood. Perhaps sitting their sorry, underperforming backsides wouldn't get any more out of them, but it might, and Ftorek owes it to himself to shake things up during the game.

Late in his career, with player salaries launched to the Milky Way, the legendary Scotty Bowman said time and again that the only way for today's coach to reach the player (mess with his head) is to limit his ice time. If cutting back his minutes won't get a guy motivated enough to get his game going, Bowman contended, chances are he won't get going. No matter what they make, most of them still have that much pride in their performance, an enduring quality - quaint as it is - among hockey players.

Ftorek never allows himself the pleasure of pulling that ego trigger. He puts together a game plan, makes the lines, drops the bodies into the schematic, and figures everyone is accountable enough to execute. The last three months have shown it just doesn't work that way. When automatic pilot doesn't work, reach for the cudgel.

Someone reading directly from Bowman's Hall of Fame diary, however, couldn't have sustained Boston's early-season magic. Not with the roster at hand. The circumstances that led to the departures of Bill Guerin (a.k.a. their best forward), Byron Dafoe (a.k.a. their No. 1 goalie), and Kyle McLaren (a.k.a. their most intimidating defenseman) ultimately led the Bruins to where they are this morning, clinging precariously to the eighth, and final, playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.

Remove those key players from the NHL's other 29 teams, and it's a decent bet each one would be sucking the same exhaust the Bruins are sucking now. It's what Ftorek got dealt, and to his great credit, he has not once, not even so much with a raised eyebrow or rolled eyeball, implicated his bosses for the driveled clay he uncorked in his tin of Play-Doh last September. In the job category of soldiering on, Ftorek is nothing less than a loyal-to-the-cause, five-star general. If a tornado were headed his way, and all he was offered in defense was the dinged lid to a crumpled steel trash can, his only debate would be in which hand to hold it. Go away, wind.

Much to his credit, O'Connell late yesterday was holding up under mounting pressure and criticism. Contrary to media reports making the rounds much of the day, he said he did not meet with Ftorek. According to O'Connell, the same coaching staff - Ftorek and assistants Wayne Cashman and Jim Hughes - will be in place when the Bruins face the Islanders tonight at the Jacobs family Vault.

''It's all rumors,'' said O'Connell, asked about the speculation that some combination of himself, Cashman, or Gerry Cheevers soon could constitute the club's coaching staff. ''I haven't met with Robbie. We haven't discussed it. These things become larger than life, and I don't want that to happen. All I know, we've got to win a hockey game [tonight].''

With Tuesday's 3 p.m. trade deadline fast approaching, O'Connell was asked if he felt any urgency to make a roster move. ''Well, I'm looking right now,'' he said. ''I've had a lot of conversations. It's been pretty active.''

The priority has to be the Bruin backline. Consistently in various stages of disarray and mayhem much of the last three months, the Bruins have been exceptionally lost back there of late. Even the better performers have soured. Case in point: young and reliable Nick Boynton, comfortably in possession of the puck, getting rubbed out on Boston's rearboard late Tuesday, leading directly to a Vancouver goal. And what a combustible pairing Bryan Berard and Jonathan Girard have become, huh? Both are gifted offensive talents, but as a pair in their own end, they are one part fuse and one part dynamite. Even the static cling of an opponent's sweater can set them off.

If it all falls down here these last few weeks, Ftorek could still get the gate prior to season's end. He certainly would not survive the summer, and even the dignity of preserving a playoff spot now might not be enough to keep him on Causeway. Such is the toll of three months of Dead Men Skating.

The heat now really is just as much, if not more, on O'Connell, shared in large part by his boss, Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs.

O'Connell wouldn't spend the money to keep Dafoe and Guerin, in part, because ownership's mandate is to keep no one on the books beyond the anticipated Sept. 15, 2004, expiration of the collective bargaining agreement. That approach lost Guerin, who quickly signed for a guaranteed $45 million in Dallas, even before exploratory salary discussions could commence in earnest. Dafoe was turfed, deemed not to be worth his pay, with no one his equal on the roster. Costly miscalculation. McLaren left by choice, not all his reasons made clear, but he consistently has said he was offended by Boston's offer of a two-way contract. They were well within their right to make the offer, just as McLaren was within his right to be offended. They tickled him, he didn't laugh, and he left. Another costly boo-boo.

O'Connell, just as Harry Sinden before him, works with limitations imposed by Jacobs - the September 2004 limitation now bordering on placing the GM in handcuffs and the franchise in dormancy. But O'Connell also works in Sinden's style, at times to an extreme. For all his bluster, and sometimes venom, Sinden eventually found a way to get franchise players such as Ray Bourque and Cam Neely signed. O'Connell hasn't dealt with their equal - other than the budding Joe Thornton - but his watch already has led to the departures of Anson Carter, Jason Allison, Dafoe, McLaren. Amid the baton pass, Sinden to O'Connell, Bourque also bolted. The toll of those losses has led to these tatters.

In the landscape of all that has happened here in the Hub of Hockey in recent years, a besieged Ftorek really is one of the lesser issues. It's the now issue, and that makes it the big issue. But if it's all going belly-up again, don't blame the guy behind the bench. Instead, follow the money, and the decisions that have gone with it. The men most accountable are those in the front office, and the man in Buffalo who pulls their strings.

It's not about the coaching. It's about the corporation. Of the two, which do you bet will change?

 

[the mugs]

Globe 3-5-03

Globe 3-5-03

It's a new start for Lapointe

RALEIGH, N.C. - Last year, right wing Marty Lapointe found his niche on a line with center Brian Rolston and left wing P.J. Axelsson. The combination worked. This year, Lapointe has had trouble finding a line to call his own. Because of injuries that sidelined him for 22 games, it has been difficult for him to get on track offensively. Partly because of the penalty killing that Rolston and Axelsson do, it's been rough sledding for the line.

So, after trying Lapointe in other spots, coach Robbie Ftorek decided that when Rob Zamuner came back from a broken foot last Thursday, he would put Zamuner and Lapointe on a line with center Jozef Stumpel.

The combination seems to be working. Last night against Carolina, Lapointe didn't have any points but his hit on defenseman David Tanabe in the first period led the Hurricanes to take a retaliatory penalty, and the Bruins got their first goal on the ensuing power play. That sent them on the way to a 4-2 victory that snapped their winless streak at nine games.

''That's what I'm trying to do now,'' said Lapointe. ''Obviously the points are not showing up. But that's the last thing on my mind right now. We want to make the playoffs and the team issue is more important than me. Playing physical is part of my game that I've got to bring to the table and that's what I'm trying to do.''

If the Bruins are going to snap out of their doldrums, they're going to need scoring from lines other than their top one. Lapointe said he's hoping his new one can take up some of the slack.

'' Joe [ Thornton's] line has been playing real well and we need more production from other lines,'' said Lapointe. ''Playing with Stumpy and Zams really helps me. I just go down there and try to create some traffic and Stumpy can play with the puck and I can try to get open and hopefully get the puck from him.''

Lapointe admitted the chemistry with Rolston and Axelsson this season was not what it was a year ago.

''This year it seemed it didn't work that well,'' he said. ''Robbie made a change. When things are not going well, you try to find an answer.''

Much has been made about Lapointe's offensive struggles because of his $5 million-a-year contract but Zamuner said no one should blame Lapointe for taking what was offered.

''When I was in Tampa, I was a defensive forward,'' said Zamuner. ''I got maybe 15 goals a year. Then I was on the Olympic team and I signed a big contract. All of a sudden, you feel pressure to score and you almost think you have to change your game but you don't. You have to do what got you there but it's a hard thing to do.''

=====

The 500 club

Stumpel had a pair of assists, one during a four-on-four situation and the second on Zamuner's power-play goal, which gave him No. 500 for his career...

 

[grooven]

Well at least they have Gil and O'Donnel back or would you want to depend on Brown and Boynton

 

[the mugs]

Boston Herald 3-6-03

Boston Herald 3-6-03

Ftorek rumors on ice

WILMINGTON - P.J. Stock appreciates what Bruins coach Robbie Ftorek has done for his career, which made for an uncomfortable situation yesterday morning when a rumor surfaced on a sports radio talk show that Ftorek was about to be fired at a meeting with general manager Mike O'Connell.

``If it wasn't for him I'd probably be kicking around in the American Hockey League right now. I don't know what I'd be doing. Maybe I wouldn't even still be playing hockey. He gave me a great opportunity,'' said Stock, one of five Bruins who skated in an optional workout at Ristuccia Arena. The practice was run by assistant coach Wayne Cashman in Ftorek's absence, fueling the rumor even more.

O'Connell denied there was any substance to the talk.

``Nothing happened, nothing happened,'' O'Connell said yesterday afternoon when asked if there was a meeting. He said he had not seen Ftorek all day.

``These things take on a life of their own so I'm not going to talk about it. Nothing happened today. There's no news to report.''

Earlier, O'Connell said: ``It's not going to happen. I'm not thinking along those lines. I'm not even thinking about it right now. I think I've said a lot in support of the team and the coach. We're going through a tough time and we've just got to find a way to win some games. We found a way (Tuesday) night. Now we've got to build on that and keep going.''

Stock, who didn't know if the rumor was true or not, acknowledged that coaches frequently take the fall for a team's poor performance.

``Unfortunately in all sports it's a lot easier to blame one person than it is 25. We're the ones that aren't performing,'' Stock said. ``When things aren't going well and you're not playing as well and you don't want to blame yourself it's a lot easier to blame somebody else. That's what guys do and I do. It's human nature.''

Stock presumably was relieved to discover that it appears the rumor that O'Connell would go behind the bench and bring up Providence coach Mike Sullivan to be an assistant with Cashman was just that.

Bruins president Harry Sinden said while he is not as deeply involved in the day-to-day transactions, he would be aware if O'Connell were contemplating such a move.

``There's nothing like that going on,'' Sinden said. ``(Firings) basically come about because there are strong disagreements between coaches and management. That is not (the case) here at all. Or they get fired because of some kind of public relations disaster from the coach. Robbie is fantastic (that way).

``And probably the biggest reason is wins and losses. We've had the worst record in all of hockey since that (19-4-3-1) start and it's hard to figure out. In fact you can't figure it out. You certainly can't pin it all on the coach.''

Despite the Bruins' 10-22-5-2 record since the high-water mark on Dec. 8, the Bruins can actually move into a seventh place tie in the Eastern Conference with a win tonight over the New York Islanders at the FleetCenter. The focus has been on retaining the eighth and final playoff spot, but Tuesday's 4-2 win in Carolina, coupled with the Islanders' 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay, sets up a very big game.

``We don't need anything said to pump us up (tonight),'' Stock said. ``This is what everything is about. It's a big step forward or we're kicking ourselves in the teeth.''

Bruins winger Martin Lapointe defended Ftorek while looking ahead to the Islanders.

``Robbie has done a tremendous job with us,'' Lapointe said. ``When things are not going well the focus is on the coach, but it starts with 22 players in the dressing room. That's the reason why we are not winning games.

``It's going to be a big game (tonight). We've got a chance to tie them. Every time we play the Islanders it's always an emotional game. It's going to be like a playoff game.''

 

[the mugs]

Herald 3-5-03

Herald 3-5-03

Zamuner draws one perfect line

RALEIGH, N.C. - During much of his first two seasons as a Bruin, Rob Zamuner was a man in search of a regular job - bouncing from line to line and role to role. The versatile forward, since returning from a broken foot, has settled in effectively on a new threesome with Jozef Stumpel and Martin Lapointe.

The line made major contributions early and late in the B's desperately needed 4-2 victory over the Hurricanes last night. Lapointe drew the penalty that led to Glen Murray's quick power-play goal and Zamuner's goal (No. 7) cinched the win with 2:11 left.

``I'm fortunate that I'm playing a lot with my line,'' said Zamuner, who in four games back has 12 shots-on-goal, two goals and an assist. ``It's obvious (Joe Thornton's) line is going to be the No. 1 reason we win. But if (Brian Rolston's) line and our line can chip in consistently here and there, we're going to be a much better team.

``I don't really know what role I've had the last 1 years. There could have been a number of options. It's kind of been that way since I've been here. Hopefully I'll stay on this line and I can continue to contribute.''

Lapointe's hit on David Tanabe led to a retaliatory penalty by Bret Hedican before Murray's goal. Stumpel earned two assists, giving him 500 career points. . . .

Murray was apparently OK after being slashed across the right wrist by Glen Wesley late in the game.

=====

No big deal soon

With the NHL trade deadline Tuesday at 3 p.m., Bruins general manager Mike O'Connell said he does not expect a flurry of deals.

``I don't know how much is really going to happen,'' O'Connell said. ``Most of the things I've heard about are just (salary) dumps.''

With the B's expected to do little or nothing on the trade market, there is also no help on the way from the amateur ranks. The only college player who could get a look is Harvard winger Brett Nowak, who could go to Providence (AHL) for a tryout once his season is done.

``He's had a very good year,'' O'Connell said. ``He looked really good in camp with us, he has a good work ethic and he protects the puck well. The question is how will he do when he has a whole different sort of opponent, size-wise, leaning on him?'' . . .

Carolina's Ron Francis, who turned 40 Saturday, reached the 20-goal mark for the 20th time in his career.

 

[the mugs]

Herald 3-4-03

Herald 3-4-03

Samsonov on mend

Sergei Samsonov (wrist) continued his light skating and off-ice conditioning and estimated that he could make a return in three weeks. He's got a doctor's visit scheduled for March 11 and he hopes to get the OK to start doing some wrist curls.

``I think at this point it's just keeping an eye on it and getting strength and motion back,'' Samsonov said. ``It's been getting better, not quite as fast as I'd like it to be, but little by little and hopefully at the end of this month I'll be able to play. But as far as the X-rays and everything else, it looks good.''

 

[the mugs]

From the Isles website

From the Isles website

DiPietro Returned To Bridgeport

(March 5) The Islanders have assigned goaltender Rick DiPietro to AHL Bridgeport on Wednesday. The netminder stopped all 20 shots he faced in relief of Garth Snow in Tuesday's 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay.

DiPietro is 2-2-1 in five games on Long Island this season with a 2.18 goals against average and .922 save percentage.

 

[ND2002HORNS]

mugs,

Do you think the B's get rolling a bit with this stretch of games. They are hurting on D. I am not sold on them but I like the over in the game tonight. Thoughts??

HORNS