Conference diver1::boston_bruins

    
    
    Well, it should be rather interesting to see how the B's
    fare tonight in Colorado.  The Avalanche are an NHL best
    35-14-8, including a home record of 17-5-4.  With the B's
    upsetting them back in Boston, I would think Col. will be
    out to pound us tonight....
    
    .....hopefully, we'll see a good game, but I'm inclined to
    think (happens on occasion) that this is gonna be blowout-
    city.
    
    We'll see...
    
    		CF

    Blowout which way?
    
    
    :-)
    
    
    Seriously, I just hope the B's are still in the game after
    the 1st intermission. Nothing more boring than 3-0 after 1, 
    and Pinhead with that scowl on his puss behind the bench.
    Also, everytime I predict a loss, they do well, so let's 
    see...
    
    
    -Barry
          

Sakic, who missed the previous 17 games with a deep laceration in his 
left calf, kept the puck in on the left point and sent a wrist shot at 
the net.  Bill Ranford made the initial save, but Lemieux, benefiting when 
Don Sweeney missed a clearing attempt, just got enough of the puck to get 
it over the goal line for his fifth goal of the season. 

"It wasn't a pretty start.  I sure wasn't pretty all game,"
Sakic said.  "I felt great and really excited to get back out
there.  The puck was like a grenade on my stick at times." 

"Joey threw a lot of rubber on net and gave us a chance to tip
and get a shot at it," Lemieux said of Sakic, who had four shots
on goal.  "There were two of us there and Peter Forsberg took
a whack at it and missed.  It really seemed like slow motion.
Their second goal was a bad play on my part.  I had my man and I
let him loose, so I wanted to have a chance to make up for it." 

Lemieux drew the penalty that gave the Avalanche the key power
play, getting hooked by Rob DiMai with 72 seconds left in the extra 
session. 

"I told the team before the game, let's eliminate ways to lose
the game," Bruins coach Steve Kasper said.  "One of those would
be starting hard and playing solid, and they responded well.  
I think we had a solid effort tonight.  It doesn't make
it any easier, sometimes it makes it tougher, struggling the way
were are.  It's a heartbreaker, it doesn't get much tougher than
that." 

Ted Donato scored with just under 9 minutes left in the third
period to force overtime for the Bruins, who had their
season-high winless streak stretched to seven games at 0-6-1. 

Patrick Roy made 23 saves for the Avalanche, who have won four
straight games and five of their last six. 

Bill Ranford made 30 saves for the Bruins, who fell to 0-3-1 on
their seven-game road trip and are 1-7-1 in their last nine
meetings with Colorado, including an 0-4-1 mark in their last
five on the road against the Avalanche. 

In the second period, Sakic took a blast from the left point
that Lemieux deflected down and into the net for an apparent
goal, but it was disallowed when officials ruled that Lemieux's
stick was higher than the crossbar. 

Donato's 21st goal of the season came with 8:52 left in the
third period and pulled the Bruins into a 2-2 tie.  Donato found
a loose puck in the top of the slot and sent a clean wrist shot
over Roy's glove. 

Ozolinsh scored a power-play goal 6:29 into the second period to
give the Avalanche a 2-1 edge.  Lemieux had the puck on the left
side of the net and sent a pass to Ozolinsh, who one-timed it in
from the right doorstep. 

Keane's ninth goal pulled the Avalanche into a 1-1 tie at 6:57
of the first period, countering Sweeney's fourth marker, which
put the Bruins on the board 53 seconds into the game. 

Ozolinsh skated from the top of the left circle and to the top
of the slot, where he wristed a shot that Keane helped along
with his backhand for his ninth goal of the season. 

Rick Tocchet stole the puck in the neutral zone and passed ahead
to Adam Oates.  Oates sent the puck at the net and Sweeney
re-directed it over Roy's left shoulder from the right doorstep.

"We knew we were desperate and we played probably one of the
best teams in the league right now," Sweeney said.  "I thought
we played a solid game; I guess when things are going real bad
for you, they have to go real bad before they turn around.  So
hopefully, this would be it." 

Oates has seven markers and 16 assists during a 19-game points
streak, the longest in the league this season and three short of
tying Bronco Horvath's team record of 22 straight in 1959-60. 

    .....man, that one hurt, even in the Cosmic perspective, the B's are
    still losing, but that one HURT....and whatta STIFF call by the Ref,
    nailing the B's for a very-boarderline call ("interfering" w/ Claude
    "I'm an Angel" LePuke)...anyone who stands up fer that piece of crap
    from that REf should be flogged....MAN, you don't call these
    boarderline calls w/ 1 minute left in OT to give the other team a PP
    if it ain't even close.....JEEESH!!!!
    
    B's played a good game, but it's only gonna get worse...but we ALL
    wanted this, right???  Crash & Burn????  Miss Da Playoffs?????
    
    It still kinda hurts, tho....but, we should be in for a great draft,
    and perhaps off-season moves, right???
    
    Oh waitaminute.....what is mac thinking here??  Harry is Harry and
    will always be Harry.....I can see it now..trade the two 1st rounders
    and Oatsie for an aging power-forward......Harry'll be true to form,
    rest asured, kiddies.....
    
    
    Ranford really took that loss hard, see him after the OT goal???
    But it was a good night for hockey....anyone else watch the IHL
    All-Star game??  Wasn't a bad game at all, that goaler for the
    Western Conference was superb.....
    
    oh well.....another L......
    
    mac

    
    Glad to hear Oates come out and slam "upstairs" too bad the only good 
    player left on this team (Oates) will soon be outta town for probably 
    next to nothing. 
    
    I have to say that it really concerns me that the Bruins are going to
    (hopfully) try and build a team through the draft. The Bruins have
    NEVER been successfull at that approach and Sinden is not learning any
    new tricks (in fact he's losing his memory every minute). Sinden & 
    OConnell are dumb and dumber. 
    
    What hope do we have for exciting trades, quality drafts (that can get
    signed) and  a good season next year ? 
    
    
    Rp
      

Oates said what needed to be said, it's the same friggin
thing Neeley said a few years ago, just in different
words.  Nothing is being done to improve the team, and
the place to start with the B's is to get rid of Kasper.

Sinden is a total fool for letting this fiasco continue 
this far into this season.  Kasper should have been fired 
in November, hell I was surprise he even survived the off 
season, but as you can see from the expression on Harry's
face in these impromtu interviews, he's more cluelss by
each bottle of scotch he slams down.  Since Sindens job
doesn't appear to be in jeapordy, we can't get a new gm,
but I would expect you wont see Ghost boy next year...

The b's aren't really that far away from having a good team, 
they need at least one good line, and maybe if kasper wasn't
such an idiot he could do something, I mean look at the
milage Lamiere got of of the devils.  They won the cup
with a whole bunch of guys who just wanted to win, no
real huge talent pool their, get a good goalie and work
your way out from there,,,
 
but at this point, it's into the phase of diminishing returns
fo rthe B's anything they do, just backfires.   They've
yet to replace Neeley, so there is nobody on the bench that
can get the BIG goal, hell, there's hardly anyone on the
team that can really finish off a play...  Tochette's calling
as a great hockey player, appears to be the same as Kevin
Stevens,, Urban Legend, folk lore, what ever.. (hey I guess
get my mom to play on the same line as Mario, and she'd
be great too!)

at least now we know how the Whalers and Senators fans have
felt...  

- have another belt Harry,,,

    >>at least now we know how the Whalers and Senators fans have
    >>felt...
    
    Speaking as a Senators fan, I don't think we've felt as much pain as
    you folks are feeling right now simply because our expectations were
    not as high.  Hell, we're ecstatic about this season and we're only 
    about 5 points ahead of the Bruins in the standings.  The only
    time that I was really discouraged was during Allison's time here last
    year when it seemed that the Senators were not going to win
    a game ever again.  
    
    Bernie.   

By the way, even though I don't think you took that 
as a smart-ass crack, I was being pretty straight 
ahead with that comment.  this has been a huge suck
year for us..

but, just the same, it's something we've not really had to
deal with for some time in New england re:Hockey,  The Bruins
have always been a competative team, usually enough exciting 
games mixed in with the bad  ones..  Have to admit, I lost
a lot of interest in this team when Cam Neeley hung it up,
and them moreso when Sinden did ziltch to replace him.
Cripes.. this year it's like Butch Goring all over again..

we basically want Steve Kapsers head on a stick,
but we aint gonna get,,, so o.k. how bout a sharp stick in the
eye....  that'll work....


hey,  in other news, did anyone get more word on Pat Lafotaine ?  

he's out with his 5th concusion, and has yet 
to be cleared to play again,, he says, he may be facing a 
forced retirement too. That's really too bad, I've always 
liked this guy, he's really one of the classy ones to play
the game.

    Hey mac, Do the B's still have two first rounders to pick?  Didn't they
    give Colorado a first round pick for Wilson?  That's what I heard last
    night anyways while watching the game.  
    
    I was at the game last night and I thought that was one of the best
    games that I have seen in a long time by any two teams.  I thought the
    officiating was lacking.  Seemed that Colorado couldn't take a penalty
    without Boston getting one seconds later.  What's up with that?  The
    problem with being at the game is the lack of instant replay by the
    networks.
    
    I love the Avalanche but still feel a loyalty to the B's.  I had my
    jersey on last night and I was thinking about it a lot.  No matter how
    bad the B's do and how frustrating it is to see what's going on, I'll
    always be a B's fan first.  Course then I'll never be a Sinden fan!
    
    Tim

    ...well there, Tim...I've heard it from many sources that the B's
    get 2 1st rounders this year, in what Bobby Orr called "the best draft
    in 20 years"......but don't renew yer subscription to NESN just yet,
    as it's been dicussed at length here how sh*tty Harry's track record
    (lately) has suked big-time......I'm tellin' ya man, I can just see
    it now....
    
    "B's trade their 1st two rounders AND Adam Oates for ___________"
    (please insert the name of any aging forward here)
    
    
    ah well...'tis hockey, after all......
    
    
    pay_day mac