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Game Recaps : October, 1999

10-30-99: W 3-0: at Boston
4th win, and unbeaten in their last five, the Bruins added another win via a strong text book game. John Grahame, who will most likely be sent to the minors soon with the signing of goaltender Byron Dafoe, had hs first shutout of his career. Strong defense helped the Bruins secure the shoutout for Grahame, although he looked very sharp when tested. Sergei Samsonov had two goals, and the first goal was scored by Kyle McLaren. Thursdays game against the Devils should be a gut check for the Bruins. Their overall record now goes to 4-5-4.

10-28-99: W 7-3: at Boston
3 wins in a row for the Boston Bruins now, as they beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 7-3 at home. Dave Andreychuk had 4 goals in the effort, tying the franchise record. 3 of his goals came on the powerplay, and two in the first period. Raymond Bourque also scored on the powerplay in the first and the Bruins ahd a 4-0 lead at the end of the period. Darren Puppa was pulled about 11 minutes into the first period, after allowing 3 goals. Coach Burns was displeased with the game however saying that "[He] was happy for Dave Andreychuk, but that if they had faced an opponenet who was able to finish, they would have been in real trouble. [They] gave up too many chances..." It is still a win however, and the Bruins seem to be getting back into the swing of things.

10-24-99: W 3-2: at Anaheim
Boston picked up its second win on the final game of their western conference road trip, edging the Anaheim Mighty Ducks 3-2. Dave Andreychuk had a goal and an assist, with goals from Sergei Samsonov and Steve Heinze to help out. Jason Allison has a five game point scoring streak, and earned an assist on the Andreychuk goal. The Bruins finished the road trip with a record of 2-2-2, which pleased head coach Pat Burns. Rob Tallas was in net for the Bruins, and played extremely well, even with Anaheim pulling Hebert and swarming the netminder. Overall a good roadtrip for the Bruins, who feel that their game is finally coming to them.

10-23-99: W 3-1: at San Jose
The Bruins picked up their first win of the season and more importantly earned it with a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks in San Jose. The Bruins had a strong showing with goals by Kyle McLaren, Darren Van Impe, and Anson Carter. All three were powerplay goals. The Bruins were 3-5 on the powerplay overall. John Grahame was in goal for the Bs, while Mike Vernon was in net for the Sharks. Some line adjustments finally paid off for Pat Burns.

10-20-99: T 2-2: at Los Angleles
The L.A. Kings opened the new Sprint center building to the largest crowd to ever attend a California hockey game (over 18,100 in attendance.) Rob Tallas was in net for the Bruins, and made several beautiful saves in the game. Sergei Samsonov seemed to have given the Bruins their first win this season possibly when he scored with just under 4:00 left in the third period. However Jozef Stumpel put the puck over a sprawled Tallas with under 1:45 in regulation to secure a tie for the Kings. The Bruins are now winless in 9 games, tying a franchise record. Anson Carter also scored on a deflection in the first period off a shot from Ian Gerard.

10-16-99: L 2-1: at Phoenix
Boston's woes continue as the Bruins were unable to overcome a 3rd period goal by Travis Green off an assist from Keith Kcachuk. Dave Andreychuck scored the lone goal for Boston. John Grahame was in net, and had 17 saves, and looked sharp early in the game. It looks to be a long road trip.

10-15-99: T 2-2: at Dallas
Boston still has been unable to secure a win this season. Although thoroughly outplaying the Dallas Stars, the Bruins were unable to score more than two goals on Ed Belfour. Rob Tallas was in net for the Bruins, and was not tested until late in the second period. Goals were scored by Ray Bourque, and Dave Andreychuck. The Boston Bruins next game is against Phoenix, as their road trip continues.

10-13-99: L 2-1: at Denver
The Boston Bruins had a goal from rookie forward Mikko Eloranta, but skated to another loss. The Colorado Avalanche scored the go-ahead goal late in the 3rd period. Adam Foote scored with about 5 minutes left in the period, and the Bruins did not have the firepower to come back and tie it. John Grahame was in net again for the Boston Bruins, and played well. Patrick Roy was in goal for the Avalanche. Boston needs more confidence in their offensive game in order to start winning some.
"We're not off to a good start, but the potential is there," said Bruins defenseman Ray Bourque. "The young guys will improve. Our goaltending situation will eventually get settled, but that's not our problem now. We're struggling to score goals. We're keeping teams to three or less, and we are in position to win. But it's not happening. There's a lot of room for improvement."

10-11-99: T 3-3: at Boston
The Boston Bruins still have not won a game this season as they skated to a 3-3 tie with the Colorado Avalanche in Boston. The Bruins did look much sharper, with a season-high 47 shots on goal, and 7 in the overtime period. Joe Sakic got a hooking penalty with 14 seconds left in overtime, however the Bruins were unable to capitalize on it. Goals were scored by Steve Heinze, Dave Andreychuck, and Rob DiMaio. John Grahame was in net for the Bruins, and has become Pat Burns' go-to goaltender for now. He will start Wednesday night vs. the Avalanche in Denver. It is Colorado's home-opener.

10-9-99: T 1-1: at Boston
The Bruins had their first game this season without a loss, however they were unable to win. Again, they had a goal early in the first period from P.J. Axellson (assisted by Joe Thornton, Rob Diamio) at :46. The Boston Bruins looked timid and the lack of a consistent powerplay has hurt them every game. Mark Recchi got the Flyers their first goal of the season at 6:42 of the second period. John Grahame was in goal for the Bruins and looked very good (28 saves.) John Vanbeesbrouck was in net for Philadelphia. But intensity for the Bruins is lacking and must be gained in order to win hockey games in the NHL.

10-7-99: L 4-3: at Ottawa
Pat Burns had asked for passion from his players before the start of this game, and he got it. The Bruins had 2 goals in a little over five minutes of the first period. The first was scored by Joe Thornton on a rebound on a shot from Rob DiMaio at just under two minutes in, the second was goal by Rob DiMaio at 5:18. The Bruins third goal came on the power play from Dave Andreychuck. Rob Tallas was in net for the Bruins, and Patrick Lalime started for the Senators. He was pulled in favor of Ron Tugnutt when the score was 3-1 in favor of the Bruins. Although the Bruins did look better than their previous two outings, the penalty killing was atrocious. They allowed 3 powerplay goals which cost them the game. Tallas was sharp at some times, but was not as clutch as he could have been.
**One final note: The Boston Bruins have not gone 0-3 to start a season since the 1965-66 campaign...

10-4-99: L 4-0: at Toronto
Lack of scoring resulted in the Bruins losing their second game of the season 4-0, vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs. John Grahame (who was a lynchpin in the Providence Bruins title win last season,) was in goal for the Bruins and had a good effort in the loss. The Maple Leafs scored the first goal within two minutes of the start of the game, and the Bruins never recovered. Matts Sundin, who had been held without a goal against the Bruins for 7 consecutive games, opened the scoring. Curtis Joseph was in net for the Leafs, and although not tested early he looked extremely sharp when the Bruins did manage to flurry. Faceoffs were a big part of the loss, with the Leafs winning many of them (Perreault won 11 of 12 faceoffs for the Maple Leafs alone,) and taking many of them cleanly. Korelev, Johnson, & Warriner completed the scoring for the Maple Leafs.

10-2-99: L 3-1: at Boston
The Bruins lost their first season opener in 12 years yesterday, losing 3-1 against the Carolina Hurricanes at the Fleet Center in Boston. The Bruins did have the longest current unbeaten record for season-opening games, with a record of 9-0-3. Rob Tallas played in net for the Bruins, and Arturs Irbe was between the pipes for Carolina. Irbe was not tested until the second period, when a powerplay goal by Raymond Bourque (assisted by Jason Allison and Dave Andreychuck) opened the season scoring for the Bruins. Bourque moved into 1st place all-time for goal-scoring for a defenseman with the goal. He was previously tied with Paul Coffey, who is a member of the Hurricanes squad, but was a healthy scratch last night.

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News From October

10-29-99
Well, the Bruins finally ageed to terms with all-star goaltender Byron Dafoe, after what seemed an eternity of stalemated negotiations. He will practice Saturday, although it is unclear as to when he will start. The contract is for 3 years, and is apparently for 9.5 million dollars. He was 2nd in the league last year with a 1.99 goals against average and led the league in shutouts with 10. It appears that both sides caved in a little, and that the worst is behind the Boston Bruins now.

10-4-99
Latest news on the Dafoe front is that Byron Dafoe wanted to suit up and play so badly that he dropped his salary demands to within $200,000 of what the Bruins were offering ($3.1 million.) The Bruins management did not budge on their offer, and so the stalemate goes on. Jason Allison has a sore wrist, and is affecting his ability to shoot hard and take face-offs.

10-2-99
Byron Dafoe is still not signed by the Boston Bruins, and has asked to be traded. He has put his house up for sale, and is extremely displeased with the treament that he has received. He is asking 4 million dollars a year, but the Bruins organization has offered a 3 year, 9 million dollar contract. They have stuck to this inital offer all along and have not moved from it. Dafoe, who is a free agent, is not pulling punches when talking to the media about this issue with Boston's upper level management. However if the Bruins backup goaltender (Rob Tallas) can play well in Dafoe's absence, it would not bode well for Dafoe. As a restriced free agent, Dafoe's $4 million asking price is just too high for many teams, because the team signing him would also have to pay the Bruins compensation. In any case Byron Dafoe is too good a goaltender to be sitting on his laurels during the season, and should be allowed to play somewhere instead of being forced to feel like an outsider. It is unclear as to whether Byon will even stay in Boston after all of the turmoil starts to wane

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