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BOX SCORE
BOSTON (AP) – Bruins coach Mike Keenan woke up on Saturday
morning and realized the end had come.
"I think the program is winning," he said after Boston beat
the New York Islanders 4-2 in both teams' season finale. "We just
ran out of time."
Joe Thornton scored twice and Byron Dafoe stopped 29 shots for
Boston, which had been eliminated from playoff contention a night
earlier. Roman Hamrlik and Tim Connolly scored for New York in a
game that had two penalties and took just 2:01 to complete.
"Boston just lost a tough game last night, so the game didn't
mean much," said Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro, who stopped 23
shots. "It was tough for the guys to get motivated. You could see
it in the way the refs were calling the game. It was moving pretty
quickly."
The Bruins lost in regulation just twice in their last 13 games
(8-2-2-1) as they chased Carolina for the final playoff spot in the
Eastern Conference. But they were eliminated Friday night when the
Hurricanes and Maple Leafs each won to clinch.
It's the first time since 1960-67 that Boston has not made the
postseason in consecutive seasons. The next year – Bobby Orr's
second with the team – they began a streak of 29 consecutive
playoff appearances.
"To play at such a high level for so long and then to have it
all end last night was disappointing," Dafoe said.
"Unfortunately, tonight didn't mean a thing."
The Islanders finished last in the Eastern Conference, losing
more than 50 games for the first time since 1995-96. Coach Lorne
Henning said he hoped the finish would lead to the No. 1 draft pick
and a chance to turn things around.
"They may not have superstars, but there's a great nucleus and
they could be a solid team for a number of years," he said.
After a scoreless first period, Boston jumped to a 3-0 lead in
the second.
Sergei Samsonov passed the puck across the crease to Bill
Guerin, but his shot was blocked by a defenseman. The puck bounced
back to Guerin and he passed it back to Samsonov, who put it in an
open net just 54 seconds into the period.
Boston made it 2-0 when Brian Rolston won a faceoff and slid it
back to Hal Gill at the point. He pushed it across the ice to Jarno
Kultanen, who slapped it past DiPietro on the stick side at the
game's midpoint.
That was the score when Joe Thornton scored his 36th of the
season, taking a pass from P.J. Axelsson in the slot and slapping
it past DiPietro with 6:34 to play in the second.
New York made it 3-1 with 1:23 left in the second when Steve
Webb's pass was tipped by Hamrlik off defenseman Peter Popovic's
skate and into the net. The Islanders cut the deficit to one goal
when Dafoe left a rebound off to his right and Connolly punched it
in with 11:10 left.
But Boston responded just 47 seconds later when Thornton wristed
it past DiPietro to make it 4-2.
Game notes
Before the game the Bruins handed out three awards: Brian
Rolston was given the Eddie Shore Award for "exceptional hustle
and determination"; Jason Allison earned the Elizabeth C. Dufresne
Trophy for outstanding performance in home games, and Don Sweeney
was given the John P. Bucyk Award for contributions to charitable
and community endeavors. ... The Islanders pulled their goalie down
two goals in a meaningless game, but couldn't close the gap.
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NHL Scoreboard
NY Islanders Clubhouse
Boston Clubhouse
RECAPS
Detroit 4
Colorado 3
Florida 3
NY Rangers 0
Philadelphia 4
Pittsburgh 3
Dallas 5
San Jose 4
Boston 4
NY Islanders 2
New Jersey 2
Montreal 0
Ottawa 5
Toronto 3
St. Louis 1
Nashville 0
Los Angeles 3
Calgary 2
Edmonton 4
Vancouver 2
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