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Price per head - Onshore Bookmakers
B’s look for a silver lining: Take solace in keeping games close
By Steve Conroy
Anyone who has been a regular visitor to the Bruins locker room this season has heard on more than one occasion that the difference between winning and losing can be awfully small.
Nobody knows the truth of that bromide better than the B’s. The Bruins lead the league in one-goal games with 44 and they’re also tops in one-goal losses at 30, including both overtime and shootout losses. The B’s are 14-14-16 in one-goal games, ranking them 28th in the league in winning percentage (.308) in such contests.
They have had particular trouble when the game goes into extra sessions. In games decided in the 5-minute overtime or the shootout, the B’s record stands at 6-16.
At this stage of a 2005-06 campaign officially labeled a disaster weeks ago, many in the B’s locker room chose to look at the stat as a positive.
“I think it’s a good thing that you’re in almost every game you play,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “We’ve had (22) games go into overtime. We’ve become a better team away from the puck and because of that, we became a better checking team. We were keeping teams off the scoreboard and, when you do that and play sound defense, you’re going to give yourself a chance to win on most nights. That’s what that tells me.”
Figuring out why they’ve come up on the short end so many times in tight games is not that easy. One obvious reason for the trouble, aside from their dreadful 2-8 record in shootouts, is the general difficulty the B’s have in scoring goals. Entering tonight’s home finale against the Montreal Canadiens, the Bruins have scored 222 goals, good for just 23rd in the NHL and 80 behind league-leading Ottawa.
The Bruins and New Jersey each score an average of 2.78 goals per game, but the Devils are 24-8-9 in one-goal contests - and are on the way to the playoffs.
Tim Thomas has suffered 21 losses since taking over in goal for the Bruins. Fifteen of those losses have come by one goal.
“All those games were different,” Thomas said. “Some games it was because of penalties. Other games we battled back hard after being behind and other teams let us get back into it. And there were others where we just didn’t get the bounce. I’m sure we’ve won some one-goal games, too.”
Indeed, Thomas also chooses to look at the stat as a good sign, especially with the way the team has played down the stretch after being eliminated from playoff contention.
“I can say it’s a credit to us that we haven’t given up and we’ve been in every game,” he said. “A lot of teams shut it down and then you lose a bunch of games by two and three goals and then people aren’t asking about one-goal games. . . . At this point in the season, there’s no reason to dwell on that as a negative. I think you’re better off looking at it as a positive and how close you really are to turning the corner.”
Said forward Brad Boyes: “It is somewhat encouraging. You’re losing all the time and not gaining points, but you look at it closely and most of those games have been one-goal games. It’s been frustrating, but at the same time we’ve had a chance to win almost every game. That’s the encouraging part. And a lot of those have been against good teams.”
Bruins notes
Alex Zhamnov, who broke his ankle Jan. 7, has not begun skating yet. The center said it doesn’t bother him to walk, but it’s still a little sore when he tries to push it in off-ice exercises.
Asked if the injury could possibly keep him from playing in the future, the 35-year-old Zhamnov said, “I don’t know. I don’t think it’s as serious as that. I don’t know why it’s taken so long. We’ll see after the season when I go see the doctors again.”
It’s been widely speculated that the B’s could buy out Zhamnov and start the rebuilding process without him, at a cost of $5.6 million and a salary cap hit of $1.5 million over the next four years.
“It’s out of my hands right now,” said Zhamnov, who was limited to 24 games and 1-9-10 totals. “I like it here and I want to stay here, but it’s out of my hands right now.” . . .
After his mildly surprising decision to start Thomas in the second of back-to-back games Tuesday night, Sullivan said he hadn’t made up his mind on whether Thomas will play both remaining games or if Andrew Raycroft will get a start.
“I’m going to make decisions as each game comes, but really I’m trying to make decisions as a coach to win games and that’s the bottom line,” Sullivan said. “That’s what we’re in this for. We’re trying to win hockey games and that’s really the criteria that I’m using to try and make the right decisions.” . . .
Forward Tom Fitzgerald suffered a bruised hand in Ottawa and is questionable for tonight.
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