Home could be sweet down the stretch

If home cooking means anything, the Bruins have the edge on Ottawa and Toronto in the divisional race heading down the stretch. Boston will play 12 of its final 19 here, with the Maple Leafs home for 11 of 19 and the Senators only 6 of 20.

Not that playing on Fleet Street has been much of a blessing this year. The Bruins not only are the best road team in the conference (18-6-5-5), they also have the most disproportionate home record (12-9-7-1, ninth overall), the largest gap in franchise history. "We started off tough at home at the beginning of the year, but we've had a pretty decent record since," said coach Mike Sullivan. "I don't know if there's any validity to those numbers."

After tonight's road game with the Islanders, the Bruins play four of their next five inside the Vault, including dates with Montreal Thursday night and Philadelphia Saturday afternoon.

Samsonov sits Sergei Samsonov, still nursing the ribs he bruised two weeks ago, was out of action again last night for the fifth time in six games. "He went and had the MRI," reported Sullivan. "Obviously, he'll be out for a period of time. We just aren't sure how long." Ditto for defenseman Ian Moran, who's been out since Dec. 23 with an ankle sprain. "There still isn't a timetable on him," Sullivan said. Center Travis Green, who's been sidelined for nine games after aggravating his January rib injury. should be back soon, though. "He's close," the coach said. "We want to make sure his conditioning is up to where he can be effective." Right wing Sandy McCarthy, out since Jan. 12 with a jaw contusion, has been medically cleared to play, but there hasn't been a spot for him. "The team's playing well -- can't mess that up," says McCarthy. "But when it's my turn, I'm ready to go."

His lucky number Who was the 20 millionth fan through the FleetCenter turnstiles last night? A 14-year-old boy from North Kingstown, R.I., who'd never been in the building. "I was shocked," confessed Lyle Mroz, who thought he was being busted for bringing in a contraband Coke can when Delaware North chairman Jeremy Jacobs and several company employees grabbed him. Instead, Mroz was given a seven-day trip to any Delaware North property in the country and a ticket cornucopia that includes seats at every Fleet attraction from the Bruins and Celtics to the circus and rock concerts plus an armful of goodies from the Pro Shop.

Shielded from action While Florida goalie Roberto Luongo has been piling up saves (a league-leading 1,793), old friend Steve Shields has been gathering cobwebs. Shields, who was dealt to the Panthers by Boston last October for future considerations, has performed in just 11 games this season and has played only once since Jan. 21 . . . When's the last time the spoked B's had two legitimate contenders for the Calder Trophy (top rookie)? Besides goalie Andrew Raycroft, who's rated third in the league in save percentage and fourth in goals-against average, center Patrice Bergeron ranks third in points among rookies behind the Canadiens' Michael Ryder and the Islanders' Trent Hunter. A Bruin last won the Calder in 1998 (Samsonov); no Boston goalie has done it since Jack Gelineau in 1950 . . . Back home and behind the visiting dasher last night was Florida interim coach John Torchetti, who was a scoring legend at Jamaica Plain High School two decades ago. Torchetti, who took over for general manager Rick Dudley Feb. 9, is the Panthers' eighth coach in 11 years.