An Eagle may land here

Chris Collins, the free agent left winger who helped Boston College reach the Frozen Four final last week in Milwaukee, began listening to offers from NHL clubs over the weekend, and one of the interested parties is the Black-and-Gold campus on Causeway Street.

''My sense of where it's going?" said Bruins interim general manager Jeff Gorton during last night's 2-1 overtime loss to the Washington Capitals at the Garden. ''Well, my sense is that it's heating up. I've talked with his agent [Steve Bartlett] a couple of times since BC was eliminated [Saturday night], and I'm sure we'll talk again [today]."

Collins is only 5 feet 8 inches, a concern that discouraged all 30 NHL teams from picking him when was draft-eligible in 2003. However, he blossomed over his four seasons at The Heights, led the Eagles this season in scoring, and connected for the hat trick Thursday night when BC knocked off North Dakota in the NCAA semifinals. He was kept off the board Saturday when the Eagles fell, 2-1, to Wisconsin in the title game.

Collins said late last week that his dream would be to play for the Sabres, the club he followed as a kid growing up in Rochester, N.Y., an hour east of Buffalo. However, the Sabres can't come close to matching the Bruins for the number of job openings at wing.

David Tanabe, whose season came to an end last week when he tore a knee ligament, underwent surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital yesterday and hopes to be able to return on time for training camp in September.

''It's a four- to six-month recovery period," Gorton said, ''so training camp would be about in the middle -- five months. So, we're hopeful he'll be ready. For now, he'll begin his rehab here, then head home to Minnesota and work on it there over the summer."

Tanabe, headed for free agency July 1, will receive a qualifying offer from the Bruins in the next few weeks.

''We want him back," Gorton said, ''based on what he's brought to our team since he arrived, and based on the way the game is going [more a speed game]."

Tanabe, injured in the second game of back-to-back contests in Montreal, was operated on by Dr. Bert Zarins, the club's longtime orthopedist.

Nick Boynton, whose season ended two weeks ago because of a bad shoulder, will undergo surgery today at MGH to repair a torn labrum.

Alexander Ovechkin, destined to be named Rookie of the Year, connected for the winner in OT last night, finishing off with a 30-foot wrister after a dazzling rush out of his own end. It was the Russian star's 49th goal this season, his 100th point, and it earned him a shaving-cream pie to the kisser -- Jeff Halpern the hurler -- during a postgame interview on OLN with Bob Harwood. ''They'll probably keep showing that one on ESPN," noted Bruins goalie Tim Thomas, lamenting that he should have made the stop. With a tinge of sarcasm, Thomas added, ''I figured the NHL needed it." Ovechkin, who has been pressing of late, said coach Glen Hanlon met with him after two periods and told him to ease up a little and just enjoy the night. ''I didn't score in five games, and everyone's been talking about it," said Ovechkin, the first freshman to reach 100 since Joe Juneau and Teemu Selanne each did it in 1992-93. ''I listened to the coach: Don't think about it." Dainius Zubrus tossed a pass in the Washington end, connecting with Ovechkin just inside the blue line. Ovechkin bolted through the neutral zone, opting not to leave a drop pass for Zubrus, and then roared left to right as he cut over the Boston blue line. He had both defensemen, Milan Jurcina and Mark Stuart, moving with him when he fired the wrister by Thomas. ''Our D had him out far enough that I should have had it," lamented Thomas.

Thomas has attracted interest from Team USA and could be headed to Riga, Latvia, for the World Championships May 6-21. Ex-Flyer Paul Holmgren is GM of the Team USA squad. Thomas said he won't finalize his postseason plans until after the club's last game Saturday in Atlanta . . . Gorton said he is ''100 percent certain" that Stuart will rejoin Providence for the AHL playoffs once the varsity season has ended . . . Hannu Toivonen, his ankle finally healed after three months of rest and rehab, met with coach Mike Sullivan and Gorton after the game. When the meeting was over, so was Toivonen's season. ''With three games to play in the season," said Sullivan, ''I think it's the common sense thing to do." The Bruins were toying with the idea of Toivonen making the trip to Ottawa and possibly starting one of the last three games. Instead, they opted to shut him down until September. ''Just to make sure it's 100 percent," said Sullivan . . . Stuart picked up his first career goal, enabling the Bruins to force overtime.