Samsonov, Bruins rise to occasion

The raising of Cam Neely's number to the rafters was a tough act to follow, but the Bruins put on a fitting show for the FleetCenter sellout crowd last night, coming back from a two-goal deficit to beat Buffalo, 4-3, on the strength of a two-goal effort by the NHL's youngest player, Patrice Bergeron.

Trailing, 3-1, Bergeron ended the second period with his 12th goal of the season and opened the third period with a goal to make it 3-3. That set up the winner by Sergei Samsonov.

With Agawam's Doug Janik in the penalty box for slashing, Samsonov let go with a slap shot from the blue line that found its way through a screen and past Sabres goalie Martin Biron at 12:48.

It was electric.

"We got off to a slow start," said captain Joe Thornton. "But when our power play clicks, it works." He discounted the thought that it might have been the result of the pregame Neely festivities. "Every game has a different flow," said Thornton.

Much of the talk after the game was about Bergeron.

With two Bruins, Sandy McCarthy (jaw) and Travis Green (ribs), injured and gone for the night in the opening period, Bergeron was the center of attention.

"We were forced to put him at center when we lost Travis," said Bruins coach Mike Sullivan. "He's a true center because of his understanding of the game. He sees the ice. He really has the ability to distribute the puck and make the right plays."

Sullivan kept Bergeron on the wing this year because he's a rookie and has enough to learn. "We try to take away some of the burden of playing center, because it's a difficult position to play," the coach said.

The victory extended the Bruins' unbeaten streak to six and gave them 11 points for the month, the same as they earned in December. However, there are nine more games left in January, a good start to the new year.

Although it was the first the Bruins have seen of the Sabres, 44 games into the season, it certainly isn't the last. The teams will meet three times in 11 days and six times in the next nine weeks. This rivalry began with a sprint, and doesn't look as if it will slow down.

"As a coach, you challenge your players to win every series," said Sullivan. "To win the first game of the season-long series is a good sign for our team. Obviously, in three days, we've got to go to their building, and that game is going to be a lot more difficult."

He respects the Sabres, who are turning around their season as well. They have their own winning streak of sorts, getting points in eight of their last 10 games.

"I think that team over there has a lot of talent up front," said Sullivan of the Sabres. "I would foresee battles in every game."

Last night Buffalo jumped out to 1-0 and 2-1 leads on goals by Daniel Briere and Jochen Hecht, sandwiching a Bruins score by Thornton, his third in four games. Thornton is starting to heat up.

"Without a doubt," said Sullivan. "We rely on Joe a lot, and in a lot of situations. If we're going to be successful, Joe is going to have to be on the score sheet on most nights. I think he's starting to shoot the puck more, he's getting into scoring areas more. As a result, he's getting more scoring chances."

In the final period, both teams were firing away. Three Sabres shots rattled off the post, which was goalie Andrew Raycroft's best friend. But he does not talk to them like other goalies might.

"No talking to the posts," said Raycroft, who stopped 19 shots. Hitting the post "is just a missed shot," he said. "Everybody gets a kick out of it because it makes a lot of noise. Sometimes they hit the post and go in, and sometimes they don't.

"Fortunately tonight they didn't go in."