Bruins hit bumps on road

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- The media had pretty well cleared out of the visitors' dressing room when injured Bruins defenseman Nick Boynton limped through after a 5-2 loss to the Canucks at General Motors Place Sunday night.

Boynton lost an edge in the first period as he went back for an icing, and crashed -- left knee first -- into the boards. He tried to come back but lasted only a few seconds. He played only 3 minutes 18 seconds over six shifts before retreating to the dressing room.

''I just banged it hard against the boards," said Boynton. ''I just bruised it. It was a lot better than twisting it, for sure. It was more precautionary than anything. Right after impact it was kind of sore; hopefully, when I wake up it will be [fine]."

He wasn't fine enough to skate with the Bruins before they headed off to Denver, and he'll be evaluated today. He will have the knee X-rayed at some point.

Boynton's close friend, Andrew Raycroft, didn't have a much better night, as he sat on the bench while Hannu Toivonen tended the goal, but both were able to keep their sense of humor. When Boynton was asked by a Globe reporter what happened to him, Raycroft piped up, ''He can't skate."

Raycroft hasn't had the season he hoped to after a Calder Trophy campaign in 2003-04. The affable 25-year-old goaltender thought he would play Sunday night because Toivonen, though he had posted two straight wins, was in the pipes for Saturday's game in Edmonton. The usual plan is to alternate the goalies in back-to-back situations. However, coach Mike Sullivan elected to ride the hot hand, and Raycroft said he understood.

''We got a win [Saturday], so when you win two in a row -- and especially at this point, when the wins aren't coming very easily -- I don't think anyone wants to change things up," said Raycroft. ''I think that's kind of where they're at right now. As long as we're winning, I don't have too much of a problem."

But the Bruins didn't win against the Canucks, and Toivonen was hard on himself, particularly because of the final two goals.

''I just try to go out there and help us to win, but I wasn't able to do that, it just wasn't good enough," he said. ''I'm happy to get any start that I can get and try to make the best of it, but it's kind of tough when you let your teammates down not to be able to play at the level that you should."

Sullivan said he felt Toivonen was in a groove.

''He's been really good," said the coach. ''I just felt as though we were going to try to ride it. [Raycroft] is a competitor, too. Everyone in here wants to play, that's why they're in the NHL. Those decisions are out of the players' control."

Raycroft knows his statistics could be much better than the 3.43 goals-against average, .887 save percentage, and 4-11-2 record he's sporting now, but his troubles reflect the team's struggles as a whole. He believes he's in the process of turning his fortunes around.

''I've felt good the last two, three, four times I've played," he said. ''The last game I played [against New Jersey], it doesn't go my way and you lose in the last 20 seconds. It's frustrating. But that's timing, and those are a lot of variables that I can't really concern myself with.

''I feel good and I just have to keep feeling good in practice every day and feeling good mentally. I feel confident, and sooner or later, I'm going to play. Whenever that happens, you just have to go out and play well.

''Every day, I get out there and feel better about my game. The two weeks I missed [from a hamstring strain], I'm still trying to get back from that and I feel like I'm getting there. There's no concern at all."

When asked if his confidence was solid, Raycroft laughed ruefully.

''It's better now than it was three weeks ago," he said. ''At this point, it's probably as high as it's been, so I'll take it."

No Samsonov update

Last night, general manager Mike O'Connell said he had no update on the condition of Sergei Samsonov, who missed Sunday's game and returned to Boston because of mysterious numbness in his fingers and arms. He will be evaluated by the club's medical personnel, but Sullivan said they're not overly concerned. ''We think he's going to be OK," said the coach. ''We just felt, for precautionary measures, he should be looked at. To my knowledge, I don't think it's something that has been there for a while. We'll know more when our doctors see him." A call to Samsonov's Boston-based attorney, Neil Abbott, wasn't immediately returned. Center Patrice Bergeron said having the team's leading scorer out is a blow. ''Obviously, it hurts," said Bergeron. ''He's a big part of the team. Without Sammy, we have to be more offensive, all the guys had to bring more. For sure, it hurts the team when Sammy's not there." . . . The three newest Bruins -- defenseman Brad Stuart and forwards Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau -- were given permission to return to San Jose to attend to personal issues. They were on the road in Dallas when the trade came down last Wednesday and had to head back to get a handle on their affairs. They are due back late today. The Bruins close out the three-game trip tomorrow night in Denver against the Avalanche.