Montreal finds Toivonen's weak spot

MONTREAL -- According to coach Dave Lewis's original game plan, Tim Thomas was supposed to make his 22d straight appearance last night.

Lewis had to ditch that course of action. Thomas, who didn't participate in yesterday's morning skate, reported that he wasn't feeling well.

So the Bruins coach turned to Plan B: starting Hannu Toivonen for the first time since Nov. 4.

Unlike his last NHL start, when he allowed five goals in 40 minutes against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Toivonen looked like a big-time puckstopper last night, making head-spinning saves on several of the Montreal Canadiens' 40 shots.

But in the third period, Toivonen couldn't stop a turnaround wrister by forward Guillaume Latendresse that turned out to be the decisive goal in a 4-3 Bruins loss before 21,273 fans at the Bell Centre.

"It surprised me," said Toivonen (36 saves) of the rookie's snap shot from the left circle that found the back of the net with four minutes remaining. "But that's no excuse. That's a goal that shouldn't go in. That situation is pretty much the hockey game. That's a bad goal to let in."

Toivonen, who got some tuneup work with the Providence Bruins Sunday (27 saves in a 3-2 shootout victory over the Worcester Sharks), was aiming to build upon his performance last Saturday against the Devils.

That night, Toivonen relieved Thomas after the first period and stopped all 14 second-period shots. But in the third period, Toivonen whiffed on a slow-moving backhander by Erik Rasmussen that gave the Devils the momentum they needed.

Last night, despite playing what Lewis thought was his best game of the season, Toivonen suffered a similar fate.

"That shouldn't surprise me," said Toivonen. "I should be ready for that shot."

It was an unfortunate end to an evening that included some promising signs for the confidence-hungry netminder. In the second period, with the game tied at 2-2, Toivonen made one of his best saves.

Shifty Montreal captain Saku Koivu cradled the puck behind the net and dished it in front to forward Michael Ryder. Toivonen, hugging the post in anticipation of a wraparound by Koivu, tracked the puck, shot to the top of the crease, and gloved Ryder's shot at 10:59.

Later in the period, Toivonen foiled an odd-man rush, getting his glove on forward Maxim Lapierre's close-range shot.

"He made some good saves for us," said Brad Stuart. "He gave us a chance to win. That's all you can ask for."

Toivonen had no answer, however, for ex-Bruin Sergei Samsonov, whose stick has resembled an overcooked noodle for more than a month. Samsonov, who has been instructed by his coaches to drive to the net instead of hovering around the perimeter, hadn't scored a goal since Oct. 28.

His luck changed last night. Samsonov busted his no-goal streak at 6:52 of the second period after performing one of his signature dangles around Shean Donovan to get himself some open space. Toivonen stopped Samsonov's initial shot but got tangled up with defenseman Mathieu Dandenault. Toivonen couldn't recover to stop Samsonov from converting the rebound.

On the other end, however, Marc Savard was just as dangerous as Samsonov. In the second period -- after defenseman Andrei Markov had given Montreal a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes -- Savard tied the score. While falling forward, Savard one-timed a pass from Patrice Bergeron past goalie David Aebischer (31 saves).

Later in the period, Savard forced forward Alexei Kovalev to turn the puck over in his own zone, then converted a pass from Glen Murray at 7:34 by roofing a shot over Aebischer.

But Samsonov broke a 2-2 tie in the third period just after linemate Tomas Plekanec, from what Lewis could see, hooked Zdeno Chara. The Boston captain was puckhandling behind his net when Plekanec, forechecking along the end boards, got a piece of Chara and forced a turnover.

Spotting his linemate's steal, Samsonov (a game-high seven shots, including six in the second period) broke for the net and cashed in a pass from Plekanec at 12:49, giving Montreal a 3-2 lead.

"I thought it was a hook," Lewis said. "He planted his feet and hooked him. But it makes no difference."

After Latendresse gave his club a two-goal lead, Lewis pulled Toivonen for an extra attacker. The move paid off as Petr Tenkrat deflected a Jason York point blast past Aebischer at 19:09.

It wasn't enough.

"It was an emotional win for all of us following a long day because of Bob's situation," said Carbonneau, referring to the loss of Laura Gainey, the daughter of general manager Bob Gainey. "It wasn't an easy game for either team."