Leafs on target in shootout
Bruins miss chance for the extra point
Although he skated 24 shifts for 18:54 of ice time last night, Andrew Ference has been one of the latest victims of the virus that's been causing flu-like symptoms throughout the Bruins' roster.
So Ference felt even more ill when, with 1:55 remaining in regulation, he was called for a high-sticking double minor after he opened a gash on forward Darcy Tucker's face, giving Toronto a four-minute power play.
"It's a pretty bad feeling to get a late penalty," said Ference.
But in such times, teams turn to their leaders. Last night, captain Zdeno Chara did his part to atone for Ference's penalty.
Chara busted up the Toronto power play by attacking Pavel Kubina along the right boards in the Boston zone, forcing the defenseman to cough up the puck. Jeremy Reich sprinted off for a shorthanded, odd-man rush. Kubina had to trip up Reich before the winger took a shot on goalie Vesa Toskala, which wiped out half of Ference's penalty.
The Bruins took the game into overtime to swipe one precious point, although the Maple Leafs scored the only goals in the shootout to claim a 3-2 win before 13,907 at TD Banknorth Garden.
"That was huge," said Bruins goalie Alex Auld (31 saves). "Z's stick was great. He was taking away passing lanes. Obviously, that's huge getting the kill and getting into overtime, making sure we get that point."
Auld forced defenseman Tomas Kaberle, Toronto's first gunner in the shootout, to ring a backhander off the right post. But captain Mats Sundin made a quick move to his backhand to score the first goal. Then Alex Steen iced the decision for the Maple Leafs with a sharp fake that caused Auld to bite, giving the forward enough room to tuck a backhander into the net.
At the other end, Toskala stopped Phil Kessel's shot with his glove, then used his stick to poke the puck away from Marc Savard.
"Sundin made a really strong, fast move," said Auld. "Steen made a good move to really freeze me. He made me look silly there."
While the Bruins allowed the slumping Leafs - Toronto entered having lost five of its last six - to record their first win in four meetings this season, they took some comfort in claiming a point on a night when their roster was torn to shreds.
The Bruins had five players on injured reserve, the most of any team in action last night. They were also without P.J. Axelsson (broken right foot) and Peter Schaefer (flu-like symptoms). Their third line of Vladimir Sobotka, David Krejci, and Pascal Pelletier entered with 83 games of AHL action this season against 33 in the big league.
Despite their tattered lineup, the Bruins took a 2-1 lead into the second period. Steen opened the scoring in the first by picking the corner over Auld's glove, but Boston rallied for two strikes.
Two seconds after the Leafs killed off an interference call on Sundin, Chara tied the score at 14:27 by blasting a half-slapper past Toskala. Earlier in the shift, Chara had gone backdoor and missed an open net.
The Bruins grabbed the lead less than two minutes later. Savard, controlling the puck along the right boards, hit Marco Sturm with a pass at the far post. With Toskala down and out, Sturm wheeled around the goalie and slipped a backhander over the line at 15:57.
But with just 8.8 ticks remaining in the second period, Toronto tied the game at 2. Kubina blasted a shot from the point that ticked off Milan Lucic and caromed off the shinpad of Matt Stajan, who had set up in front of the net. Stajan settled the puck and swept it past Auld, who was caught leaning the other way.
The Bruins had their chance to take the lead in the third when Sobotka, Krejci, and Petteri Nokelainen performed some grinding work along the boards in the offensive zone, prompting ex-Bruin Hal Gill to take a slashing penalty at 10:56 and give Boston its third power play.
But the Bruins couldn't manage to jam in the go-ahead goal, as Savard hit a pair of posts in the period.
"We really worked hard for that point," said Chara. "At this point, we'll take any points."
Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com. 