Auld's their saving grace
WASHINGTON - The Bruins got 1 precious point out of their 2-1 shootout loss yesterday.
Without Alex Auld, the punchless Bruins (10 goals in their last eight games) might not have gotten even that.
Auld, who had backed up Tim Thomas the last two games, turned in another sparkler yesterday. Auld stopped 32 shots, none bigger than the second-period goalmouth attempt by forward Matt Cooke, his former teammate in Vancouver, that kept the game tied and allowed the Bruins to gain the point.
With the score tied, 1-1, in the second, the Capitals should have taken a one-goal lead after Cooke, stationed in the slot, took a pass out of the corner from forward Alexander Semin and flipped a close-range shot on net. But Auld read the play, positioned himself well, and robbed Cooke with a kick of his pad. Toward the end of the second period (13 saves in the middle frame), Auld also stopped Russian snipers Alex Ovechkin and Sergei Fedorov on bona fide scoring chances.
"He was outstanding," said coach Claude Julien. "A good goaltender is a luxury to have when the puck's not going in."
In overtime, Auld took a goal away from Mike Green. The defenseman had taken a pass in front from Semin and lifted a top-shelf shot that Auld tipped with his glove.
Auld is 1-1-3 in his last five starts, but the hard-luck goalie has only allowed six goals during the stretch.
Grand marshal
Yesterday, Glen Murray hit a milestone that only eight other Bruins have reached, appearing in his 1,000th NHL game. Murray became the 229th player in league history to hit 1,000 games played.
"It's pretty special," said Murray (four shots in 18:26 of ice time). "Maybe I'll look at it down the road. Especially at this time of year, maybe down the road it will be a little more special. We're in a playoff race. I'm not really looking at that."
Murray, Boston's first-round pick (No. 18 overall) in the 1991 NHL draft, made his big-league debut when he was brought up on emergency call from Sudbury, his junior team, to face the Quebec Nordiques. Murray scored his first of 335 career goals that day, putting a puck past Ron Tugnutt.
"Every guy who plays 1,000 games always says it's about the people you meet over the years," Murray said. "The guys I've played with, you look back and it's pretty amazing."
Murray has played 561 games with the Bruins, 135 with Pittsburgh, and 304 with Los Angeles. Yesterday was his 54th game of the season; he's missed 19 because of an injured hip flexor. The other eight Bruins to appear in 1,000 NHL games: Ray Bourque, Johnny Bucyk, Wayne Cashman, Dave Ellett, Rick Middleton, Jean Ratelle, Gordie Roberts, and Don Sweeney.
Chara out again
Zdeno Chara missed his fifth straight game because of an upper-body injury. Chara sustained the injury during Boston's last meeting with the Capitals, a 2-1 Boston win March 8 at TD Banknorth Garden . . . Petteri Nokelainen, a healthy scratch for the three previous matches, returned to the lineup, serving as the fourth-line center between Jeremy Reich and Shawn Thornton. Before yesterday, Nokelainen had been scratched for nine of the last 11 games. With Nokelainen (nine shifts for 6:07 of playing time) back in, Vladimir Sobotka was the odd man out . . . Washington coach Bruce Boudreau didn't sound like an admirer of Boston's pack-it-in defense. "They sit five guys back and wait for you to come at them," said Boudreau. "Whatever works for you. Obviously, it's worked for them because they're 5 points ahead us at this stage. We'd like to think that we play a brand of hockey that's more exciting most nights." . . . Former Bruin Shaone Morrisonn walloped Phil Kessel during overtime, pasting the winger against the boards. Kessel got up slowly and required some attention on the bench, but he was fine to go in the shootout . . . Marc Savard put a season-high eight shots on goal . . . The Bruins concluded a stretch that featured six games (2-2-2) in nine days. They don't play again until Thursday when they host the Canadiens . . . The Capitals were without defenseman John Erskine, who was called for a crucial hooking penalty during the teams' last meeting that resulted in a five-on-three tying goal by Chara. Erskine hasn't played since taking several head shots during a fight with Calgary tough guy Eric Godard last Wednesday.
