Inside the NHL

The Bruins' Blueliners  

Offense from the Defense

By Daniel G. Habib

Despite 11 stitches in his chin, Boston defenseman Bryan Berard stood in the home dressing room last Saturday night with a grin on his face. A nasty first-period high-stick couldn't bring down Berard, whose wrister from the left point struck the stick of New York winger Pavel Bure, squirted through traffic and went into the net with 38.8 seconds remaining to give the Bruins a 3-2 win.

Berard, who had three goals and five points through Sunday, is the centerpiece of the club's blue line makeover. After losing 41-goal winger Bill Guerin to free agency last summer, Boston attempted to fill the scoring void by getting its defensemen, who combined for just 18 of the team's 236 goals last season, to increase their production. Spots belonging to Kyle McLaren (who is sitting out because of a contract disagreement) and Jamie Rivers (released) went to Berard, a free-agent signee, and 22-year-old Jonathan Girard, promoted from the AHL. Second-year defenseman Nick Boynton has been given additional ice time, and all three have been urged to look for opportunities to join the rush as well as pepper the net with pucks.

"With Bryan, Nick and myself, they've brought in people who play aggressively," says Girard, "and we've also got others who work hard on their defense. The six defensemen work together as duos." Indeed, by placing an offensive-minded blueliner with a stay-at-home type on each pairing -- Girard with Hal Gill, Boynton with Don Sweeney, Berard with Sean O'Donnell -- Bruins coach Robbie Ftorek has gotten a scoring boost from his defensive corps (eight of the team's 37 goals), one reason the club was off to an unexpectedly good start, 7-2-2-0 at week's end.

Issue date: November 11, 2002

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