Leafs Power Past Bruins

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

January 9, 1999 / 10:38 PM EST / CBS Sportsline

By the count of the Toronto Maple Leafs, they won both ends of a doubleheader on Saturday night.

After acquiring defenseman Bryan Berard from the New York Islanders for goalie Felix Potvin earlier in the day, Toronto scored four first-period goals and coasted to a 6-3 win over the Boston Bruins.

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"There was a lot of electric going on in the building tonight," said Toronto coach Pat Quinn. "Thankfully we got the early goals and were able to hang on."

The Maple Leafs took advantage of a sloppy Boston defense -- the Bruins were without All-Star defensemen Ray Bourque who didn't play because of a strained hip flexor -- and scored goals on their first three shots.

Derek King and Igor Korolev scored 33 seconds apart in the opening two minutes. Toronto didn't get another shot until more than eight minutes later, but Garry Valk's low slap shot made it 3-0.

After Sergei Berezin made it 4-0 at 14:00 of the first period, goalie Byron Dafoe was replaced by Robbie Tallas. Boston narrowed the margin to 4-2 before Mike Johnson scored twice in the third period for Toronto.

Shawn Bates, Joe Thornton and Kyle McLaren scored for Boston, which outshot Toronto in each of the first two periods and 32-23 for the game. The loss ended the Bruins' undefeated streak at three games. Boston won the first half of the home-and-home series 2-1 Thursday.

"Boston is a team that plays better with a lead so it was important that we get a quick jump," said Johnson, who added an assist for a three-point night. "When we got the lead, they became less patient and couldn't play their grinding game."

Berard flew in from Montreal durinthe game and was beaming during a post-game news conference. He was acquired for holdout goalie Felix Potvin and a swap of sixth-round draft choices. Potvin walked out on the Maple Leafs earlier this season.

"I'm very excited to be here," Berard said. "Toronto's system fits my style. They play a wide-open game, which is where my strengths are. There's a lot of rich history playing in Toronto and I'm looking forward to it."

Berard has been nursing a strained groin since Dec. 18, but says he'll be ready to play Wednesday when the Maple Leafs are in Florida.

Goalie Curtis Joseph was sharp for Toronto as the Bruins attempted to mount a comeback in the second period. Moments after Toronto went ahead 2-0, Kris King took an interference penalty and the Bruins tested Joseph with four shots. He also robbed Boston's Andre Savage with a glove save in the second period. It was one of four shots in the period by Savage.

Dafoe entered the game with the league's second-best save percentage, but after giving up four goals on seven shots, his percentage fell from .931 to .927, which dropped him out of the league's top five.

The Bruins played without seven injured regulars. Along with Bourque, the other injured starters included defensemen Dave Ellett and Grant Ledyard and forwards Anson Carter, Tim Taylor, Chris Taylor and Peter Ferraro.