Samsonov Nets Hat Trick In Bruin Win

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

April 10, 1998 / 1:54 AM EDT / CBS Sportsline

The Boston Bruins spent a million dollars on Thursday night. And it was worth it.

Sergei Samsonov had his first career hat trick in a 4-1 victory over the New York Islanders, helping the Bruins clinch a playoff spot and probably earning himself a $1 million bonus.

"It's a relief to know that you're in the playoffs with five games left," said Samsonov, who essentially clinched the bonus with his 20th goal of the season. "I guess you can't have a better time for it to happen."

Wade Flaherty stopped 27 shots as the Islanders snapped a four-game winning streak and dropped to the verge of playoff elimination. New York is 10 points behind eighth-place Ottawa with five games remaining.

Byron Dafoe stopped 27 shots for the Bruins.

Boston missed the playoffs last season for the first time in 30 years, ending the longest postseason streak in professional sports history. But with new coach Pat Burns and 12 new players, the team has reloaded faster than anyone expected.

"They've come a long way in a short time," Islanders coach Mike Milbury noted. "They made solid trades and have outstanding coaching."

Burns wants his team to focus on the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Bruins have a good chance for home-ice advantage in the first round, sitting in sole possession of fourth place, a point ahead of Washington and two ahead of Buffalo and Montreal.

"We don't really have nothing yet," he said. "It's an invitation, is all it is. We have an opportunity to position ourselves and just not think `We're there."'

A big reason for the turnaround is Samsonov, the Bruins' second first-round draft choice last year, who has developed faster than overall No. 1 draft choice Joe Thornton and just about every other rookie in the league.

"He's had a step ahead of Joe because he had played with men," Burns said of Samsonov, who was the IHL rookie of the year last season. "He is the best rookie in the NHL this year. He has won us hockey games. I don't care about the points of other rookies. What have they done?"

Samsonov scored to tie the game 1-1 at 6:34 of the first period and scored his 20th goal of the season 12:53 into the second to make it 3-1. He scored again with 6:30 to play, taking the puck half the length of the ice before beating Flaherty.

Twenty goals was one of two feats needed to earn the $1 million bonus. Another he seems certain to accomplish is a top five finish in the rookie of the year voting; with 46 points, he is the top-scoring rookie in the league.

When the team came off the ice, If I had a Million Dollars by "Bare Naked Ladies" was blasting on the locker room stereo.

Milbury pulled Flaherty with 3:30 to play but put him back in with two minutes left after New York was called for a penalty for tomany men on the ice.

Just 1:44 into the game, Sergei Nemchinov took a shot on net that was blocked by Dafoe. But the goalie let the rebound trickle out from between his pads, and when Bruins defenseman Dave Ellett tried to clear it, he put it off Nemchinov's leg and into the net.

Boston tied it with a power-play goal 6:34 into the game when Samsonov converted a nice cross-crease pass from Dmitri Kristich. Anson Carter put Boston up 2-1 in the second period when he picked up a loose rebound in the slot with 5:06 gone.

Before the game, Jason Allison was named the Bruins' "Seventh Player" in voting by fans.