E-Mail This Article to a Friend Forget the Sox and Pats: It’s time to give the Bruins some much-needed attention BY CHRISTOPHER YOUNG

Maybe it’s the fact that the Boston Bruins haven’t gotten to the third round of the NHL’s post-season since 1992. Could be because the team hasn’t gotten past the first round in five years? Perhaps the fans frankly refuse to get their hopes up no matter what, since each of the last two times that the B’s have gotten the number-one seed in the conference (1993, 2002), they went down in the very first round — dispatched by a number-eight seed. Maybe it’s the fact that there’s a labor dispute looming over next year’s season, and therefore it’s unwise to think about the long-term future of the NHL.

Or maybe it’s just the fact that the game itself has lost its luster, even here in the Hub of Hockey.

Whatever it is, the Bruins are surging toward the playoffs, yet the team has hardly received a vote of confidence from its fans or the local media. And that’s a shame.

Because this year’s edition of the Black & Gold seems to be different. No, really. In fact, not since Bourquie, Oatsie, and Cam laced up the skates has a Bruins team been this solid from top to bottom, and it’s time for the folks who care about the franchise to sit up and take notice — and maybe even buy some tickets.

We’re not here to cheerlead for a team that nonetheless charges nearly $50 a seat for balcony seats in the FleetCenter, but the men who wear the uniforms this season have done all that one could ask of them, putting aside a lackluster and restless December en route toward another high seed in the playoffs — with hopes of reaching the Stanley Cup Finals hardly out of the question.

Those of you who don’t really care about hockey have probably tuned out already. But if you’re still there, we’ll try to make this unfolding situation interesting and appealing. It’s a well-known fact that the Bruins will have to work hard this spring to win back a lot of the doubters who have regularly thrown up their hands in disgust over the Bruins’ showing in recent post-season appearances. But the team’s soundly made its case that it should be taken seriously. And while the locals are treading cautiously before richly embracing this year’s edition, the national media are certainly well aware of Boston’s strengths and the dangerous weapons the team will bring with it into the upcoming playoffs.

The Bruins don’t do anything spectacularly well, but they do a lot of things well enough to compete night in and night out. True, they have an annoying habit of submitting some of their worst efforts in front of the home crowd (including Thursday night’s 3-0 home loss to Toronto), and it’s hard to defend the Bruins’ team-record eight shutout losses at the Fleet (and 10 overall, among their 25 total defeats). Still, they have a dandy assortment of goal-scorers that evenly spread the wealth, as evidenced by the fact that five Bruins have tallied 16 or more goals. Yet none is within the league’s top scoring leaders (captain Joe Thornton, with 22-26-48, is 15th). The team is only 16th in the NHL in team goals, with 2.53 per game through Thursday, but it’s seventh in goals-against, surrendering a miserly 2.27 per contest.

The team doesn’t always light the lamp in rapid-fire fashion, but the end result is what counts. Heading into Saturday’s crucial match-up with red-hot Montreal, the B’s hadn’t given up more than four goals in any one game since December 18 — a span of 45 games. You can thank the revitalized Bruins goaltenders for that impressive stat, and leading the way in net is rookie netminder Andrew Raycroft, who is 27-16-8 and giving up just two goals per game. The team has been able to proceed cautiously with the 23-year-old (who played in 21 games over three seasons for Boston before winning the full-time job in training camp) because it had a suitable back-up at the ready: Felix "The Cat" Potvin. Potvin has seen limited action, but his 11-8-6 mark (and 2.52 GAA) has provided the rook with enough breaks to keep him sharp throughout the long season, and that will be doubly important when Raycroft participates in his first post-season as the number-one goaltender.

Goaltending woes have brought down the team in the past. Despite the fact that the Bruins have had some solid gents between the pipes over the past few years, they have been unable to consistently receive the quality that the tandem of Andy Moog and Reggie Lemelin provided in the early ’90s. Not surprisingly, that might explain the team’s failure to reach the Conference Finals in a decade, much less a shot at the Cup (not since 1990). Since Moog and Lemelin last played for the B’s 11 seasons ago, the team has gone through Jon Casey, John Blue, Vincent Riendeau, Bill Ranford, Craig Billington, Blaine Lacher, Byron Dafoe, Jeff Hackett, and Steve Shields in net. For perspective, consider that the Devils’ Martin Brodeur has been that team’s sole goaltender over that same period, and New Jersey has been to four Cup Finals (and won three) during his tenure.

Raycroft’s performance this year has been nothing short of remarkable, and he has stabilized a team that has for a long time been itching to secure some steadfast confidence in its last line of defense. With Razor and the Cat providing that self-assurance, the team can concentrate on the other facets of the game that have been so inherently flawed in previous Bruins teams — like effective and consistent line play and scoring, for instance.

Thornton’s scoring numbers this year will more resemble his 2002 stats than last year’s, but as he continues to blossom, he becomes a bigger target for the opposing teams to harass. Yet his self-discipline has been significantly improved this season, and he is not as apt to retaliate against the clutchers and grabbers and cheap-shot artists as he was in past seasons. That is reflected in his penalty-minute totals, which heading into the weekend are nearly 30 minutes less than last season.

Thornton’s 22 goals have been complemented by linemates Glen Murray’s 30 and Mike Knuble’s 21, along with the contributions of Brian Rolston (19 goals) and rookie Patrice Bergeron (16). Bergeron, who at age 18 is the NHL’s youngest player, was considered a long shot even to make the team in training camp, and in the team’s media guide he got merely a stat line. Yet other than Raycroft’s steady progress, no player has been a bigger surprise, and Bergeron seems a can’t-miss kid who will likely have a long career in the league. His recent recovery from a shoulder injury, coupled with the return of second-line winger Sergei Samsonov, bodes well for the Bruins’ long-term success in this star-crossed season.

Murray, who got off to a slow start, has certainly been streaky throughout the season, but his chemistry with Thornton has provided the team with one of the most dangerous lines in all of hockey (along with Knuble, who won’t match his career-year totals of 30-29-59 last year, but is nonetheless a great component of this "700-pound line" — actually 675). Other surprises have been Martin Lapointe, the $5 million man whose 13 goals are already five more than all of last season; Teddy Donato, the prodigal son who returned to the team after a six-year absence and six other teams (yet after a start in Providence the 34-year-old graybeard has tallied 6-5-11 totals on the fourth line); feisty blueliner Nick Boynton, who continues to improve his skills on both sides of the puck; Travis Green, who has quietly tallied 10 goals while serving as the team’s sole agitator; and of course the newest members of the squad, former Capitals Sergei Gonchar and Michael Nylander, whose arrivals automatically lifted the Bruins to Cup-contender status. Both have made immediate impacts on the team, and their acquisitions confirmed that the front office is serious about the here and now — past history and future payroll ramifications be damned. GM Mike O’Connell, whose own future was questioned even by owner Jeremy Jacobs in December, has built the franchise into a solid, cohesive unit, and the team’s depth leads one to speculate that on most nights only the Bruins can beat themselves.

We would be remiss not to point out that this potent-yet-diverse squad is led by a rookie coach, but Mike Sullivan has made a seamless transition from former player to players’ coach, and he’s been a calming voice (yet not afraid to be fiery and challenging). Sully’s work in Providence did not go unnoticed last season, and after a string of high-profile coaches (Pat Burns, Mike Keenan, Robbie Ftorek), it would seem that the untested former Bruin is a much better fit for this once-inconsistent outfit.

The Bruins currently lead the Atlantic Division by a point over the Leafs with five games left to play. They are third in the conference, just two points behind the surprising Lightning and one behind the Flyers.

Boston’s Bruins will likely head into the playoffs with a solid seed and a rejuvenated optimism. Their fans may not be ready to give the team their hearts just yet, but they sure as heck ought to be giving the B’s their attention.

"Sporting Eye" runs Mondays and Fridays at BostonPhoenix.com, and Christopher Young can be reached at cyoung[a]phx.com