Last night, finally, he was.
''I'm thrilled for him," said coach Mike Sullivan. ''It was a momentum boost for us."
Another boost was the four scorers -- Zhamnov, Travis Green, Wayne Primeau, and Brad Stuart. Green potted his first in 19 games and both Primeau and Stuart earned their first Boston goals since being traded from San Jose in the Joe Thornton deal.
''We've got to get contributions from every line and we've really got to consider that we're going to win a game, 2-1 or 3-2," said defenseman Brian Leetch, who had three assists. ''We're still going to need goals from everybody and the big saves. When you had the luxury of Joe Thornton, he could get 4 points a night or 3 points a night. We have a lot of guys who can create offensively, but it absolutely has to be spread out or we won't win for sure."
The first period started with the Maple Leafs allowing Boston only two shots in the first 12 minutes. But the last eight belonged to the Bruins. They got on the scoreboard late in the first on Green's tally. Just five seconds after Boston's power play expired, the Bruins capitalized on a strong feed by Glen Murray. Murray, positioned along the right-wing boards, fed Green at the inside edge of the right circle and his one-timer beat Mikael Tellqvist to the blocker side with 1:43 remaining on the clock.
It was Green's fourth of the season and his first since Nov. 3 against the Florida Panthers.
The Bruins thought they had a second goal with only two-10ths of a second left when a shot by Leetch found the back of the net. But it was not allowed because of a penalty to teammate Marco Sturm.
The Bruins made it hard on themselves in the second, giving up their second five on three after Green was whistled off at 5:13 on a double minor for high-sticking. Sturm was called for hooking at 7:48, giving the Maple Leafs a two-man advantage for 1:25, but goalie Hannu Toivonen (26 saves) came up big.
Patrice Bergeron generated a shorthanded bid when he stole the puck from defenseman Bryan McCabe and had a wraparound at the left post that Tellqvist denied at 9:19.
