Andrew Raycroft

Andrew Raycroft stopped 35 shots for his first win in nearly a year, and the Dallas Stars beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 on Monday night. Raycroft (1-5) hadn't won since beating Minnesota on Jan. 9. He made his first start since taking over for Kari Lehtonen, who was placed on the injured list on Sunday after he hurt his right knee against Phoenix. Michael Ryder scored two goals, and Eric Nystrom added his eighth of the season for the Stars. Kevin Porter spoiled Raycroft's shutout bid with his first this season, but Colorado fell to 4-9 at home.

Eric Nystrom scored the tiebreaking goal with 2:20 left and the Dallas Stars rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night. Nystrom took possession of the puck behind the Ottawa net, drifted to the left circle and fired a shot past goalie Craig Anderson for his ninth goal of the season, one short of matching his career high. Milan Michalek had given the Senators a 2-1 advantage at 11:42 of the final period. Daniel Alfredsson took a shot from the right point that rebounded off goalie Andrew Raycroft to the left circle.

Eric Nystrom scored the tiebreaking goal with 2:20 left and the Dallas Stars rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night. Nystrom took possession of the puck behind the Ottawa net, drifted to the left circle and fired a shot past goalie Craig Anderson for his ninth goal of the season, one short of matching his career high. Milan Michalek had given the Senators a 2-1 advantage at 11:42 of the final period. Daniel Alfredsson took a shot from the right point that rebounded off goalie Andrew Raycroft to the left circle.

Andrew Raycroft stopped 35 shots for his first win in nearly a year, and the Dallas Stars beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 on Monday night. Raycroft (1-5) hadn't won since beating Minnesota on Jan. 9. He made his first start since taking over for Kari Lehtonen, who was placed on the injured list on Sunday after he hurt his right knee against Phoenix. Michael Ryder scored two goals, and Eric Nystrom added his eighth of the season for the Stars. Kevin Porter spoiled Raycroft's shutout bid with his first this season, but Colorado fell to 4-9 at home.

Tuned out by his players, Bruce Boudreau was fired by the Washington Capitals yesterday after winning 200 games faster than any coach in modern NHL history but stumbling regularly in the playoffs despite a talent-laden lineup featuring two-time MVP Alex Ovechkin. Boudreau was replaced by former Capitals captain Dale Hunter, who was greeted by loud cheers from more than 100 fans when he skated onto the ice at yesterday's practice. Hunter, never before a coach in the NHL, will make his debut behind the bench tonight when Washington hosts the St. Louis Blues.

TORONTO -- First they got mad, then they got even. But ultimately, the Bruins fell short. Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin scored his second goal of the game with 6:44 left in regulation to lift Toronto to a 3-2 victory last night at the Air Canada Centre. What remains confounding about this club is how it can know the stakes and still come out of the gate like Rip Van Winkle just waking from a nap. After falling behind 2-0, the Bruins -- sparked by some nasty fisticuffs -- staged a frantic comeback to tie it with two in the third but it was too little, too late.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Their losing has become so standard, so matter of course, so expected, so mind-numbing, that it's hard to believe the Bruins can come up with new ways to register their nightly L. But last night, lo and behold, they got there again, a 3-2 loss at Continental Airlines Arena to the Devils, this time with an ending that bordered on bizarre. John Madden, a Bruin nemesis, totally undressed Joe Thornton on a faceoff to the right of goaltender Andrew Raycroft, leading directly to Alexander Mogilny's winning strike with only 31.4 seconds remaining in regulation.

After last night's 6-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, one in which the Bruins handed their opponents a three-goal lead in the first period, coach Dave Lewis praised his club for its third-period resiliency. "I thought our guys showed a lot of effort and emotion to come back," said Lewis, after his team rallied for two goals in the final period to make it a one-goal game. "I thought we became physical. I thought we started to control play. We had chances. We generated things. " The sweet-smelling bouquet Lewis threw for his players' late-game rally, however, didn't mask the stink of their...

The hockey in-laws from Montreal are in town tonight. They're nothing special, but they do possess that infuriating in-law gift: They show up and somehow you feel as if you're the one with something to prove. I'm sure the Bruins, young and old, can relate to this. There are far too many examples of the Canadiens either stashing the Stanley Cup for themselves or doing something to keep it away from the Bruins. The last time it happened was the spring of 2002. Without getting into an elaborate rehash, it was the story of a smug No. 8 seed knocking off a No. 1 in six...

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Bruins squandered a two-goal lead, received little from their top players, and wasted an outstanding performance by goaltender Andrew Raycroft last night, adding up to a 4-3 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at the RBC Center. So far this season, Boston cannot find an answer to how to put teams away. "[Raycroft] was holding them off as much as he could," said Bruin Brad Boyes, who had a goal and two assists. "He played a great game. In close, they had numerous point-blank shots that he turned aside.

Tuned out by his players, Bruce Boudreau was fired by the Washington Capitals yesterday after winning 200 games faster than any coach in modern NHL history but stumbling regularly in the playoffs despite a talent-laden lineup featuring two-time MVP Alex Ovechkin. Boudreau was replaced by former Capitals captain Dale Hunter, who was greeted by loud cheers from more than 100 fans when he skated onto the ice at yesterday's practice. Hunter, never before a coach in the NHL, will make his debut behind the bench tonight when Washington hosts the St. Louis Blues.

The way last season ended for the Dallas Stars left a bad taste in everyone's mouth throughout the organization, and they're determined not to let it happen again. Loui Eriksson had a fluke goal 13 seconds after the opening faceoff and scored again early in the third period, leading Dallas to a 3-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night and helping extend the Stars' winning streak to five games. Mike Ribeiro also scored for the Stars, 6-1-0 after missing the playoffs in each of the previous three seasons.

On June 24, 2006, the Toronto Maple Leafs committed a once-in-a-generation flub when they swapped Tuukka Rask to the Bruins. It was an error whose roots trace back to the third round of the 2004 draft, when Toronto selected Justin Pogge. When the Bruins came calling in 2006, it was Pogge, not Rask, whom the Leafs considered their future ace goaltender. “At the time of the trade, we were fortunate that Toronto had two young blue chips in goal that weren’t ready,’’ said Jeff Gorton, then the Bruins interim general manager, in an e-mail.

After last night's 6-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, one in which the Bruins handed their opponents a three-goal lead in the first period, coach Dave Lewis praised his club for its third-period resiliency. "I thought our guys showed a lot of effort and emotion to come back," said Lewis, after his team rallied for two goals in the final period to make it a one-goal game. "I thought we became physical. I thought we started to control play. We had chances. We generated things. " The sweet-smelling bouquet Lewis threw for his players' late-game rally, however, didn't mask the...

There is something about being on a roll, as Andrew Raycroft is right now, that makes a goalie think that, yes, size matters. The former Bruins goalie, who will be back at the Garden tonight when his Maple Leafs take on his former Bruins, has strung together four straight wins, owns eight victories (tied for third in the NHL as of yesterday morning), and quite frankly, is living large. "The puck doesn't look bigger, but I feel bigger," said Raycroft, 26, dealt to the Leafs in June, the Bruins then in the midst of monumental changes that thus far have produced minuscule results...

After a disappointing loss to Carolina Wednesday night, coach Mike Sullivan said his team needed to find a way to get its power play working. Last night the Bruins did, scoring their first goal on the man advantage in four contests and it held up in a 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers at TD Banknorth Garden. With defenseman Greg deVries off for hooking at 16:37 of the third period, Brian Leetch skated down the left circle and put a shot on Thrashers goalie Kari Lehtonen.

Maybe the Bruins could petition the National Hockey League to make one more change to the game -- shorten it to two periods. That might be the only way to get Boston out of its alarming slump, which last night stretched to four games overall and three straight in regulation. The Bruins, who spent three days working on their deficiencies in hard, long practice sessions, were up to their old tricks in the third period again last night. They took a 1-1 tie through two periods and transformed it -- presto!

As backup plans go, it wasn't perfect, but Hannu Toivonen isn't complaining. Nor are any of his Boston Bruin teammates, because the finishing act provided by the rookie goaltender last night was far more satisfying than those that had twice dented team spirits earlier in the week. Turning back nearly everything the Toronto Maple Leafs shot at him, the netminder from Finland stepped in for the injured Andrew Raycroft and provided the backbone in a 2-1 win before 15,917 at the TD Banknorth Garden, Boston's first triumph in seven Northeast Division games and a much-needed step forward in...

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Their losing has become so standard, so matter of course, so expected, so mind-numbing, that it's hard to believe the Bruins can come up with new ways to register their nightly L. But last night, lo and behold, they got there again, a 3-2 loss at Continental Airlines Arena to the Devils, this time with an ending that bordered on bizarre. John Madden, a Bruin nemesis, totally undressed Joe Thornton on a faceoff to the right of goaltender Andrew Raycroft, leading directly to Alexander Mogilny's winning strike with only 31.4 seconds remaining in regulation.

Maybe the Bruins could petition the National Hockey League to make one more change to the game -- shorten it to two periods. That might be the only way to get Boston out of its alarming slump, which last night stretched to four games overall and three straight in regulation. The Bruins, who spent three days working on their deficiencies in hard, long practice sessions, were up to their old tricks in the third period again last night. They took a 1-1 tie through two periods and transformed it -- presto!