=== 2003-04 Boston Bruins Preview ===

By Jordan Raanan, Contributing NHL Writer

(My Sportsbook) The tumultuous 2002-03 season for the Boston Bruins saw them struggle to accrue 86 points despite a torrid start to the campaign. They finished seventh in the Eastern Conference and unbelievably fired head coach Robbie Ftorek in the midst of a playoff race -- with just nine games remaining. General Manager Mike O'Connell came down behind the bench and led them into the postseason, then watched as his team got tossed around the rink by the eventual Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils in five games. Having a good view of the team's deficiencies, O'Connell headed to the offseason with a clear idea of the glaring holes that needed some fixing.

O'Connell seems to have righted the ship, bringing in rookie head coach Mike Sullivan from the Bruins' AHL affiliate to teach discipline and veteran goaltender Felix Potvin to fill an obvious void in net. Sullivan might be the youngest active head coach at the age of 35, but his willingness to open up the ice for his offensive players should be a fine fit with this cast of characters. Potvin might not be the youngest goaltender at 32 years of age, but despite missing most of the second half of last season, the Bruins believe he has plenty left in his tank.

Boston can score goals with the likes of Joe Thornton, Glen Murray, Sergei Samsonov, Brian Rolston and Mike Knuble. Nobody will deny that the Bruins can put points on the board, however, the real question is if they can keep their opponents from doing the same.

It has been quite a while since the Bruins have had a stalwart in net. While Felix Potvin is certainly not the equivalent of Gerry Cheevers, he is better than last year's goaltender, Jeff Hackett. Potvin has had a serviceable 12-year career that has seen him win his fair share of playoff games. Boston had been linked to every available netminder this offseason, especially with the Red Wings needing to do something with Curtis Joseph. However, O'Connell brought in a competent starter right before the start of training camp without giving up anything in return.

The defense was the other huge question mark at the end of last season. Can they help protect Potvin form being bombarded with shots? Veterans like Dan McGillis and Ian Moran were brought in prior to the trade deadline to help shore up the defense and their presence over the entire season will be beneficial. It will also be interesting to see how the Bruins can fill the vacancies left by Don Sweeney, Bryan Berard, Sean Brown and the injured Jonathan Girard.

AT THE HELM - Sullivan enters his first year as an NHL head coach hoping to repeat his success in the minors. O'Connell had groomed Sullivan to become the 26th helmsman in team history, bringing him behind the bench as an assistant during last season's stretch run. Before joining O'Connell behind the Boston bench, Sullivan led the Providence Bruins to a 41-17-9-4 mark in his first season at the helm. Providence finished third in the American Hockey League in goals and was the only team in the AHL to have six 20-goal scorers, which should make him a nice fit with Boston as well.

ON THE ATTACK - Thornton is a dominant player, both offensively and physically. The talented 24-year-old, who stands at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, finished third overall in the scoring race last season with 101 points, becoming the first Bruin player to top the century mark since Adam Oates in 1993-94.

With Samsonov and Murray flanked to his left and right respectively, the Bruins could have one of the most potent lines in hockey. Murray is coming off a career best season that saw him find the back of the net 44 times. Entering his 13th campaign, Murray easily set career highs in both goals and assists (48) last year.

Samsonov missed most of last season with a wrist injury, but he was around during the Bruins' surprisingly fast start. He totaled 11 points in eight regular-season games, and playing alongside Thornton and Murray could be a force to be reckoned with this season.

While a line of Thornton-Samsonov-Murray is tough to match, there is not as dramatic a dropoff as you might expect after that. Brian Rolston centered the third line last year and played well working with P.J. Axelsson, another strong defensive forward. Rolston is an excellent defensive center and also added 27 goals and 32 assists.

Mike Knuble scored 30 goals last season playing with recently-departed center Jozef Stumpel, who was traded to Los Angeles in a cost-cutting move this past summer. Boston has the choice of moving Rolston onto the second line with Knuble or giving a young center such as Andy Hilbert an opportunity to thrive with a consistent scorer on his side.

The Bruins could benefit from some added punch from their veterans and youngsters. Guys like Martin Lapointe, who is currently sidelined with a knee injury, Rob Zamuner and Marty McInnis could provide pop. Anything from young talents like Hilbert, Patrice Bergeron, Sergei Zinovjev or Martin Samuelsson would make this team virtually unstoppable on the offensive end.

ON DEFENSE - The Bruins struggled keeping their opponents contained last year and it doesn't appear that the defense is in much better shape. The losses of Sweeney, Berard and Girard are going to be hard to fill. Additionally, Nick Boynton's contract dispute has added even more question marks to an already unknown quantity. Berard and Girard were the Bruins' most skilled and offensively-minded defenseman, and somebody is going to have to step in and anchor the power play. Girard is expected to return at some point in the season, but when and at what capacity is currently up in the air.

Boston does have some experience and size on the blueline with McGillis, Gill, Boynton and Sean O'Donnell. The 31-year-old McGillis looks to return to the form that saw him post 14 goals and 35 assists for the Philadelphia Flyers in 2000-01. McGillis' offensive production, though, has slipped dramatically over the past couple of years and last season he tallied just 3 goals and 17 assists while playing for the Bruins, Flyers and Sharks.

Gill is steady on the defensive end, rarely making a crucial mistake in his own zone and helping the mammoth defenseman lead the team with a plus/minus rating of +21 last season. Boynton has slowly become a solid NHL defenseman, and at just 24 years of age, has tremendous upside. He established new career highs in goals, assists, and points last season and hopes to better those numbers this year. O'Donnell, meanwhile, is your traditional stay- at-home defenseman, giving the Bruins a nice mix at the blue line.

Youngsters Jeff Jillson and Milan Jurcina, and veteran Rich Brennan are all vying for the remaining spots.

IN THE CREASE - The Bruins finished 25th in the league last season with a 2.85 goals-against average. Potvin hopes to remedy that problem coming off a season in which he played just 42 games due to injury. Playing for the Los Angeles Kings, Potvin posted a 17-20-3 record with a 2.66 GAA.

Before Potvin was brought in prior to training camp it was believed that youngster Andrew Raycroft was going to be given a shot to win the starting spot over Steve Shields. Now the two are fighting for the backup spot behind Potvin.

X-FACTOR - Will Potvin be able to stabilize the situation in net? Will the defense be able to shut down the opposing team? What kind of difference is Sullivan going to make behind the bench? Is he going to open it up and play run-and-gun hockey or will Boston be playing with a renewed defensive awareness?

WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE - The Bruins should qualify for the playoffs, on the strength of their offensive talent alone. Boston has not won a playoff series since 1999 and with the East void of a plethora of dominating teams, the Bruins should be up near the top of the conference. Injuries and inconsistencies have plagued the club over the past few years, but this season the team has a new leader, with a new attitude. A nice mix of old and new, veterans and youngsters, should give the Bruins a good chance to make some noise. However, this team's ultimate fate relies on the play of Potvin in net.