Tie Leaves Bruins Muttering to Themselves : Hockey: Boston outshoots Ducks, 38-17, but scores only one goal against Ron Tugnutt.

When does a tie feel like a loss? Ask the Boston Bruins, who dominated the Mighty Ducks for 65 minutes but walked out of Anaheim Arena with only a 1-1 tie Friday.

Bad luck? Bad bounces?

Or just plain tenacious defense and goaltending from the Ducks?

Boston couldn’t catch a break and that made for a frustrating night for the Bruins.

Cam Neely could have had a hat trick, could have made the Bruins winners, could have made something happen on an anemic power play and could have made things easier by scoring on a penalty shot in the second period.

Instead, he was among the most frustrated Bruins.

“We have enough talent to score more than one goal a night, like in the last two games,” said Neely, referring to the Bruins’ 1-1 tie with Montreal on Monday.

Boston outshot the Ducks, 38-17, kept the play in the Ducks’ end for most of the night, but somehow couldn’t put the puck past goalie Ron Tugnutt. The Bruins’ lone goal, credited to Joe Juneau, appeared on television replays to have bounced off the skate of Duck defenseman Sean Hill and into the net.

It also appeared that Neely should have received credit for the goal, what with replays showing the puck rolling off his stick as he drove for the net, banking off Hill’s left skate and slipping past Tugnutt at the 8:42 mark.

Four minutes later, Neely went one-on-one with Tugnutt on a penalty shot after Todd Ewen covered the puck in the crease during a wild scramble into front of Tugnutt. Neely came up empty, however, his shot easily stopped by Tugnutt.

In the third period, Tugnutt stopped Neely’s point-blank blast from the slot with the Bruins on a power-play. The shot sent Tugnutt reeling and it took a moment for him to regain his feet.

In the end, it was the Bruins’ last, best chance to break the tie.

“I guess I’m happy I got some chances,” said Neely, whose battle with nagging knee and thigh injuries forced him to miss the past two games.

What’s more, he’s missed all but 24 of the past 168 regular-season games because of the injuries, which date to the 1991 Wales Conference final against eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh.

Friday, he reported no lasting pain, which might have been the best news of all.

“I felt really good,” Neely said. “I’m happy with the way I felt.”

More troubling were the missed scoring chances, particularly the penalty shot at the 10:58 mark. It appeared badly executed and Neely wasn’t about to disagree.

“I was thinking about what I was going to do before I left the center-ice line,” he said.

Neely went right; Tugnutt moved out with him.

Neely gave a fake, then fired off a wrist shot that Tugnutt saved with his left shoulder.

“He was out pretty far,” Neely said. “I didn’t wait long enough for Tugnutt to commit himself. But I didn’t get it up high enough.”

The Bruins went 0 for 6 on the power play and couldn’t muster much of a threat against Tugnutt.

“He plays well against us,” said Neely, who had a game-high six shots on goal. “I don’t know what it is. It’s frustrating.”

It wasn’t the first time Tugnutt has left the Bruins muttering to themselves. In a 1991 game at Boston Garden, he, then with the Quebec Nordiques, faced 73 shots and stopped 71, setting a post-World War II record.

“Tugnutt seems to have our number,” Neely said.