Point and Counterpoint

It was Ray Bourque’s day, but the Boston Bruins’ night.

And the Mighty Ducks had a role in it all, though not the one they had hoped to play.

The Bruins pounced on loose pucks. They forced turnovers and capitalized on them. And they hit hard and often in a 4-2 victory Thursday at the FleetCenter.

A sellout crowd of 17,565 came mostly to see Ray Bourque have his No. 77 retired before the game. He spent 21 seasons with the Bruins before being traded to Colorado during the 1999-2000 season and he helped the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup last June.

The bonus attraction was an opponent for the Bruins to devour.

The Ducks were outshot, out-skated and out-hit. Other than that, it was a fine start to Bryan Murray’s tenure as coach. He spent his debut watching the Ducks struggle in their own zone and, as a result, provide plenty of opportunities.

Nicholas Boynton, Joe Thornton, Brian Rolston and Sergei Samsonov scored goals for the Bruins.

“The area we have to work on is moving the puck out of our own end,” Murray said. “Our forwards have a tendency to play too high and our defensemen make the first move, then they stop and get forechecked.”

This is Hockey 101 and the Ducks, Murray knew, were going to need time to learn the basics. Christmas was his target date for a smooth, well-functioning team.

Unfortunately, the rest of the NHL wasn’t going to accept a “don’t open until Christmas” tag for the Ducks. Certainly, it didn’t help that the Ducks had to cool their heels in the dressing room while Bourque was honored during a 45-minute ceremony.

“The Bruins had to wait too,” Paul Kariya said. “That’s no excuse. I just thought we came out sluggish the first 10 minutes and that’s when momentum gets dictated. We were on our heels.”

Goalie Steve Shields was on his toes, but for every spectacular save he made, the Bruins got another opportunity. Rolston and Samsonov both scored on rebounds.

Rolston picked up the puck in front of the net, then slid to his left and waited while Shields rolled on the ice. No Duck defenseman arrived to help and Rolston neatly tucked a shot into the far side of the net, giving the Bruins a 3-1 lead 15 minutes 9 seconds into the second period.

Kariya got the Ducks close again, flipping in a backhand shot past Byron Dafoe 41 seconds later. It took the Bruins 36 seconds to reply. Rob Zamuner came from behind the net and tried to jam the puck in. Shields made the save, but the rebound went to Samsonov, who slipped a shot between Shields’ pads for a 4-2 lead.

The Bruins outshot the Ducks, 37-23.

“We can’t hang Shieldsy out to dry like that,” left wing Jeff Friesen said. “He’s one of the best goalies in the league, but when you face 37 shots, there is only so much you can do.”

Defense was the area the Ducks tried to improve during the off-season, and the addition of veterans Keith Carney, in a trade with Phoenix, and Jason York, as a free agent, seem like answers. They just weren’t on opening night.

Carney and York each were on the ice for two goals, including the Bruins’ first.

York made a poor attempt at clearing the puck and Boynton picked it up near the blue line. He was allowed to zero in before firing a shot that tipped off Carney’s stick and past Shields for a 1-0 lead 5:37 into the game.

“As a team, we made too many mistakes in our own end,” Shields said. “We have to be more aware of what we’re doing in our own end.”

Shields, too, had a breakdown that provided the Bruins’ an opportunity, as he took a roughing penalty with the score tied, 1-1, midway through the second period. He was called for hitting Bill Guerin in the head as Guerin charged into him, although Shields was left to wonderwhat he did wrong.

“That’s the question,” Shields said. “I asked it and didn’t get an answer.”

Nevertheless, it was costly. Guerin took a pass from Samsonov and immediately flicked a no-look pass to Thornton, who was skating in alone on the right. Thornton easily beat Shields for a 2-1 lead nine minutes into the second period.