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 Eye for an eye Bruins' McLaren ready for Game 3 rematch
Posted: Monday May 10, 1999 08:23 PM
BOSTON (AP) -- The Bruins and Sabres are two games into their best-of-7 playoff series, and several players have already decided which opposing skaters they want to discipline in the upcoming games. Bruins defenseman Kyle McLaren, heir apparent to Boston captain Ray Bourque, made his mark known late in the second period of the Bruins 3-1 loss to the Sabres on Sunday. After Buffalo's Alexei Zhitnik slammed Borque into the boards from behind at 17:12, the 21-year-old McLaren took it upon himself to inform Zhitnik that the 38-year-old Bourque is not available for Sabres' target practice. At first, McLaren said he did not know who Zhitnik hit and caused to slump to the ice. But after realizing it was Bourque, McLaren followed Zhitnick to the penalty box where he pointed his finger, hollered some obscenities and, as McLaren said, "put it in his ear and let him know that we're coming." McLaren, who tallied four hits himself in the game, knows hits are part of the sport. And he admitted sometimes a player can't slow down enough to prevent a hit. But, McLaren said, "That hit was uncalled for. It was kind of from behind and you just don't do that to guys like Ray." Zhitnik earned a two-minute penalty for boarding. Bourque, the 20-year Bruins veteran and sage of the Boston locker room, said cheap shots are a part of the game. And they should be expected during the playoffs. "You've got to take it when it comes up and dish it out [when opportunity is there]," Bourque said. But, he cautioned, there are times when you have to accept them as part of the game. "Sometimes you've got to take cheap shots, big hits and slap shots for the good of the team," Bourque said. "You have to understand that." Several Bruins echoed McLaren's warning that Zhitnik had better watch his back. "There's a lot you can get away with [on the ice]," Bruins forward Tim Taylor said. "[Zhitnik] just put himself in a really tough situation where every time he touches the puck, our guys are going to be coming -- and coming hard." McLaren was also on the receiving end of a rough shot at 15:35 of the first period when Buffalo's Vaclav Varada high-sticked him in the corner of his right eye. McLaren received six stitches for the wound, but no penalty was called. It's unlikely tears will be shed for McLaren, who was in no way an angel on the ice. At 5:01 of the third period he slashed at Buffalo's Dominik Hasek after the goalie covered the puck with his glove. Hasek, along with several teammates, chased McLaren into the corner where players scuffled with one other. McLaren and Buffalo's Jay McKee were penalized. But the young McLaren recognizes that the team should be focused on playing. Not whining. "As players, if we're worrying about calls the refs are calling, then we're not playing our game," McLaren said. "If we're worried about the calls being made, then we're not worried about us." But that does not mean McLaren and the Bruins will not offer Zhitnik retribution in Game 3 at Buffalo on Wednesday.
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