New-boy Keenan turns Bruins around

Mike Keenan (centre): Successful start

The Boston Bruins, with new coach Mike Keenan behind the bench, stopped a four-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over the Washington Capitals on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the Bruins fired coach Pat Burns and replaced him with Keenan, who has coached five teams. He was fired by the Vancouver Canucks midway through the 1998-99 season.

Jason Allison scored twice and Don Sweeney had a pair of assists for Boston, which was returning home from a five-game road trip.

"I saw some things out there I liked, especially the way we responded under some adversity when they scored to make it 2-1," Keenan said. "We held our cool and kept control of the game."

Deflected

We held our cool and kept control of the game

  Mike Keenan

PJ Axelsson gave Boston a 1-0 lead just 1:52 into the game when he deflected Brian Rolston's point shot past goaltender Craig Billington's stick side for his second goal of the season.

Allison's fourth goal doubled the lead just 82 seconds.

In Chicago, rookie David Aebischer recorded a shutout as the Colorado Avalanche remained unbeaten with a 2-0 blanking of the struggling Chicago Blackhawks.

With Patrick Roy having played in Wednesday's 2-1 overtime victory over Nashville, Aebischer made the most of his second career start.

Dominated

Aebischer, from Switzerland, needed to make only 18 saves, stopping seven in the first period and only two in the second as the Avalanche dominated the middle 20 minutes.

Milan Hejduk provided the only offence Aebischer needed at 4:56 of the first period.

In Philadelphia, Brian Boucher stopped 32 shots for his fifth career shutout and defenceman Michal Sykora scored his first goal of the season as the Philadelphia Flyers blanked the New York Rangers, 3-0, to sweep the home-and-home series.

Boucher, who has struggled after leading the NHL in goals-against average as a rookie last season, made nine saves in the first period and 23 over the final 40 minutes for his first shutout of the season.

Crazy

You have to keep plugging along and keep your head up and not worry about the crazy stuff

  Brian Boucher

"It just goes to show you that this game is crazy," Boucher said.

"You can have a bad one and a good day the next. You have to keep plugging along and keep your head up and not worry about the crazy stuff."

Sykora gave Boucher the only goal he would need at 7:07 of the first period.

In St Louis, Chris Pronger celebrated his three-year contract extension by collecting a goal and two assists and Scott Young continued his strong start by scoring twice as the St. Louis Blues held off the Calgary Flames, 4-3.

Highest-paid

Prior to the game, St. Louis signed Pronger to a three-year contract extension through the 2003-04 season, making him the highest-paid defenceman in the NHL.

He will receive $29.5 million, with annual salaries of $9.5 million and a $1 million signing bonus.

I'm getting a lot more attention than I usually do. If I start thinking about numbers, I'm going to get in trouble

  Scott Young

Pronger got the Blues rolling just past the midway point of the first period with his second goal of the season. Seconds after sitting out a roughing penalty, he took a pass from Craig Conroy in the left faceoff circle before firing a shot past goaltender Mike Vernon.

Young staked St. Louis to a 3-0 lead early in the second period by scoring twice in a 92-second span, increasing his NHL-leading goal total to 10.

Talk

"I can't talk about the whole year, it's only been nine games," Young said of his start.

"There's a lot of hockey left so I'm trying not to look too far ahead with this.

"I'm getting a lot more attention than I usually do. If I start thinking about numbers, I'm going to get in trouble."