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Monday, April 24, 2000 By Dave Molinari, Post-Gazette Sports Writer
Mario Lemieux gave up the game three years ago, but he still knows a bit about playing in the offensive zone. And about the kind of defensemen who make it difficult.
Neilson learns today if he or Ramsay will coach Flyers vs. Penguins
And when he learned General Manager Craig Patrick was in the market for a guy to add some muscle to the Penguins' blue line, Lemieux suggested Bob Boughner.
Matthew Barnaby knows a little about playing with grit and passion, about sticking his nose in places where it's not welcome. Where it might get broken.
And when Patrick asked Barnaby if he thought one of his ex-teammates from Buffalo might be a worthy addition to the Penguins' defense corps, Barnaby didn't hesitate. He heartily endorsed the idea of bringing in Bob Boughner.
It's kind of tough to miss the trend there.
Indeed, while Barnaby volunteered that he "had nothing but good things to say about [Boughner]" before the Penguins acquired him from Nashville for promising defense prospect Pavel Skrbek March 13, there haven't been many unflattering words uttered about Boughner since he arrived, either.
It's not his spectacular skills that impress folks -- Boughner's game is about as flashy as a black sock -- but his toughness. His determination. His competitive instincts.
He hits hard. He plays harder. He is, simply put, a warrior.
Not, to be sure, a terribly large one -- Boughner is listed as being 6 feet tall, 206 pounds -- but one who has proven to be fearless. Who savors the challenge of playing against bigger, more gifted opponents.
Who will get an opportunity to do just that when the Penguins' second-round playoff series against Philadelphia begins later this week.
Precisely how Coach Herb Brooks will use him against the Flyers remains to be seen, but there are enough oversized forwards in Philadelphia that Boughner can rest assured that he'll be on the ice against at least some of them for much of the series.
Which is precisely the role Boughner enjoys most. And in which he is most valuable.
"I like getting in those situations, where I can be matched up against some of the big guys," Boughner said. "Not necessarily the scorers, but guys like the [Chris] Simons and the [Keith] Primeaus and guys like that.
"If I can help the team in any area, I think that would be it, to play physical against those guys. I'm not saying stupid-physical, but just going out there and being able to eliminate [opposing forwards] and work in the corners."
There's not much glory in that kind of work -- what's sexy about getting elbowed in the head a lot? -- but it's the kind of job that has to be done if the Penguins are to have any realistic hope of upsetting the Flyers.
Staggering as the odds against the Penguins defeating Philadelphia are, they'd be even worse if Boughner hadn't been plucked from the Predators less than 24 hours before the NHL trading deadline.
"He's going to help us out a lot," Barnaby said. "He's going to be banging the [John] LeClairs. He doesn't care if the guys are bigger or stronger. He's going to be in there, mucking it up."
Boughner isn't the only physical presence in the Penguins' lineup, of course. Left winger Rene Corbet thrives in one-on-one skirmishes in the corner and along the boards, and defenseman Darius Kasparaitis' hit two years ago that gave Philadelphia center Eric Lindros the first of his four concussions hasn't been forgotten in either city.
Fact is, the Penguins are more gritty and feisty than they've been in a long time, and aren't likely to wilt under the physical pressure Philadelphia figures to put on them.
"We're going to be able to match them in some of those areas," Boughner said. "Maybe not dominate them in those areas, but at least match them."
Boughner's personal stat sheet from the Penguins' first-round series against Washington was predictably lackluster. He averaged about 16 minutes of ice time per game, and was credited with no points, five shots, six penalty minutes and 13 hits.
His most impressive number was his plus-minus rating of plus-3, one of the Penguins' best. Boughner didn't do anything splashy to pad his total; he stuck to the sound, strong, unspectacular game that made him so appealing to the Penguins in the first place.
"What you see is what you get," Brooks said.
Boughner has been an effective partner for Janne Laukkanen, who was acquired from Ottawa less than a day after the Penguins got Boughner. Uniting them seems like an inspired idea, but Brooks, who assembled the pairing, said it was mostly a partnership of convenience.
"One was right[-handed, Boughner] and one was left," he said. "They were both new guys, and I just put them together."
Laukkanen had spent some time alongside Lance Pitlick, whose style is similar to Boughner's, during his days with the Senators, so working with Boughner didn't require much of an adjustment.
Especially when, shortly after Brooks put them together for the first time, Boughner made it clear to Laukkanen that he had no intention of straying outside his limitations. And that he was willing to handle the extra defensive work that might be involved if Laukkanen got involved in the offense.
"He told me, 'If you have a chance to go, go,' and I'll try to cover your back," Laukkanen said.
That's the kind of work Boughner does. It doesn't make the highlights shows. Doesn't earn him a lot of bonus money. It just helps to win games.
Which is something the Penguins have done a lot since they brought in Boughner, Corbet, Laukkanen, Ron Tugnutt, Josef Beranek and Dan Trebil at the deadline. They are 13-5 since Patrick made those deals.
"It's worked out even better than I hoped," Boughner said. "Looking at the team record before I got here, I knew it was going to be a fight to make the playoffs. But obviously, going on that run and the way we've been playing lately, things have exceeded my expectations."
Perhaps, in part, because Boughner has lived up to the ones the Penguins had of him.
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