OTTAWA - Bruins winger Sergei Samsonov was a popular player with the Canadian media after practice at the University of Ottawa yesterday.

That's what happens when you score a between-the-legs circus goal like the one Samsonov pulled off on Thursday night in Philadelphia.

Samsonov has always been capable of producing jaw-dropping feats with the puck. This season he's added another aspect to his game, one that may not get him on the highlight reels the way goal No. 10 on the season did in a 3-2 overtime win over the Flyers, but one that will go a long way toward making him a truly elite player in the NHL - consistency.

The 23-year-old winger is tied with the Rangers' Eric Lindros for third place in the league in scoring with 29 points, and is tied with Detroit's Niklas Lidstrom for the league lead in assists with 19. Samsonov, on pace for a 90-plus point season, has notched at least a point in 19 of the Bruins' 25 games, and has not been kept off the board in consecutive games.

``I don't know if I'm playing my best hockey right now, but I'm being more consistent and that helps,'' said Samsonov, who has 2-3-5 totals in his last two games going into tonight's showdown with the Senators at the Corel Centre.

Samsonov has been - and most likely always will be - associated with center Joe Thornton. Both were drafted in the first round of the 1997 draft, and both have developed into bona fide NHL stars. It only seems natural that they fit together on the same line.

``With Jason Allison not here, we really didn't know what kind of lines we were going to have,'' said Samsonov. ``The first three or four games we kept switching lines and then we had one good game with Joe and Robbie (Ftorek) has kept us together for the next 20 or so games. . . . The longer we play with each other, the better and better we understand each other. Joe's such a great player, you just have to go on the ice and work hard and good things will happen.''

Despite winning the Calder Trophy his rookie season, Samsonov had a tough time getting the ice time he wanted under former B's coach Pat Burns. That all changed when Mike Keenan took over last year. This season, first-year coach Robbie Ftorek is showing the same confidence in Samsonov.

``Sammy just darts around in and out and has a knack for finding loose pucks as well as being able to put them in once he gets them. But as good a goal-scorer as he is, he's probably a better passer,'' said Ftorek. ``It's really nice when you can play with a guy who can score as well as he can pass. And he can use his speed to put the fear of God in the defenseman that he's going in on.''

While it was obvious from Day 1 that Samsonov possessed the physical skills, the winger believes that, through experience, he's become a smarter player.

``You can play for 10 years in this league and still learn,'' he said. ``That's the key - to not stop, not be satisfied with anything and just keep working.''