By Jim Greenidge, Globe Staff, 10/29/2000 

There's not much that new Bruins coach Mike Keenan should change in Sergei Samsonov's game, except to make sure the left winger gets the puck more to increase his scoring chances.

Keenan might try to get Samsonov to work more on defense, though. The coach is looking for a very aggressive style.

''Mike's a pretty intensive coach,'' said Samsonov. ''He has a lot of energy that he brings, everybody knows his reputation, everybody knows he's going to be asking 110 percent. He expects you to be at your best every night, so everybody knows that and everybody prepares for it.''

Samsonov was surprised that the change from Pat Burns to Keenan came so quickly - just eight games into the season.

''I hadn't even thought about it, Pat fired so early, it was kind of shocking,'' Samsonov said. ''I'm not sure how many coaches are sitting out there. A choice was made.''

Keenan coached his first game behind the Boston bench Thursday, a 4-1 victory over Washington. Game No. 2 was last night at the FleetCenter against Toronto.

Samsonov hasn't had any one-on-one conversations with the new coach. But Keenan knows about Samsonov's ability with the puck.

''He's a good player,'' said Keenan. ''He's got a lot of skill. He can skate extremely well. He's explosive. He's dangerous offensively inside the blue line. He's very quick and he's a threat at all times.''

Defense, too, has entered Samsonov's thinking.

''You have to be consistent on the defensive side of the ice,'' Samsonov said. ''We've had two practices under Coach and one game, so he doesn't want to change things too much so far.''

But Samsonov liked what he saw in the win over Toronto, which ended a four-game losing streak.

''Our guys played hard after those four disappointing games,'' Samsonov said. ''Everybody was excited to be back at home. Everybody wants to show our fans we're better than that. And with the coach change, everyone was trying to show the coach what we're capable of.''

There's no doubt in Samsonov's mind that the Bruins can play in Keenan's more open style.

''We're not going to be Detroit or Colorado, where there are a lot of skilled players,'' he said, ''but we'll be more up-tempo, we'll create more turnovers, and it will give us more chances to score goals.

''It's going to take a while. It's going to take a week or two before he
becomes comfortable and we become comfortable.''

This story ran on page D10 of the Boston Globe on 10/29/2000. 
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