The Boston Bruins know better than to trust their chances of beating Ryan Miller to the law

of averages. They ranked seventh in the National Hockey League in shots during the regular

season. Yet no team scored fewer goals. The idea that they'll get different results by doing

the same thing over and over, well, isn't that the definition of insanity?

The boys from Beantown recognize that something has to change. And since it's unlikely

Miller will experience a major drop in form, it's up to the Bruins to devise ways to get a few

pucks past the Buffalo Sabres goaltender. Their method of choice? Top-of-the-crease chaos.

"It's no secret that he's sharp, he's good, he makes the big saves and whatnot," Bruins

winger Milan Lucic said after Friday's workout. "It's definitely not easy to beat him.

Obviously we didn't execute on all the chances we had. Just basically what we got to do is

keep putting shots on him and create more traffic."

"He's a big key for their team, their top player, and we got to make sure we limit him

seeing pucks and making those saves," said winger Michael Ryder. "You usually don't score on

him on the first shot."

The Bruins are far from panic heading into Game Two at 1 this afternoon at HSBC Arena. They

won the regular-season series between the clubs. Solid forechecking enabled them to pepper

Miller with 39 shots in Game One, including a resounding 24 during the second period. If they

can maintain the status quo while obscuring Miller's vision on occasion they're confident of

atoning for Thursday night's 2-1 loss.

"It's a seven-game series," Ryder said. "We're only down one game right now. During the

series you make adjustments like that and [today] it's just a matter of us trying to find ways

to get pucks by him. We had 20-something shots that period. We just got to do the same things.

We did a lot of good things and we got to build on it. If we come out with a win [today] we

[accomplished] what we want to do."

Troubling Miller with screens and general mayhem requires both mental and physical

discipline. Bruin forwards, particularly the wingers, can't abandon the forechecking that

worked so well in the opener merely to set up camp atop the crease in hopes a shot comes their

way. Nor will the Sabres defense graciously concede prime real estate in front of their

netminder.

"We need more traffic in front of a goaltender that's considered one of the best in the

league right now," said Bruins coach Claude Julien. "He can stop what he can see but he can't

stop what he can't see and that's where you got to do a better job and there's no doubt

they're going to do a great job at letting him see the puck. That's where battles happen, and

if you're hungry enough and determined enough you win those battles."

"It's up to everybody," Julien said. "I don't think there's any player on our roster who

has on his resume, "I don't go to the front of the net.' I think it's one of those things

where if you're the guy in front, you stand there and do the job. That's the part of the game

that everybody has to understand, especially in playoffs. Those are the little things that

make a big difference."

The Bruins have alternatives. Power plays afford them opportunities to hinder Miller's

sightlines, and they had only two man-advantage situations in Game One. Offensive support from

the defensemen also frees forwards to head for the net within the flow of the rush.

"Obviously we want our "D' to support the attack and [Thursday] night was maybe one of

those nights where we didn't do it as well as we had in the last couple of weeks," Julien

said.

The Bruins have ideas on how to go about scoring a few more goals. But one has to wonder if

they're capable. After all, if the secret's really no secret at all why has it taken the

league's lowest-scoring team so long to catch on?