Bruins get boxed in.

Byline: Bud Barth

BOSTON - A work of art it wasn't, not with 33 penalties (16 of them against the Bruins), sloppy positional play, a general lack of cohesiveness, and an 0-for-7 doughnut in the shootout.

The Bruins took little out of last night's 4-3 exhibition loss to Toronto in their 2007-08 TD Banknorth Garden debut, especially on a night when it seemed like more humanity passed through the penalty box than watched from the stands - the official attendance figure of 10,877 notwithstanding.

The slow-starting B's were beaten to the puck consistently while digging themselves a 2-0 hole in the first period, but they tidied up their game enough to actually take a 3-2 lead on rookie center Nate Thompson's goal at 6:56 of the third period before the Leafs tied it 23 seconds later.

After Boston failed to score on a 4-on-3 power play in overtime, Toronto won it on the only bull's-eye of the seven-round shootout, a backhander by defenseman Pavel Kubina that eluded Boston's Tim Thomas, who went the distance in goal (32 saves).

The Bruins scored all of their goals on the power play, while the Maple Leafs got two of theirs with the extra man. Phil Kessel, playing mostly right wing on a line with rookies David Krejci and Milan Lucic, and defenseman Bobby Allen, who's on the bubble in his fight for a roster spot, each had a goal and an assist.

Coach Claude Julien wasn't pleased with all the trips to the penalty box, only two of which were for fighting.

"It bothered me," said Julien, refusing to chalk it up to the referees taking their usual preseason liberties with the whistle to set a tone for the regular season. "Those kinds of things certainly can't happen in the regular season. ... We have to adapt to the new rules and stay out of the penalty box."

Thomas, who won his last eight shootouts last season, had his streak snapped despite two hit posts and two wide shots in the tiebreaker. "I had to lose one sooner or later," he said.

Lucic's camp `surreal'

Lucic didn't have a point, but Julien credited him with tying up a forward that opened up the slot space where Allen dropped down to score his second-period goal. Said the 19-year-old Lucic: "I never expected I'd be in this spot this early (in life). You look at players you've seen on TV and now you're playing against them - it's kind of surreal in a way, but then again, they're just hockey players like me. You've got to keep a mindset like that." ... Defenseman Dennis Wideman, whose main value to the Bruins is becoming that he's one of only two right-handed shots among the 10 defensemen left in camp (Aaron Ward is the other), had a tough night, taking three minor penalties and one major for fighting. Bolton native and ex-Bruin Hal Gill was slapped with four minors for the Leafs. ... Julien said the Bruins, now with 34 players, will probably be down to 26-28 by Thursday night's game against the Canadiens in Montreal.

NAME: BOSTON BRUINS

ART: PHOTO

CUTLINE: The Bruins congratulate Phil Kessel on his second-period goal.

PHOTOG: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS