Projo Bruins Blog |
February 8
A story in the Toronto Sun reports that Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli has talked to teams that are looking for a goalie. Thomas has just one win in his last nine starts. February 6
Left wing John Lammers has played well enough since coming up from Alaska of the East Coast Hockey League in mid-January that he could be sticking around for a while. Lammers was a teammate of Hamill with the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League, a factor that has probably contributed to the recent uptick in Hamill's offensive production. Providence is sixth in the AHL in attendence, with an average of 6,066 in 27 home games, and is gaining ground on fifth-place Wilkes-Barre Scranton, which is averaging 6,185. Hershey leads the league with an average of 9,080. Providence averaged 6,343 last season. The P-Bruins attracted their biggest crowd of the season -- 9,116 -- on Jan. 29 against Manchester. Murray says that while his players appreciate the big crowds, he'd like to see them take better advantage. The P-Bruins are 12-13 with two overtime losses at the Dunkin Donuts Center. "We go to different towns that have nowhere near the fan support we have here. I've been preaching all year long that we need to make this a hard place to play,'' Murray said. As an opposition player for many years, Murray said, the Dunk "was a hard building to play in. You knew coming it was going to be a tough game. We need to make it tough on teams coming in here. We need to feed off our crowd.'' "I think he's progressing,'' said Murray. "I don't think it's nearly as serious'' as the head injury that forced LoVecchio to miss the entire 2008-09 season, Murray said. "It's just a matter of making sure we do our due diligence, take care of him, do all the stuff we need to before clearing him to come back.'' Yannick Riendeau (left wrist) and Guillaume Lefebvre (left hand) are still out. Assistant coach Butch Cassidy put them through a hard skate on Friday morning. Kirk MacDonald (upper-body injury) did not skate. Don't be surprised if Andrew Bodnarchuk's phone rings the next time Boston needs a defenseman. The 21-year-old has come a long way this season.
February 4
TSN's Bob McKenzie speculates that the Boston Bruins' offer for Atlanta Thrashers winger Ilya Kovalchuk would probably start with Dennis Wideman and Boston's first-round draft pick this summer (not the first-rounder acquired from Toronto in the Phil Kessel deal), plus some other asset. McKenzie says the Bruins are looking at Kovalchuk as a rental only, which could diminish their chances of getting him. McKenzie also breaks down the other bidders. Read the story here. February 3
TSN says the Bruins have put the word out that right wing Michael Ryder is available. He has 12 goals in 54 games this season. Ryder makes $4 million a season and his contract is up after the 2010-11 season.
The Providence Bruins have recalled left wing Matt Marquardt from their East Coast Hockey League affiliate, the Reading Royals. Kirk MacDonald and Jeff LoVecchio joined Yannick Riendeau and Guillaume Lefevbre on the injured list over the weekend, so the P-Bruins had only 11 healthy forwards at practice yesterday. Marquardt, 22, has no goals and eight assists in 33 games in Providence this season. He has a goal and two assists in six games in Reading. February 2
Providence Bruins left winger Jeff LoVecchio, who didn't dress for games on Saturday and Sunday after taking a puck in the face on Friday night, did not skate at this morning's practice at the Dunkin Donuts Center. The P-Bruins are being cautious with LoVecchio, who missed all of last season recovering from a concussion he suffered while training in August 2008. Coach Rob Murray was not sure if LoVecchio will be available this weekend. MacDonald, who has a career-high 10 goals and has been one of the Bruins most dependable players all season, suffered an upper-body injury on Sunday. Yannick Riendeau (wrist) and Guillaume Lefebvre (hand) are still out. Neither participated in today's practice. Today's lines: White: Whitfield, Marchand, Knackstedt Red: Larman, Lehtonen, Weller Yellow: Hamill, Arniel, Lammers Gray: MacDermid, Nelson I'll take Liam Reddox on my team anyday. The Springfield winger showed a lot more heart than most of his teammates during Sunday's one-sided loss to the P-Bruins. While killing a penalty in the third period with his team down by a half-dozen goals, Reddox blocked a slapshot, leaving him doubled over in pain. Seconds later, Reddox threw himself in front of a second slapper, which clearly inflicted more pain. Only then did Reddox limp to the bench. That's a great effort in a one-goal game, never mind in a six-goal blowout. Reddox, Edmonton's fourth-round draft pick in 2004, is a minor character in Bob McKenzie's excellent book, "Hockey Dad: True Confessions from a (Crazy) Hockey Parent.'' Springfield's Jake Taylor also deserves a salute for playing hard for all 60 minutes on Sunday. January 26
Rookie winger Yannick Riendeau had a cortisone shot in his sore wrist, Providence Bruins coach Rob Murray said this afternoon. The 21-year-old, who didn't play his first game until Dec. 29 after recovering from summer shoulder surgery, will wait and see whether the shot helps, Murray said. Riendeau last played on Jan. 9 in Worcester. He has one assist in six games. Lefebvre played on Friday night against Lowell, and had a fight with Myles Stoesz, but did not dress for Sunday's game against Springfield. Lefebvre, the P-Bruins penalty minute leader with 113, has played just eight games since the injury. With Marc Savard on track to return to Boston's lineup on Friday, Trent Whitfield could be back in Providence by the end of the week. Left wing Matt Marquardt and defenseman Jared Ross were returned to Reading of the ECHL. Mattquardt has no goals and eight assists in 33 games in Providence this season. Ross has two assists in 18 games. Only three goalies have more wins than Dany Sabourin's 18. They are Worcester's Alex Stalock (24), and Manchester's Jonathan Bernier (19) and Manitoba's Cory Schneider (19). Cedrick Desjardins of Hamilton also has 18. Sabourin is also one of the busiest goalies with 34 starts, behind only Stalock and Bernier, both with 35. |
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