Projo Bruins Blog

January 2009 Archives

Martin St. Pierre scored two goals and Kevin Regan made 33 saves as the Providence Bruins beat the Lowell Devils, 5-1, at Tsongas Arena.

Mikko Lehtonen, Brad Marchand and Jeremy Reich also scored goals for Providence. Vladimir Sobotka and Johnny Boychuk each had two assists.

David Krejci got a "maintenance'' day off from practice Friday, according to Boston.com.

Boston's second-leading scorer with 18 goals, 35 assists and 53 points in 48 games, Krejci will be in uniform Saturday against the Rangers, said coach Claude Julien.

Krejci played 17:42 on Thursday night against New Jersey. That was down from the 20:04 he played on Tuesday against Washington.

John Grigg of The Hockey News picks Krejci as the second best Czech player in the NHL this season, behind only New Jersey's Patrik Elias.

Krejci is one of just six Bruins who haven't missed a game yet this season. The others are Marc Savard, Zdeno Chara, Blake Wheeler, Shawn Thornton and Mark Stuart.

It's a given that Peter Laviolette, 44, will coach in the NHL again. Any coach with a resume that includes both a Calder Cup (Providence Bruins in 1999) and a Stanley Cup (Carolina Hurricanes in 2006) is sure get another chance. Though he was fired by Carolina in December, he will collect a paycheck from the Canes until the end of the 2009-2010 season. For now, Laviolette is waiting for a call from an NHL GM.

Colton Orr dropped the gloves 83 times while wearing the black and gold of the Providence and Boston Bruins from 2003 to 2006, according to hockeyfights.com and has fought many more times since moving on to the New York Rangers.

But he hasn't taken many punches harder than the one he took from Pittsburgh's Eric Godard on Wednesday night.

Is "pansification'' even a word?

Mike Milbury has used it a couple of times recently on the Canadian Broadcasting Co.'s Hockey Night in Canada, drawing a protest from Egale Canada, a gay advocacy organization. As Bruins fans know, Milbury, who is a regular on the Saturday night broadcasts in Canada, has never been afraid to speak his mind.

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) -- Alex Ovechkin was given Wednesday off, an excused absence from practice that Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said had nothing to do with the "stinger" the league's reigning MVP got from a shoulder-first crash into the boards in Boston on Tuesday night.

"He's fine," Boudreau said. "I wanted to give him today off to rest. He's probably a little stiff, I would think, but, I mean, he's fine. And I asked him how his shoulder was. He says he's OK, no problem."

During Tuesday night's 3-2 loss at Boston, Ovechkin -- who leads the NHL with 31 goals -- hit the boards with his head and right shoulder, then remained motionless on the ice for about 15 seconds before rolling over and rubbing his face with his glove. Although he left the ice a few minutes later, he was doubled over and flexing his right arm.

He sat on the bench for a few minutes before walking off through the tunnel and slamming his gloves and helmet to the ground. But he returned for the start of the third period.

Boudreau was asked if he held his breath when he saw Ovechkin go down.
"Forget the breath. I lost my mind," the coach said. "The more you see it on the replay, just to see how tough he is -- he went in fast and hard. I was a little disappointed in the (Boston) Garden faithful, I mean, booing him when he was down. There wasn't a person in the stands that could have taken that kind of hit and got back up."

He has been wanting to give a bit of time off to Ovechkin, Washington's only participant in the NHL's All-Star weekend. When the Capitals regrouped Monday after the break, Ovechkin insisted on practicing with his teammates.

"I had to kick him off the ice. I said, 'Get off!'" Boudreau said.

Phil Kessel was cleared for contact Wednesday and practiced with the Bruins for the first time since being sidelined Jan. 10 with mononucleosis. He might be ready to play in Thursday's game at home against New Jersey, coach Claude Julien told boston.com. Before he came down with mono, the third-year pro was enjoying a breakout season with 24 goals and 17 assists for 41 points in 42 games.

Boston Bruins David Krecji and Matt Hunwick and Chicago Blackhawk Kris Verstreeg are three of the better young players in the NHL. In interviews with Chris Botta, the longtime media relations vice president for the New York Islanders who now chronicles the team's ups and downs on his Web site, all three players say their time in Providence under Scott Gordon paid off.

Patrice Bergeron, Milan Lucic and Andrew Ference will all return to the ice tonight, when the Bruins visit the Washington Capitals. The Boston Globe is reporting that Bergeron, who has not played since suffering a concussion on Dec. 20, has passed a neuro-psych test that is required of all players who suffer head injuries. He will probably skate on the right wing with Blake Wheeler and David Krejci, the Globe repots.

Lucic, out since Jan. 8 with a shoulder injury, will return to the number-one line, and Ference, who has missed the last 31 games with a fractured tibia, will be paired with Dennis Wideman, the Globe reports.

The Boston Bruins today recalled goaltender Tuukka Rask from Providence on an emergency basis. Rask will join the team for practice Monday at 2 p.m. at Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington.

Rask has started 34 games this season for Providence and has posted a 19-15-0 record with a 2.46 GAA and a .918 save percentage.

This is his third recall to Boston this season, and he has served as the team's backup goaltender in two games (Jan. 10 vs. Carolina and Jan. 13 vs. Montreal). Rask played in four games last year for Boston and registered a 2-1-1 record, with his first NHL game and first NHL victory coming on November 20, 2007 in a 4-2 win at Toronto. He was recalled on four occasions last season and dressed as a backup for 16 games while playing in four.

Former Boston Bruins star Joe Thornton will be the captain of the Western Conference All-Star team in Sunday's game at Montreal. Thornton, whose San Jose Sharks are tied with the Bruins for the highest point total in the NHL, is tied for second in the league with 43 assists.

Alex Kovalev, winger for the hometown Montreal Canadiens, will captain the Eastern Conference All-Stars.

The Boston Bruins announced today that they have assigned forward Vladimir Sobotka, forward Martin St. Pierre and defenseman Matt Lashoff to the Providence Bruins.

Sobotka has played in 19 games for Boston this season and recorded 1-2=3 totals. In 19 games with the P-Bruins this year, Sobotka tallied 11 goals and 12 assists.

St. Pierre has seen action in 14 games for Boston this year and recorded 2-2=4 totals. He netted the shootout-tying goal during Boston's 4-3 shootout victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs last night. In 32 games with the P-Bruins this season, he registered a 10-28=38.

Lashoff has seen action in 16 games for Boston this season, registering one assist, and has played in 18 games for Providence with 4-12=16 totals.

According to a story in the Toronto Star, former NHL coach Pat Burns -- who guided the Bruins from 1997-2000 -- says he has lung cancer.

Burns previously had fought, and apparently beaten, colon cancer and liver cancer.

Burns coached the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs and New Jersey Devils in addition to the Bruins.

BOSTON -- David Backes scored the tying goal with eighth-tenths of a second left in regulation and the St. Louis Blues went on to beat the Boston Bruins 5-4 Monday.

Down 4-2, the Blues rallied on David Perron's power-play goal with 1:20 left. Backes then batted the puck out of the air for an empty-net score as the siren sounded -- after a lengthy replay review, the goal counted.

T. J. Oshie and Brad Boyes scored in the shootout for the Blues, who had lost nine of their previous 10 road games.

The Providence Bruins today released defenseman Jeff May and forward Aaron Clarke from their Professional Tryout Agreements. With the moves, the P-Bruins have 20 players on their roster, including 12 forwards, six defensemen and two goaltenders.

May, 21, joined Providence on December 30, 2008 from the Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL. He went scoreless in 11 games for the P-Bruins.

Clarke, 24, signed his PTO with Providence on January 16. He appeared in three games and recorded his first career AHL assist in a road win over the Hartford Wolf Pack.

Both May and Clarke will participate in the 2009 ECHL All-Star Game on Wednesday in Reading, Pennsylvania.

The Rochester Americans rallied from a 2-0 first-period deficit with four straight goals and defeated the Providence Bruins, 4-3, Sunday at The Dunkin' Donuts Center.

Jordan Knackstedt, Wacey Rabbit and Jeremy Reich scored for the P-Bruins.

Click here for the game summary.

With Tuukka Rask on track to play 60 to 65 games in the Providence Bruins goal this season, backup Kevin Regan was sent to Gwinnett of the East Coast League on Thursday, coach Rob Murray said. "We want to get (Regan) playing. Tuukka's gonna get the mother lode here. (Regan) needs to play.'' Regan was 6-4-1 in Providence with a 3.33 goals-against average and a .875 save percentage.

Kevin Nastiuk will be the backup goalie.

The Boston Bruins this morning recalled Vladimir Sobotka from Providence, and returned Martins Karsums to the AHL team, according to P-Bruins coach Rob Murray.

After last night's win over Montreal, Boston recalled defenseman Matt Lashoff, and returned goalie Tuukka Rask to Providence.

Boston's next game is Thursday night at the New York Islanders. Providence plays tonight at Lowell.

The Bruins have assigned defenseman Matt Lashoff and goaltender Kevin Regan to the Providence Bruins and recalled goaltender Tuukka Rask and forward Martin St. Pierre from the Providence Bruins on an emergency basis. Additionally, the club has placed forward Phil Kessel on injured reserve (mononucleosis).

Rask and St. Pierre are expected to participate in the team's morning skate on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. and be available for Tuesday night's game against the Montreal Canadiens at the TD Banknorth Garden.

Rask was recalled on an emergency basis on Saturday, Jan. 10 and served as the team's backup goalie in their 5-1 win over the Hurricanes. Rask has started 30 games this season for Providence and has posted a 17-13-0 record with a 2.42 goals-against average and .919 save percentage. His 17 victories are the second most in the AHL. Rask played in four games last year for Boston and registered a 2-1-1 record, with his first NHL game and first NHL victory coming on November 20, 2007 in a 4-2 win at Toronto.

St. Pierre has seen action in nine games for Boston this year and recorded 1-2-3 totals. In 32 games with the P-Bruins this season, he registered a 10-28-38 line.

Lashoff has seen action in 13 games for Boston this season, registering one assist, and has played in 18 games for Providence with 4-12-16 totals. He split last season between Boston and Providence and appeared in 18 NHL games, registering 1-4-5 totals and appeared in 60 games for the P-Bruins, tallying 9-27-36 totals.

Regan was recalled by Boston today, January 12, and participated in the team's practice this morning.

After playing in all 82 regular-season games last season, Kessel skated in all 42 games this season and has potted a team-high 24 goals and added 17 assists. His 24 goals rank tied for third in the entire NHL and he owns the longest point streak in the league, having accumulated points in 18 consecutive games from November 13-December 21, 2008.

BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins today recalled goaltender Kevin Regan from the Providence Bruins (American Hockey League) on an emergency basis.

Regan, a South Boston native, has appeared in 14 games this season for Providence and posted a 6-4-1 record with a 3.33 goals-against average and .875 save percentage. Regan played four years at the University of New Hampshire from 2004-2008, finishing as the Wildcats' all-time leader in wins and the only goaltender in school history to record back-to-back 20 win seasons.

He made his professional debut lat year with the Providence Bruins at the conclusion of his college season and earned a 3-0 shutout on April 12, 2008 against Manchester.

Read the story here.

And also see the official game summary from AHL.com.

BOSTON (AP) - Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron, recovering from his second concussion in 14 months, said Friday he is symptom-free and vowed to return to the ice this season.

"I'm very confident I will play this year," Bergeron said in the Bruins locker room as his teammates practiced at the TD Banknorth Garden. "It's a matter of when."

Bergeron, who missed the final 72 regular-season games and last season's playoffs after an Oct. 27, 2007, hit from behind into the boards by Philadelphia's Randy Jones, was injured again Dec. 20 when he checked Carolina's Dennis Seidenberg at center ice.

Bergeron was on the ice for several minutes before he was helped up by his teammates. The 23-year-old Bergeron spent the night at Massachusetts General Hospital, and experienced headaches, dizziness and nausea. He said the symptoms were never as bad as last year's, and now they're gone.

Bergeron, who has missed the last nine games, said he's increasing the intensity of his workouts. He said he didn't want to put a date on his return and be disappointed.

"For me, right now it's really taking it day by day and see what happens," he said.

"It's frustrating," he added. "I worked my way back from last year. I was starting to feel a lot better on the ice and now that hit happened, but I'm trying to stay positive."

Bergeron had four goals and 14 assists in 31 games, but only one goal came in his last 19 games.

Coach Claude Julien plans to be patient with Bergeron.

"Obviously, everyone would like to see him back in our lineup," the coach said. "It's no doubt (his presence) gives you certainly a boost, because I think everybody when it happened started questioning themselves, 'Is this a repeat of last year?' And it obviously isn't, so the players are pretty happy to see him in decent form and working his way back."

In other injury news, injured left wing Marco Sturm, who has missed the last 10 games with a left knee injury, will have surgery Tuesday to repair a torn meniscus.

PROVIDENCE - The public will have a chance to watch the Providence Bruins take to the ice in an outdoor practice at the Bank of America City Center on Saturday from 10 to 11 a.m.

It's the first time in the franchise history that the P-Bruins are holding an outdoor practice open to the public. Fans will have an opportunity to skate with several of the players immediately following the practice session.

The cost for adults to skate is $6 and admission for children age 12 and under is $3.

The rebuilt Boston Bruins (29-7-4) -- the owners of the second best record in the NHL behind San Jose -- had three players chosen for the Eastern Conference All-Star team by the NHL's hockey operations department, after consultation with general managers.

The Bruins, off to their best start since the 1929-30 season, were rewarded with the selections of goalie Tim Thomas, defenseman Zdeno Chara and center Marc Savard. In last year's 8-7 victory by the East in Atlanta, Savard scored the winning goal in the final minute, Thomas stopped 14 of 18 shots in the third period, and Chara had an assist and a plus-3 rating.

Click here to read more.

PROVIDENCE -- Martins Karsums of the Providence Bruins was named Wednesday to the Planet USA team for the AHL All-Star Classic later this month.

"Coach (Rob Murray) told me while we were stretching on the ice (at the Dunkin Donuts Center during Wednesday morning's pregame skate). I was pretty happy and I can't wait for the All-star game,'' said Karsums.

This is Karsums' third year in Providence. After an injury-plagued first season, the 5'10'' 179-pound right wing had a solid year last season and has continued to progress this year.

"Over the summer, I really tried to work on my skating and my shooting, and it's been going well,'' Karsums said.

Murray says that Karsums is a worthy all-star selection.

"He's really developed into a solid all-around hockey player; he's scoring, he's reliable defensively,'' Murray said.

Karsums, 22, a native of Riga, Latvia, was eighth in AHL scoring heading into Wednesday night's game in Manchester with 15 goals and 23 assists for 38 points in 37 games. Karsums, played one game for the Boston Bruins against Atlanta last month.

As a member of the Planet USA team, which comprises players not born in Canada, Karsums will oppose teammates Johnny Boychuk and Martin St. Pierre, who were selected on Tuesday for the Canadian team. Boychuk was named to the starting lineup for the game, which will be held in Worcester on Jan. 26.

PROVIDENCE -- Johnny Boychuk and Martin St. Pierre of the Providence Bruins were named Tuesday to the Canadian team for the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic, which will be played in Worcester on Monday, Jan. 26.

"Good for them. They both deserve it,'' said coach Rob Murray.

Boychuk, 24, of Edmonton, Alb., was acquired from Colorado for Matt Hendricks last summer. He is the AHL's top-scoring defenseman with a 9-24-33 line in 37 games.

St. Pierre, 25, who is currently with the Boston Bruins, is a native of Embrun, Ont. He was acquired from Chicago for Pascal Pelletier last summer. St. Pierre was third in the AHL in scoring with 10-25-35 in 30 games at the time of his recall.

The 24-man roster for the Canadian AHL All-Stars, comprising players born in Canada, was announced Tuesday at 2 p.m.

At 2 p.m. on Wednesday, the 24-man roster for the PlanetUSA AHL All-Stars, comprising players born outside of Canada, will be announced.

Providence's Martins Karsums stands a good chance of being named to the PlanetUSA team. Karsums, 22, a native of Latvia, is eighth is scoring in the AHL with 15-23-38 totals in 37 games.

Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said last night on WBZ-TV in Boston that center Patrice Bergeron will speak to the media this week about the concussion he suffered last month, according to Joe Haggerty of WEEI.com. Bergeron, who missed most of last season after sustaining another concussion, is improving, but there is no timetable for his return to the Eastern Conference-leading Bruins, Chiarelli said.

PROVIDENCE -- The Providence Bruins defeated the Houston Aeros 3-1 Sunday afternoon at the Dunkin' Donuts Center.

Read the story here.