Savard, Lucic questionable for Saturday; Bruins recall Sobotka
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February 2009 ArchivesFebruary 27
With Marc Savard and Milan Lucic questionable for Saturday's 1 p.m. meeting with Washington at the Garden, the Bruins Friday recalled Vladimir Sobotka from Providence. The team said Savard and Lucic both sustained upper-body injuries on Thursday night and missed practice on Friday. The Bruins also place Petteri Nokelainen on injured reserve. 
The NHL trade deadline is in sight -- Wednesday at 3 p.m. -- and the rumors are flying. The Bruins are a legitimate Stanley Cup contender for the first time in years and Peter Chiarelli has made it clear that the Bruins will be buyers at the deadline. Here's a quick look at today's rumors and speculation: *** Bruins fans got a close-up look at Chris Pronger last night. He'll be 35 in October and has a year left on his contract at $6.25 million. With Anaheim looking to rebuild, they may be looking to deal him. Stephen Harris of The Boston Herald speculates here that Phil Kessel could be the bait to get Pronger. How about Patrice Bergeron and Chuck Kobasew for Pronger? That's a rumor I heard the other day from someone whose word I trust. The math adds up. Bergeron is slated to make $5 million next year and Kobasew is a restricted free agent after this season. If the Bruins made that deal, they'd need to make another deal to bolster their front line. *** The Erik-Cole-or-Keith-Tkachuk-to-Boston talk seems to have cooled recently, but speculation about Bill Guerin is gaining steam. It says here that Guerin will waive his no-move clause if the deal is right. *** On the minor league front, the Providence Bruins could take a hit at the trade deadline, especially if Chiarelli deals prospects instead of players off the NHL roster. But veterans could be involved, too. Pro scouts from a few NHL teams have been at the Dunkin Donuts Center recently to watch Peter Schaefer. The Bruins could expect little in return for the high-priced winger but -- who knows? -- some team looking for veteran depth up front might take a chance. A team looking for grit might be interested in Jeremy Reich, who is quietly having an excellent year and providing outstanding veteran leadership.
As the old saying goes, if you saw Bobby Orr play, no explanation is necessary; if you didn't, no explanation is possible. Sports Illustrated's S.L. Price has a masterful piece in the current issue on the greatest Bruin ever. Read it here.
The Bruins are a legitimate Stanley Cup contender for the first time in years and Peter Chiarelli has made it clear that the Bruins will be buyers at the deadline. Here's a quick look at today's rumors and speculation: *** Bruins fans got a close-up look at Chris Pronger last night. He'll be 35 in October and has a year left on his contract at $6.25 million. With Anaheim looking to rebuild, they may be looking to deal him. Stephen Harris of The Boston Herald speculates here that Phil Kessel could be the bait to get Pronger. How about Patrice Bergeron and Chuck Kobasew for Pronger? That's a rumor I heard the other day from someone whose word I trust. The math adds up. Bergeron is slated to make $5 million next year and Kobasew is a restricted free agent after this season. If the Bruins made that deal, they'd need to make another deal to bolster their front line. *** The Erik-Cole-or-Keith-Tkachuk-to-Boston talk seems to have cooled recently, but speculation about Bill Guerin is gaining steam. It says here that Guerin will waive his no-move clause if the deal is right. *** On the minor league front, the Providence Bruins could take a hit at the trade deadline, especially if Chiarelli deals prospects instead of players off the NHL roster. But veterans could be involved, too. Pro scouts from a few NHL teams have been at the Dunkin Donuts Center recently to watch Peter Schaefer. The Bruins could expect little in return for the high-priced winger but -- who knows? -- some team looking for veteran depth up front might take a chance. A team looking for grit might be interested in Jeremy Reich, who is quietly having an excellent year and providing outstanding veteran leadership.
February 26
The Anaheim Ducks, who will face the Bruins tonight in Boston, have traded former BU defenseman Ryan Whitney to Pittsburgh for forwards Chris Kunitz and Eric Tangradi. TSN has the story here. From a Bruins perspective, you have to think that the acquisition of Whitney might make the Ducks more likely to move Chris Pronger or Scott Neidermayer or both before the March 4 trade deadline. No word on whether Whitney, a Scituate, Mass., native, will suit up tonight.
The Flyers have placed former Bruin Glen Metropolit on waivers to make room for Daniel Briere, who will return from an injury tomorrow. Read it here.
February 25
To me, homer announcers are either great (Johnny Most) or awful (Joe Castiglione). There's no in between. I put Jack Edwards in the great category. As Puck Daddy points out here, the buzz around NESN's Bruins play-by-play guy is growing thanks to YouTube and Center Ice. And now, NESN has introduced Jack Edwards Bingo. To play, go here.
February 24
For now, Jim Schoenfeld is John Tortorella's interim assistant coach with the New York Rangers. But don't be surprised if Tampa Bay assistant Mike Sullivan, former head coach with both the Boston and Providence Bruins, joins Tortorella soon. Sullivan reportedly has an "escape clause in his contract that allows him to pursue other NHL jobs, even during the season.'' Read more here.
February 23
John Tortorella is about to take over as coach of the New York Rangers, reports TSN. Tortorella, who coached the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Stanley Cup in 2004, has been working as an analyst for TSN this season. Tortorella replaces Tom Renny, who was fired this morning.
February 22
The Boston Bruins' slump is now reaching alarming proportions. Vinny Prospal's power-play goal with 1:33 to go lifted the lowly Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-3 win over the Bruins Sunday night, Boston's sixth loss in the last seven games. More to come . . .
February 21
The Florida Panthers scored a pair of third-period goals and defeated the slumping Boston Bruins, 2-0, Saturday night. Boston has now lost five of its last six games. More to come . . .
February 20
"Kevin's coming back has nothing to do with the (March 4) trade deadline coming up,'' Murray stated. It's simply a matter of scheduling and what's right for Regan's development, Murray said. Providence has a busy schedule over the next few weeks, including eight straight on the road between Feb. 23 and March 13. Rask, assuming he remains in Providence, can't play them all. Regan played an average of one of every seven games during the first half of the season, not enough for a first-year pro, said Murray. After seeing plenty of action in Alaska, Regan is now ready for a heavier workload. "He's going to get his games between now and the end of the season,'' Murray said. Kevin Nastiuk, who had replaced Regan as Rask's backup, has been signed to an AHL contract and assigned to Alaska, Murray said.
Here is the list.
Dictionary.com defines schadenfreude as "satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune.'' Along those lines, Fluto Shinzawa, the Boston Globe's ace Bruins beat man, describes what Bruins fans are feeling as they watch the Montreal Canadiens flounder through their 100th season as "Habsenfreude.'' And if the team's poor performance on the ice weren't enough, now Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn are in the crosshairs after a report in a French newspaper, La Presse, that the brothers have been keeping company with a suspected organized crime figure, Pasquale Mangiola. On his blog, James Mirtle summarizes: *Mangiola is apparently a big hockey fan and had gotten quite close to the Kostitsyns. He spoke "several times a week" to both brothers and they were often seen partying together. *The paper reports that he "played an important role in the life of the duo," taking them under his wing and helping them find housing and cars. Mangiola also apparently had access to the players' credit card statements. *The Kostitsyns would call him often with requests for various items and Mangiola acted "like a handyman" to fulfill their needs. Read Mirtle's entire post here. The Montreal Gazette story is here. The voracious Montreal media is all over this. There's plenty more Habsenfreude to come.
With leading scorer Martin St. Pierre sidelined with a wrist injury, the Providence Bruins have brought in former UNH star Colin Hemingway on a tryout contract. Before joining the P-Bruins, Hemingway, 29, had 18 goals and 36 assists for 54 points in 49 games for Alaska of the East Coast Hockey League. Since leaving UNH in 2003, Hemingway has played with Worcester and Peoria of the AHL. He also played three scoreless NHL games for St. Louis in 2005-06. Hemingway was a big scorer for UNH, with 67 goals and 147 points in 139 games.
February 19
The Boston Bruins have reassigned goaltender Kevin Regan to Providence from the Alaska Aces of the ECHL. Regan, 24, was sent to down to get some playing time, since Providence starter Tuukka Rask is on track to play 60 games in Providence. Regan went 2-2-0 with a 2.47 goals-against-average and .924 save percentage in four starts for Alaska since being reassigned to Anchorage on Feb. 2. One man's opinion: This could get interesting. With the NHL trade deadline looming on March 4, is it possible that the Bruins want Regan nearby, not thousands of miles away, in case Rask is included in any deal at the deadline or sooner? Or maybe Manny Fernandez will be traded and Rask will be elevated to Boston to back up Tim Thomas. Or maybe Rask has the flu. Or maybe it's none of the above. Maybe there are other reasons to bring Regan back and, right now, we just don't know what they are.
American Hockey League referee Jeff Smith, his wife and two small children had boarding passes for Continental 3407, from Newark, N.J., to Buffalo, last Thursday night. But they decided to take a US Airways flight after being advised by a Continental flight attendent that Flight 3407 would be too bumpy for children. Read the story here.
You can't teach an old turtle new tricks. Claude Lemieux received a beatdown from Edmonton's Theo Peckham late Tuesday in San Jose. Then Claude the Fraud whined about it: "He beat up on an old man," Lemieux told David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury-News. "That's not much for his résumé." Somewhere, Cam Neely is smiling.
February 17
I think about this every time I see P.J. Axelsson getting ready for the shootout. When David Krecji was in the AHL, he was money in the shootout. In 2007-08, Krejci was 6 for 6. In 2006-07, he was 10 for 14. Even a math dunce like me can figure out that that's 80 percent. Is it possible that Claude Julien is unaware of this? I've got to think that he is too smart a coach to not do his homework. Krejci was in a shootout not long ago and misfired. So what. C'mon, Claude, make him a regular in the shootout.
It'll be 15 years this summer that Bruins free-agent defenseman Glen Wesley signed with the Hartford Whalers in exchange for three first-round draft picks. That's right, three first-round picks. Even now, it seems absurd that Hartford's Jim Rutherford or any NHL GM would spend three first-rounders for a player like Wesley, who on the best day of his 20-year NHL career was not a star. A good, useful player, no doubt. But not worth three No. 1 picks. At the time, no Bruins fan I knew was unhappy to see Wesley go. After all, he shot the puck over an open net in the first overtime of the first game of the 1990 Stanley Cup Finals versus Edmonton. If the Bruins win that game, who knows, maybe they are working on only a 19-year Stanley Cup drought, instead of 37 years. I bring this up because tonight is Glen Wesley Night at the RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C., where the Bruins will play the Hurricanes. Johnathan Aitken, Kyle McLaren and Sergei Samsonov were the players the Bs selected with Hartford's pick. While Aitken was a bust, Mike Loftus of the Quincy Patriot Ledger points out here that as a result of deals involving McLaren and Samsonov, the Bruins acquired Dennis Wideman and Milan Lucic. Glen Wesley for Dennis Wideman and Milan Lucic. By the time Wideman and particularly Lucic are done, this might make Harry Sinden's list of greatest deals, right there with Cam Neely for Barry Pederson, Rick Middleton for Ken Hodge, and Esposito and Vadnais for Park, Ratelle and Zanussi.
Providence Bruins players Matt Marquardt and Jordan Knackstedt will visit Washington Trust's branch office at 1203 Oaklawn Ave., in Cranston, to sign autographs from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday. The players will also answer questions and pose for photographs with fans.
February 16
TSN reports that the Atlanta Thrashers have traded Mount St. Charles alum Mathieu Schneider to the Montreal Canadiens. In exchange, the Thrashers receive a second round draft pick in 2009 and a third round selection in 2010. In addition to Schneider, Montreal receives a conditional pick at this year's draft. Schneider previously played for the Canadiens from the 1989-90 season until 1995, winning a Stanley Cup with the team in 1993. He was traded to the Islanders in 1995. This season, Schnieder has 4 goals and 11 assists in 44 games.
February 14
The Boston Bruins dropped their season-high fourth game in a row Saturday night, falling to Nashville in a shootout, 3-2. The Bruins' Zdeno Chara had tied the game with about a minute-and-a-half to go in the third period after they'd pulled goalie Manny Fernandez for a sixth skater. More to come . . .
February 13
** The most perceptive analysis of Tuesday night's Sharks win over the Bruins can be found in Jeff Z. Klein's piece on Slap Shots, The New York Times hockey blog. In a nutshell, the Sharks started carrying the puck over the blue line in the third period, rather than continuing to dump it in. By keeping the puck away from Tim Thomas, the Sharks were able to turn the game in their favor. Read it here.
"I know the B's are thinking very seriously about getting a defenseman - most likely Clark, Salei or Leopold. And, I think Svatos has been discussed as well. For what it's worth, one Bruins prospect that the Avs presumably have a line on is last year's first-rounder, Joe Colborne, a freshman at Denver University.
From the San Jose Mercury News: The Sharks' 5-2 victory against the Bruins on Tuesday was the highest-rated and most-watched regular-season game in Versus' four years with the NHL. It drew a 0.54 household rating nationally (550,000 viewers) and was 69 percent above the network's average for the season. One man's opinion: Good for Versus, but let's start with the obvious fact that 550,000 is a miniscule audience for a national broadcast. Second, what would the ratings have been if the game was on a channel that most hockey fans could actually watch?
February 12
Old-time hockey returned to Buffalo on Wednesday night when the Portland Pirates, the Sabres AHL farm team, played the Albany River Rats at the HSBC Arena. The more than 11,000 fans at the game saw a second-period brawl featuring former Boston College star Nathan Gerbe, all 5 foot, 6 inches of him. Read the game story here. And watch the video here. The fans in Buffalo have witnessed some good brawls through the years, none better than this classic from the 1970s.
The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that 11 NHL scouts -- including four from the Bruins -- attended Wednesday night's Colorado-Minnesota game. Read about it here. Wonder which team is looking to deal -- Colorado, which is all but out of the playoff race, or Minnesota, which would be in if the playoffs started today?
With Petteri Nokelainen and Chuck Kobasew unavailable for Friday night's game in Jersey against the Devils, Vladimir Sobotka and Martins Karsums have been recalled from Providence. Nokelainen (eye) and Kobasew (leg) were injured on Tuesday night.
By DAVID POLLAK PITTSBURGH -- The life of a backup goalie isn't for everyone. You don't play most games, and on the rare occasion you do, it can be under challenging circumstances. Consider Brian Boucher's situation Wednesday. It was his first start in 31 days, the team in front of him had played a high-energy 60 minutes the previous night, and he was facing a Pittsburgh Penguins lineup that featured the NHL's top two scorers. All Boucher did was stop 35 of the 36 shots thrown at him in regulation and overtime. Then he came up with two more big saves in the shootout before Sidney Crosby found the back of the net, and the Penguins skated away with a 2-1 victory over the Sharks. "It's a tough part of the season, but I think we're happy to get the point, all in all," said Boucher, a Woonsocket native and Mount St. Charles alum. His coach was of the same mind. "I'm not sure we had our gas tanks where they needed to be," Todd McLellan said, "but we found a way to at least get a point, which we'll take with us to Buffalo, regroup and go again." Neither team scored until the final two minutes of the second period, and when Pittsburgh finally took a 1-0 lead, both Crosby and the team's other superstar center, Evgeni Malkin, weren't on the ice. Right wing Bill Thomas got credit for the goal -- his first as a Penguin -- but the puck went in the net off the stick of Sharks defenseman Rob Blake, who was trying to block Thomas' centering pass from behind the goal line. "Kind The Sharks evened things up at 11:07 of the third period when center Joe Pavelski staked out territory in front of the Pittsburgh net and whacked a loose puck past goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. That was fitting because Pavelski and his linemates, Ryane Clowe and Milan Michalek, had the Sharks' best scoring chances all night. McLellan was conscious of Crosby and Malkin all night. In the second period, San Jose went with a series of different forward line combinations because, in part, McLellan didn't want to see his fourth line -- rookies Jamie McGinn and Ryan Vesce, plus veteran Claude Lemieux -- on the ice with either of the top Penguins. Combined, Malkin and Crosby registered eight shots, several of which came on three power plays, where the two were on the ice together. The Sharks successfully killed all three, including one four-on-three in overtime when Blake was whistled for holding Malkin. In the shootout, Boucher stopped Petr Sykora and Malkin before Crosby scored. Meanwhile, Fleury blanked Sharks shooters Michalek, Pavelski and Dan Boyle. Boucher's previous start was Jan. 10 in Vancouver, with starter Evgeni Nabokov in the net for the past 10 games. McLellan said that the All-Star break contributed to that extended stretch because Nabokov was well-rested during that time. The Sharks backup, whose record this season is 9-1-2, said the time between starts was not an issue. "I think earlier in my career, when I was younger, that would have eaten me up," said Boucher, 32. "But I've learned to deal with it. "... It's not a big deal mentally for me. I know what my role is and I'm happy to have that role with this team."
February 11
As of early Wednesday afternoon, Providence Bruins coach Rob Murray had not heard from Boston regarding a callup to replace Petteri Nokelainen. Nokelainen was taken to the hospital with a right-eye injury after he was hit with Dan Boyle's stick late in the first period Tuesday night. "I don't think it's looking very good right now," said Claude Julien after the game. Chuck Kobasew also left the game in the second period with what looked like a knee injury. Julien, however, said it was an upper-body injury.
In-season firings are rare in the American Hockey League, but that didn't stop Edmonton GM Steve Tambellini from axing first-year Springfield Falcons coach Jeff Truitt on Tuesday. According to Fran Sypek's story in the Springfield Republican, the clock started ticking on Truitt's tenure on the night of Jan. 24, when the host Falcons came out flat against the P-Bruins and were beaten, 3-1, in front of a sellout crowd of 6,789. The big crowd, which included Tambellini and assistant director of hockey operations Kevin Prendergast, went home unhappy. The Falcons went on to lose their next five games and sink deeper into the Atlantic Division basement. Now Truitt is history.
February 10
The San Jose Sharks emphatically won the battle of the NHL's best Tuesday night, erasing a 2-1 deficit with four third-period goals and defeating the Boston Bruins, 5-2, at T.D. Banknorth Garden. It marked the first time all year the Bruins lost a game by more than two goals. More to come . . .
David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News has the latest from the Garden before the Bruins-Sharks game. The Sharks, by the way, have lost three in a row since Claude Lemieux joined the team. Read Pollak's post here.
The parent Edmonton Oilers fired Springfield Falcons head coach Jeff Truitt Tuesday and replaced him with Rob Daum, who had been a pro scout for Edmonton. Daum will be behind the Falcons' bench tonight in Manchester. The Falcons, which have former PC stars Colin McDonald and Cody Wild on their roster, have lost seven in a row and are last in the AHL's Atlantic Division. Read the story here.
BOSTON (AP) - The Boston Bruins will be without forward Michael Ryder for up to three weeks as he recovers from surgery to repair a broken face bone. Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said Tuesday that Ryder had surgery Monday on the orbital bone between his eyes. Chiarelli said Ryder had three small plates put in to repair three fractures. Ryder took a stick to the bridge of his nose Thursday in Ottawa and missed Saturday's game against Philadelphia. He has 19 goals in his first season with Boston.
When the NHL schedule came out last July, tonight's Sharks-Bruins didn't exactly jump out as a possible early preview of the Stanley Cup Finals. Yet, it could be exactly that. The Bruins are way ahead in the East and the Sharks are best in the West. Add in the Joe-Thornton-returns-to-Boston-storyline, and you've got the makings of a playoff atmosphere, even though it's only February. About the only downer is the fact that the game is on Versus, not NESN, so many hockey fans will be shut out. If it's any consolation, the NHL Network will re-air the broadcast at 2 p.m. on Wednesday. Here's some pre-game reading: USA Today previews the game here. Tim Thomas, tonight's likely starter for Boston, says he's no Dominic Hasek. Read it here. The always quotable Jeremy Roenick laments the fact that he won't be in the lineup. Read it here. Mike Milbury, who might have a slight conflict of interest on this issue, tells why the Bruins are the best in the East. Read it here.
February 9
The always insightful Bill Ballou of the Worcester Telegram makes a great point in his story on Sunday's Bruins-Sharks game: "If there ever was an example of why the AHL should shorten its schedule and cut back on three-in-three weekends, it was this game. The previous Sunday, the teams were both finishing three-in-threes, and Providence won a 2-1 decision that was mostly Dead Men Skating. He's dead on. Fans (and there were over 9,000 at the Dunk) would get much better value for their money on Sundays if there were fewer three-game weekends. Don't hold your breath waiting for it to happen, though. Ballou also explains the controversy surrounding the winning goal, which it turns out was about the penalty that preceded it, not the goal itself. Read it here.
Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs comes by his reputation as a money-grubbing, penny-pinching, fleece-the-fans-until-it-hurts owner honestly. Check out this Jacobs gem from a Buffalo News story on ticket prices. Said Sabres minority owner Larry Quinn: "[Boston owner] Jeremy Jacobs was putting pressure on us saying our prices weren't high enough. You never know how high the market can go unless you test the top end." Read the story here.
February 8
The Providence Bruins beat the Worcester Sharks, 3-2, on a controversial goal by Mikko Lehtonen with 1:36 left before 9,121 fans at the Dunkin Donuts Center Sunday afternoon.
The Providence Bruins beat the Worcester Sharks, 3-2, on a controversial goal by Mikko Lehtonen with 1:36 left before over 9,000 fans at the Dunkin Donuts Center this afternoon. With Providence on a power play after Brad Marchand goaded Worcester's Lukas Kasper into a roughing penalty, Lehtonon appeared to kick the puck into the net. Referee Terry Koharski first waved the goal off, but then allowed it after conferring with linesman Mark Messier. Lehtonon (2) and Brad Marchand scored for Providence; Ryan McGinn had both goals for the Sharks.
February 7
Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference deflected a Philadelphia shot into his own net in overtime, and the Flyers completed a comeback from a two-goal deficit to defeat Boston, 4-3, at TD Banknorth Garden Saturday afternoon. More to come . . .
February 6
Odds and ends I came across while waiting for Tuesday's Bruins-Sharks meeting: *** Incredible stat of the week comes courtesy of Ken Campbell of The Hockey News. In his story in the current issue, Campbell makes a convincing case that the Bruins wouldn't be where they are if they had held onto Joe Thornton. In passing (Thornton pun not intended), Campbell mentions that Marco Sturm has scored more goals (84) in Boston than Thornton has in San Jose (83). That's amazing. Thornton, of course, has a decided advantage in points, 358 to 156, as of Friday.
Martins Karsums of the Providence Bruins scored a goal and an assist Friday in Latvia's 4-2 win over Ukraine in Riga, Latvia, in qualifying for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. With three goals and two assists for five points in two games, Karsums leads the tournament in scoring. Latvia is 2-0 in the round-robin tournament. Latvia's next game is against Italy on Sunday. The Latvians need one point to qualify for Vancouver. Karsums will rejoin the Bruins next week.
Baseball fans have the Manny Ramirez watch. For hockey fans, it's the Sean Avery watch. Some hockey fans, anyway. Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News says that Avery has nearly completed his anger management therapy and could receive approval to return to the NHL as early as Monday. Read about it here. Meanwhile, Larry Brooks of the New York Post says the New York Rangers are looking into acquiring Avery and then sending him to Hartford of the AHL for a couple of weeks of conditioning before bringing him back to Broadway. Read the story here. What are the chances of Avery visiting The Dunk during his time with Hartford? Slim and none. The Providence Bruins don't host the Wolf Pack again until March 22, by which time Avery will probably be back in the NHL or suspended again.
Another week, another Mike Milbury mini-controversy. Last week the Bruins TV personality ticked off a gay-equality group in Canada for decrying "the pansification of hockey'' on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada. This week some viewers of Wednesday night's Bruins-Flyers game on NESN thought they heard Mad Mike refer to Buffalo's Tim Connolly as "a self-centered little (male body part.)'' What Mike really said was that Connolly is a "self-centered little dink.'' Puck Daddy recaps the tempest in a teapot here. One man's opinion: First, Mike Milbury gets a free pass for life for the way he slapped around New York Rangers fans in 1979. Second, he is must-see TV for New England hockey fans. You might not agree with him, but give him credit for always speaking his mind.
February 5
P.J. Axelsson scored the only goal of the shootout, giving the Boston Bruins a 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators Thursday night. The Bruins squandered a 2-0 lead and trailed 3-2 in the third period, but Chuck Kobasew's power-play goal with less than five minutes to play tied it. More to come . . .
Martins Karsums of the Providence Bruins scored two goals and an assist in leading Latvia over Hungary, 7-3, in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga. Game story is here.
The Providence Bruins will be without Martins Karsums until next week, while the AHL all-star right wing tries to help Latvia qualify for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Karsums left Providence after the All-Star Game last week to return to Riga, his hometown, where the Olympic Qualification Tournament is being held. Besides Latvia, other nations in the tournament are Italy, Hungary and Ukraine, with the winner advancing to the Winter Games in Vancouver next year. Providence coach Rob Murray said he received an email last month from an official of the Latvian National Team asking for permission to borrow Karsums for the tournament. Murray checked with his boss, Boston general manager Peter Chiarelli, who agreed that Karsums could beneft from the experience of playing for his country. Karsums, 22, has been one of Providence's best players, scoring 17 goals and 24 assists for 41 points in 43 games. He also was recalled to Boston for two games. Latvia's first game is tonight against Hungary.
That's what Jeff Z. Klein says on Slap Shot, The New York Times hockey blog. And who are we to argue? Here's Jeff's Top 10: Read the story here.
February 4
PHILADELPHIA -- David Krejci and Dennis Wideman scored 25 seconds apart in the third period, lifting the NHL-leading Boston Bruins to a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night. Michael Ryder also scored for the Bruins, who improved to 38-8-6. Scott Hartnell had the lone goal for the flu-ridden Flyers. Philadelphia captain Mike Richards, defenseman Braydon Coburn and forward Scottie Upshall each sat out due to the virus. The Flyers have lost five of eight games to drop to sixth in the Eastern Conference after a brief stay atop the Atlantic Division. -- Associated Press
From ushr.com: "6'2", 198 lb. LD Philip Samuelsson of the Chicago Steel (USHL) has committed to Boston College. Samuelsson will be arriving at the Heights this coming fall, and is hoping to win some fans in a city where his father, former NHL defenseman and current Phoenix Coyotes assistant coach Ulf Samuelsson, is still vilified for his career-ending hit on Bruins wing Cam Neely (though Neely has reportedly said that the specific career-ending hit may have occurred on a previous play, when Neely hit Samuelsson.'' One man's opinion: I hope this kid has a thick skin. He's going to be in for some verbal abuse around Hockey East.
wrote, Well Neely actually hit me a few games later and it's common knowledge (according to my good friend Neely)that itäs their he got his injury.... Read the rest, write another...
If you caught Andre Roy's act -- on and off the ice -- when he played for the Providence Bruins in the mid-1990's, you probably wouldn't have bet that he'd ever play one game in the NHL. Just goes to show ya. Roy, who is with Calgary these days, played his 500th NHL game Monday night. The Calgary Sun marks the occasion here.
In Wednesday's Philadelphia Inquirer, Ex-Bruins Andrew Alberts and Glen Metropolit, who are now with the Flyers, talk about their former team. Read the story here. One man's opinion: Alberts and Metropolit are useful players, but Stephane Yelle and Matt Hunwick, the players that replaced them, are a major upgrade.
February 3
The Bruins will be without defenseman Matt Hunwick for a third straight game on Wednesday in Philadelphia. Hunwick has the flu. "He's not well enough to travel with the team, or to be around the team, for that matter," coach Claude Julien told the Boston Herald after the team practiced in Wilmington Tuesday morning.
Turns out those vintage 1912 jerseys the Montreal Canadiens wore on Sunday weren't the ugliest of all time after all. Feast your eyes on these.
By Brian Duff Tim Thomas will win the Vezina Trophy this year. And while it's not exactly breaking news, maybe it's time more people started reading that sentence aloud. It's easy to look at the stats and realize he's a shoo-in to be at least a finalist, but the numbers don't tell the whole story. Watch him. Listen to him. Feel the respect he has earned from his teammates, coaching staff and those who follow the team closely. One of the great Thomas highlights of this season, for me, came back on Jan. 13, when the archrival Canadiens visited the Garden. Boston's Aaron Ward got railroaded from behind by Andrei Kostitsyn and when the Montreal forward made his way to the front of the net, he was met with a cross-check to the back from Thomas. Kostitsyn got five minutes for the original hit, Thomas got two for roughing, and the Bruins beat the Habs again. Read the rest of the story here.
Providence Bruins right wing Brad Marchand has been named the Reebok Edge/AHL Rookie of the Month for January after recording 16 points, including five goals, a team-high 11 assists and a plus-eight rating in 13 games. Coach Rob Murray had many positive things to say about Marchand's recent play here. In recognition of his achievement, Marchand will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming P-Bruins home game. He will also be awarded the team's MetLife Player of the Month honor for January. He ranks fourth in scoring for the P-Bruins with 10 goals and 22 assists for 32 points in 49 games.
With Tuukka Rask back from Boston, goalie Kevin Regan was reassigned to the Alaska Aces of the East Coast Hockey League today by the Providence Bruins. With Rask expected to play most of the games, Bruins management has been looking for regular playing time for Regan, 24, who is in his first season as a pro after a brilliant career at the University of New Hampshire. Regan recently returned from the ECHL, where he went 1-1-0 with a 2.50 goals-against-average in two starts for the Gwinnett Gladiators. Last weekend, with Rask in Boston filling in for Manny Fernandez, Regan played in all three games for Providence, going 2-1-0 with a 1.68 GAA. In wins over Portland and Lowell, Regan allowed only one goal in each game, twice earning second star honors. For Providence this season, Regan is 8-5-1 with a 3.00 GAA and a .893 save percentage in 17 games.
February 2
Here are a few leftovers from the party: When Alex Kovalev plays like a dog, that's good news for the Bruins. Guy Carbonneau benched the supremely skilled but enigmatic Russian in the third period and he wasn't throwing any bones Kovalev's way after the game. Claude Julien's work behind the Bruins bench this season has one Montreal Gazette columnist gushing. Says Dave Stubbs: "There should be no one, no matter your uniform allegiance, unhappy for the success being enjoyed by Julien, a class act who has his Bruins flying atop the Eastern Conference.'' Read the full tribute here. Montreal lost more than a hockey game. Two regular forwards, Robert Lang and Guillaume Latendresse, went down with injuries. On The New York Times' Slap Shot blog, Stu Hackel opines that Montreal's failure to respond to Chuck Kobasew's rough treatment of Latendresse points to a problem for the Flying Frenchmen: They don't stick up for their teammates. It was a bad day all around for Montreal. Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News calls the hideous 1912 sweaters the Habs sported "some of the worst pajamas I've seen since Wild Wing crashed upwards through Anaheim's third jersey in the late 1990s.''
With Manny Fernandez due back in the lineup soon, the Boston Bruins returned Tuukka Rask to Providence Monday morning. Rask recorded his first NHL shutout Saturday in Boston's win over the New York Rangers. According to Boston.com, Fernandez made it through a 45-minute practice Monday morning without any problems with his back.
February 1
The Providence Bruins got a pair of goals from Mikko Lehtonen and defeated the Worcester Sharks, 2-1, Sunday afternoon at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. The P-Bruins took a 1-0 lead at 9:55 of the opening period. Matt Lashoff held the puck in his own end and worked the puck up the boards to Peter Schaefer. He found Lehtonen in the left face off circle where he tallied his 13th goal of the season. After a scoreless second period the P-Bruins took a two goal lead at the 10:12 mark of the third period. Schaefer had the puck along the left boards and fed the puck to Zach Hamill in the left face off circle. He found Lehtonen cutting down the right wing who scored his second goal of the game and 14th of the season. Worcester cut the lead to one with a goal at 19:02 with its goaltender pulled for the extra attacker. Steven Zalewski netted his 11th goal of the season, while Ryan Vesce and Tom Cavanagh recorded the assists. Kevin Regan stopped 34 of 35 shots he faced for the P-Bruins, while Thomas Greiss made 18 saves for the Sharks. The P-Bruins were 0-for-4 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
The Boston Bruins received goals from Dennis Wideman, Shawn Thornton and Marc Savard and defeated the Canadiens, 3-1, Sunday afternoon in Montreal. More to come . . .
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