Projo Bruins Blog

December 2010 Archives

ATLANTA (AP) -- Tim Stapleton and Bryan Little scored in the first two rounds of a shootout and Toby Enstrom had two power-play goals in the Atlanta Thrashers' 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night.

The Thrashers snapped a four-game losing streak and ended the Bruins' winning streak at three.

Stapleton, who doesn't have a point this season, beat Tim Thomas with a shot through the legs to open the shootout. Atlanta's Ondrej Pavelec stopped Boston's Tyler's bid before Little put the puck past Thomas. Pavelec then wrapped up his eighth victory in his last 10 home games, stopping Blake Wheeler.

Wheeler and Patrice Bergeron scored in regulation for Boston.

The Providence Bruins have recalled defenseman Ryan Donald from Reading of the East Coast Hockey League, and North Providence's Cody Wild has been demoted to Reading.

Donald and goalie Matt Dalton, recalled on Wednesday, were at practice this morning.

In 28 games in Reading, Donald had 2-4-6 numbers with 52 penalty minutes.

Wild had one assist in 7 games with Providence. He's been a healthy scratch 23 times.

Center Wyatt Smith has been given permission to leave the Providence Bruins to sign with a team in the German Elite League, according to coach Rob Murray.

Smith, 33, was on a one-year, two-way contract that paid him $105,000 in the AHL. He has an opportunity to make more in Germany, Murray said.

The team he is expected to sign with isn't known.

Smith was signed as a free agent after Trent Whitfield blew out his left Achilles tendon in late August.

Smith had been a dependable AHL player for several years, but things did not work out in Providence. Smith was a team-worst minus-14 and had 2-7-9 totals in 30 games.

Smith's last game for the P-Bruins was on Tuesday night in Portland.

His recovery from a torn left Achilles tendon nearly complete, Trent Whitfield says he is aiming to play his first game of the season next Friday, Jan. 7, against Manchester at The Dunk.

The 33-year-old veteran said after practice at the 146 rink this morning that he believes that he is close to 100 percent. He suffered the injury while training in August. It was the first long-term injury of Whitfield's career.

Whitfield says that his upper body is stronger than ever because of all the work he's done in the gym during his recovery.


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Subpar goaltending continues to be a problem for the P-Bruins.

Twenty-year-old Mike Hutchinson's play has tailed off recently and veteran Nolan Schaefer has struggled for most of the season.

In Tuesday night's 4-3 loss in Portland, Providence outshot the Pirates 16-4 in the first period, but Hutchinson gave up a goal in the last minute of the period to tie the score at 1.

Then, with seven seconds left in the second period, the Pirates scored to make it 2-2.

On what would turn out to be the winning goal, Colin Stuart's shot from the corner leaked through Hutchinson's pads to make it 4-2 midway through the third period.

Of the 50 goalies who have played in the AHL this season, Hutchinson's goals-against average of 3.11 ranks 40th. His save percentage is .898. Schaefer's goals-against average of 3.18 is 44th in the league. Schaefer's save percentage is .893.

One option might be Matt Dalton, who is playing well for Reading of the East Coast Hockey League.

Dalton has backstopped the Royals to first place in the ECHL's Atlantic Division. His record is 11-6-1 with a goals-against average of 2.88 and a .912 save percentage.

Dalton stopped 37 shots in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Florida Everblades on Tuesday night. The winning goalie for Florida was former PC starter Bobby Goepfert.

Reading's Yannick Riendeau scored a goal and an assist and was selected as the second star on Tuesday. Riendeau has 5-6-11 numbers in 15 games.


*****

This morning's lines:

White: Sauve-Arniel-Caron
Yellow: Reich-Colborne-Simek
Maroon: Smotherman-Hamill-MacDonald
Gray: MacDermid-Whitfield-Roussel.


*****


Brian McGrattan, who suffered an upper-body injury Tuesday night, Wyatt Smith and David Ling did not skate today. Ling had a personal matter to attend to, Murray said.


*****


Zach Hamill was a healthy scratch on Tuesday night because he had not skated since a few days before Christmas, Murray said. Because of travel problems, he wasn't able to get back to Providence from Canada until Monday night.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Mark Recchi scored a power-play goal with 19.7 seconds left in the third period to lift the Boston Bruins past the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 on Tuesday night.

Recchi's goal from the slot was his seventh this season and 570th overall in the NHL. The goal came while Lightning star Steven Stamkos was serving a boarding penalty.

Boston also got goals from Michael Ryder, Steven Kampfer and Brad Marchand. Boston came off a 3-2 shootout win Monday night at Florida.

Stamkos scored his 29th goal of the season for Tampa Bay, which is 6-1-2 over the last nine games. Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis had the other Lightning goals.

Zach Hamill will be back in the lineup and Mike Hutchinson will start in goal for the Providence Bruins tonight in Portland.

Hamill missed Sunday's game in Springfield. He went home to spend Christmas with his family in Vancouver, B.C., but ran into visa problems when trying to re-enter the U.S., then travel problems because of the East Coast blizzard, according to coach Rob Murray. Hamill didn't get back to Providence until Monday night, said Murray.

Murray said he slept on the couch in the dressing room at The Dunk after the team arrived back from Springfield on Sunday evening rather than drive home to South Kingstown through the storm.

Trying to give his low-scoring team a boost, Murray will have leading scorer Jamie Arniel centering Max Sauve and Jordan Caron. The left-shooting Caron, without a goal in seven games since his demotion from Boston, will move to right wing.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- The New Jersey Devils fired rookie coach John MacLean on Thursday and brought back Jacques Lemaire to replace him.

The Devils have been one of the most disappointing teams in the NHL this season. New Jersey is tied with the New York Islanders for the fewest points in the league with 20 in 33 games (9-22-2).

The Devils play at home against the Islanders on Thursday night and Lemaire is expected to be with the team.

The Devils, a perennial contender in the Eastern Conference, were expected to be among the leaders again this season after signing All-Star forward Ilya Kovalchuk to a 15-year, $100 million contract in the offseason.

The 65-year-old Lemaire, who retired after leading the Devils to the playoffs last season, will be in his third stint as New Jersey's coach. He guided the franchise to its first Stanley Cup in 1995.

BOSTON (AP) -- Two brothers from New Hampshire accused of jumping onto the ice at a Boston Bruins game have been ordered to stay away from the team's home arena.

Twenty-year-old John Parker and 17-year-old Matt Parker of Bow, N.H., were released after pleading not guilty to a charge of disturbing a public assembly. They and their lawyers declined comment as they left Boston Municipal Court after their arraignment Tuesday.

The brothers went over the glass in the third period of Saturday's game against the Washington Capitals at TD Garden. The game was delayed a few minutes as the men were apprehended by the linesmen and escorted from the ice.

Officers who arrested the men said they both appeared to be drunk.

Boston won the game 3-2.

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Former Brown co-captain Aaron Volpatti scored his first career goal and Ryan Kesler had his fourth in three games as the surging Vancouver Canucks beat the St. Louis Blues 3-1 on Monday night.

Jeff Tambellini scored a late power-play goal, Mikael Samuelsson had two assists and Roberto Luongo stopped 15 shots to earn his 13th career victory against the Blues in 22 games. Vancouver improved to 9-1-1 in its last 11 games.

Alex Steen scored for the Blues, his third goal in two games this season against the Canucks. St. Louis has one win in its last five games.

The Providence Bruins announced on Monday that defenseman Cody Wild has been reassigned to Providence from the Reading Royals of the ECHL.

Wild, 23, was reassigned to Reading following Providence's 2-1 road win at Hershey Saturday night. He made his Reading debut at Wheeling on Sunday, going scoreless with one shot on net in a 3-2 win for the Royals. Wild returns to Providence, where he has appeared in seven games this year, tallying one assist along with a minus-three rating.

The native of North Providence was acquired by Boston from Edmonton in a trade for forward Matt Marquardt on Mar. 2, 2010, making Providence Wild's third team of the 2009-10 season. Wild appeared in 18 contests for the P-Bruins, registering three assists, and also chipped in 14 helpers in 37 games for Springfield and one assist in four outings for the ECHL's Stockton. In his professional career, he has scored 43 points, including 37 assists, in 145 games.

The fourth-year pro began his career late in the 2007-08 campaign after finishing three seasons at Providence College. Wild was selected by the Oilers 140th overall in round five of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

MONTREAL (AP) -- Twelve of about 30 autographed NHL jerseys stolen from Pat Burns' widow within hours of his funeral have been returned to the family.

Montreal police said Thursday that the sweaters were found by agents from a security company and given to a a journalist, who returned the jerseys -- destined for a charity auction -- to the late NHL coach's family.

Burns had barely been laid to rest Nov. 29 when thieves smashed into his widow's SVU and stole personal belongings. Family photos, Burns' credit cards and his watch are still missing.

After their usual day off on Monday, the Providence Bruins were back at work this morning at the Dunkin Donuts Center.

The team's troubles at home continue to be a mystery. Providence has earned just 8 points in 15 games at The Dunk -- three wins, one overtime loss and one shootout loss -- for a 0.267 percentage, tied with Albany for second-worst in the league.

On the road, Providence has taken 17 of a possible 22 points -- eight wins and a shootout loss -- for a percentage of 0.773. Only Wilkes-Barre / Scranton -- 0.846 -- has a better road record.

The P-Bruins face a tough travel situation this weekend. They play at home on Friday against Charlotte, then bus to Hershey, Pa., for a 7 o'clock game on Saturday night. After that contest, they get back on the bus for the trip back to Rhode Island and a 4 p.m. game against Springfield on Sunday.

Playing in the Atlantic Division means the P-Bruins sleep in their own beds on most nights, but every so often they get a taste of the travel challenges much of the rest of the league faces on a regular basis.

Ex-P-Bruin Jeff LoVecchio broke his long goal-less streak with a tally in his first game with Rochester on Friday night. Levi Nelson had a goal and an assist late in his second game with Norfolk.

This morning's lines:

Yellow: Sauve, Colborne, Ling
White: Caron, Smith, MacDonald
Maroon: Reich, Arniel, Simek
Gray: Smotherman, Hamill, McGrattan

Extras: MacDermid, Whitfield, Roussel

TORONTO (AP) -- The NHL has suspended Philadelphia forward Jody Shelley two games for hitting Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid from behind.

The players were chasing the puck during the second period of Saturday's game when Shelley's two-handed shove knocked McQuaid off his skates. McQuaid just got his hands up in time to avoid hitting headfirst into the boards in Philadelphia's end.

McQuaid stayed down for several minutes, but later returned to the game. Shelley was given a game misconduct and a five-minute major. He later apologized to McQuaid.

The league said Monday that Shelley will forfeit nearly $12,000 in salary and will miss games against Pittsburgh on Tuesday and at Montreal on Wednesday.

He can return Saturday when the Flyers host the Rangers.

One of the Providence Bruins' new acquisitions, winger Juraj Simek, was here for the morning skate and will play against Portland tonight, wearing number 10.

"I was surprised it was Boston. I was expecting to get traded, but I didn't know where. I'm pretty excited to be here and I'm looking forward to it,'' said Simek.

Asked to describe himself as a player, he said, "I'm a high offensive guy, a pretty skilled guy, a goal-scorer. Hopefully I can help Providence score a couple of goals.''

Simek said he was told by Bruins management that the P-Bruins need scoring. "They told me they are excited to have me. They need some offense, they need a goal-scorer so, hopefully, I can make a good impression,'' he said.

Simek said he was born in Slovakia, grew up in Switzerland and speaks five languages -- English, German, French, Slovak and Swiss-German "with a little bit of Russian, a couple of sentences, but I wouldn't count it as a language, though.''

Simek said he played with Nathan McIver in his first year with Manitoba and with Wyatt Smith in his second year with Norfolk.

He said he was told of the trade at about 2:30 yesterday afternoon and hopped a flight from Norfolk, Va., later in the day.

Defenseman Sean Zimmerman, the other new player, is driving in from Rochester, N.Y., and won't be available tonight.

Coach Rob Murray said he was not sure what his lines would be tonight.

Of the two trades yesterday that shipped out Jeff LoVecchio, Jordan Knackstedt and Levi Nelson, Murray said, "They're third-year players that, end of the day, maybe it's time for a fresh start somewhere else. A change of scenery might do them good, and it sounds like a change of scenery with (Simek and Zimmerman) would do these guys good, too. Hopefully it benefits everybody on both sides of the trade.''

Jeremy Reich won't be available this weekend. His grandfather passed away yesterday, and he's headed back home to Saskatchewan for the funeral.

Mike Hutchinson will start in goal.

Antoine Roussel will be a healthy scratch.

Colby Cohen (wrist) worked out on the ice after the game-day skate. He's still nearly three weeks away from being ready to play.

The Boston Bruins have acquired forward Juraj Simek from Tampa Bay in exchange for Levi Nelson. Boston has also acquired defenseman Sean Zimmerman and a conditional seventh round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft from Florida in exchange for Jordan Knackstedt and Jeff LoVecchio. Both Simek and Zimmerman will report to Providence.

Simek, 23, has posted three goals and six assists for nine points in 21 games this year for the AHL's Norfolk Admirals. The winger is coming off of a career-year for the Admirals in 2009-10, during which he scored 21 goals and assisted on 15 others for 36 points, all personal-bests. In his four-year professional career, including three with Norfolk and one with Manitoba, the Presov, Slovakia, native has totaled 40 goals, 44 assists and 84 points, along with 110 penalty minutes in 225 regular season games. Simek has also scored seven points (2g, 5a) in 10 postseason outings. He was selected by Vancouver 167th overall in round six of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Zimmerman, 23, has gone scoreless in seven games this year as a member of the AHL's Rochester Americans. Prior to joining the Amerks, the defenseman has enjoyed time with San Antonio, Lowell and Albany of the AHL, the ECHL's Trenton, and Arizona of the CHL. Now in his sixth year, Zimmerman has 21 career points, including four goals and 17 assists, plus 218 PIM in 216 games. He had a career-best two goals, seven assists, nine points and 105 PIM in 72 contests for the Rampage in 2009-10. The Denver, Colorado, native was selected by New Jersey 170th overall in round six of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

Nelson, 22, skated in 14 games for the P-Bruins this season, scoring seven points (4g, 3a). Selected by Boston 158th overall in round six of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, the third-year pro has spent the majority of his professional career in Providence, along with a brief stint in Reading of the ECHL. In his career, the Calgary, Alberta, native has scored 33 points (18g, 15a) in 135 contests between the regular season and playoffs.

Knacktedt, 22, appeared in 22 games for Providence this year with 12 points, including seven goals, which ranked tied for second on the club. The winger and native of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, had spent his entire professional career with the P-Bruins, scoring 83 points (37g, 46a) in 185 games between the regular season and postseason. Knackstedt was selected by Boston 189th overall in round seven of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

LoVecchio, 25, tallied three points in 22 games for the P-Bruins this year, all assists. The left wing played his entire pro career in Providence, scoring 33 points (18g, 15a) in 107 contests between the regular season and playoffs. The undrafted Chesterfield, Missouri, native was first signed by Boston to an entry-level contract on Mar. 18, 2008.

Here's the release from the P-Bruins.

The Providence Bruins, in their 19th season in the American Hockey League, today announced that the National Hockey League's Boston Bruins have recalled rookie defenseman Steve Kampfer from Providence on an emergency basis. Kampfer will join Boston for its practice this morning at the Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington, MA. This is Kampfer's first career recall to the NHL.

Kampfer, 22, is in his first full professional season and currently ranks second on the P-Bruins in scoring with 16 points, including three goals and a team-high 13 assists. The blue-liner sits tied for sixth in the AHL in scoring among defensemen, while he leads all league rookies in helpers. Kampfer has also earned a plus-10 rating in his 20 games, good for a fourth-place tie among first-year AHL skaters.

Selected 93rd overall by Anaheim in round four of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, Kampfer was acquired by Boston for a conditional fourth round draft pick in a trade with the Ducks on Mar. 2, 2010. Prior to turning pro with Providence late in the 2009-10 campaign, the defenseman was a standout player for four seasons at the University of Michigan, where he totaled seven goals and 53 assists for 60 points in 147 games. As a senior, Kampfer helped the Wolverines win the CCHA Tournament and reach the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament. For his efforts, the Ann Arbor, Michigan, native was named to the NCAA All-Regional Team (Midwest) and the CCHA All-Tournament Team.

Since signing an entry-level contract with Boston on Mar. 31, 2010, Kampfer has scored four goals, tallied 15 assists and recorded 19 points in 26 games as a pro.

The P-Bruins' roster is now comprised of 25 players, including 16 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders.

Former Boston University defenseman Colby Cohen, acquired from Colorado last week in exchange for Matt Hunwick, has a cast on his right wrist and is expected to be out for at least three weeks, according to coach Rob Murray.

In practice last week, Cohen aggravated a wrist injury that he originally suffered while playing for Lake Erie.

Cohen skated after practice but can't do any shooting or puck-handling.

*****

In his first practice in Providence, Jordan Caron played alongside center Joe Colborne and right wing David Ling this morning.

"They wanted me to play more and get some power-play time,'' Caron said after the workout. "They want me to play more in an offensive role than I did in Boston. They have such a deep offense, it was hard for me to get an offensive role, so they want me to come here and play hard and help the team win games.''

Caron had 3-4-7 scoring numbers and was plus-4 in 20 games in Boston. He averaged 13:17 in ice time.

He scored his first NHL goal against Martin Brodeur on Oct. 16.

"It was great to be able to get a few goals up there, but that's over now and I'm here. I just want to contribute to the team and, hopefully, get a few here, too.''

*****


The P-Bruins have a lot of players, which could lead to some personnel moves by the end of the week.

Tuesday's lines:

Gold: Caron-Colborne-Ling
Maroon: Smotherman-Hamill-MacGrattan
White: MacDonald-Sauve-Reich
Gray: Nelson-Whitfield-Knackstedt
Blue: MacDermid-Roussel-LoVecchio

Wyatt Smith skipped practice to be with his wife, who is due to have the couple's second child soon.

The Boston Bruins sent rookie winger Jordan Caron to Providence on Monday.
Caron, 20, was Boston's first-round draft choice -- 25th overall -- in 2009.

In Boston, Caron, who has played in 20 of Boston's 25 games this season, had 3-4-7 scoring totals and was plus-four. He was a healthy scratch for Boston's last two games.

Prior to turning pro, Caron spent four seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Rimouski and Rouyn-Noranda, with 116-120-236 numbers in 237 games, including playoffs.

TORONTO (AP) -- Kris Versteeg scored the tying goal with just over 40 seconds left in regulation and Phil Kessel netted the winner in a shootout in the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins on Saturday night.

Carl Gunnarsson also scored for the Maple Leafs, who snapped a two-game losing streak.
Nathan Horton and Gregory Campbell had goals for the Bruins, which lost for the fourth time in 10 games.

Colby Cohen will not play for the Providence Bruins tonight against Connecticut at The Dunk.

The first-year pro, acquired from Colorado for Matt Hunwick, aggravated a sprained wrist that he suffered a few weeks ago with Lake Erie, said coach Rob Murray. Cohen went for an MRI this morning.

Trent Whitfield isn't nearly ready to play in games, but he was a full participant in today's game-day skate, centering Jeremy Reich and Kirk MacDonald. Whitfield also led the team in the stretch that ends practice.

MIke Hutchinson will start in goal tonight.

Max Sauve will not play tonight. Steve Kampfer will play.

The rest of the lineup is in flux. Reich (foot) and MacDonald (lower body) will be game-time decisions, Murray said.

BOSTON (AP) -- Marc Savard returned to the Boston Bruins' lineup Thursday night against Tampa Bay after a long fight with post-concussion syndrome.

The star center missed the first 23 games of the season.

Savard was injured March 7 when he was knocked out by a blindside hit by Penguins forward Matt Cooke. He missed the final 18 regular-season games as well as the first round of the playoffs before returning in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Philadelphia.

TSN's Bob McKenzie writes on his Twitter account that the trade sending Marco Sturm to the Los Angeles Kings is up in the air for now because of medical concerns.

Sturm tore his ACL and MCL last season.

Colby Cohen participated in his second practice with the Providence Bruins on Thursday.

He left practice a few minutes early with trainer Mark Grotzinger. Later, he had a bag of ice on his right wrist.

Cohen said he was surprised by the trade that sent him to the Bruins organization on Monday. Cohen had been playing with Colorado's AHL affiliate in Cleveland.

He's an offensive defenseman, although "obviously I haven't put up any numbers this year,'' he said.

Cohen had a goal and no assists in 14 games with Lake Erie and was scoreless in 3 games with Colorado.

"I hope to get out of that and start producing a little more offensively,'' he said.

On his new team, he said, "It looks like a pretty good group of guys, a skilled team.''

He knows only one of his new teammates personally. "I played a couple of months with Matt Bartkowski in Lincoln" of the USHL, he said.

Cranston's David Quinn was Cohen's coach with Lake Erie. "I played for David Quinn at BU also for two years, and he recruited me for a few years before that. He's a great coach. I wish him the best of luck. He'll be an NHL head coach before long.''

TSN is reporting that the Boston Bruins have traded Marco Sturm to the Los Angeles Kings.

Bob McKenzie of TSN says he's hearing that Boston will receive a conditional draft pick in return.