Bruins Return To Garden To Battle Devils

Hi Boston, remember hockey?

It’s been five days since the Boston Bruins have played a game, a thrilling win against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night in Canada’s capital where the B’s scored two goals with under a minute and a half left in the third to tie it and eventually win in the shootout.

Tonight, the B’s will play host the New Jersey Devils, a team that has given the Bruins trouble and close match-up’s for years. Under Claude Julien, the Bruins are 3-2-3 against the Devils and no final score between the two clubs has had a goal differential over three, which has happened only once.

Ten games into the season, the Devils, back with Jacques Lemaire behind the bench, are off to a 6-4-0 start, but their road record has been more than impressive, it’s been perfect. The Devils are undefeated on the road with a 5-0 record.

As always, a main cog in the success of New Jersey has been Martin Brodeur, who missed much of last season with a torn bicep injury. However, luckily for Boston, Marty will be watching tonight’s game from the bench as Yann Danis will make his Devils debut tonight in Boston.

With the departure of Scott Clemmensen to Florida through free agency and retirement of Kevin Weekes, the Devils were without a solid back-up and addressed this issue with the signing of Yann Danis to a one year contract worth league minimum.

For Danis, this is his third NHL franchise in as many years, spending last season with the New York Islanders, where he put together a respectable season on a dreadful team with a 10-17-3 record, .910 save percentage, and 2.86 goals against average.

Despite his decent numbers, the same cannot be said when Danis stepped in between the pipes against the Boston Bruins.

In three games last season against the Killer B’s, Danis went 0-3-0 with a .881 save percentage, including a start against the Bruins in the Isles season finale where he was lit up for four goals in 25 minutes.

For Boston, the focus will be on looking to continuing the momentum they gained last week as the team gained five out of a possible six points while without top-liners Marc Savard and Milan Lucic.

The Bruins will still be without Lucic (finger) and Savard (foot) for tonight’s game, but call-up’s Brad Marchand and Vladimir Sobotka have played considerably well and aren’t causing headaches for fans in the Hub of Hockey when on the ice just yet.

Last week, the success for Boston came in the final five minutes against the Sens, a task they surely don’t want to have to repeat tonight with Danis in net. The keys to the game will be to put the pressure on the Devils early and get Danis rattled. However, given the Lemaire trap-style of play, inducing lullabies everywhere since 1993, the B’s may have very limited chances to do so in tonight’s game, creating the mantra of capitalizing on their chances.

Players To Watch

For Boston, the pressure-cooker has got to be building on Matt Hunwick. Hunwick, who missed nearly all of the Bruins playoff-push last year following a ruptured spleen injury, has struggled out of the gate on a defensive standpoint so far in 2009-10. While the 24-year old has three goals in ten games thus far, he’s been a total liability when it comes to defending the Bruins zone responsibly. If this continues, B’s fans will be clamoring for the return of Johnny Boychuk from the press box in place of Hunwick sooner, rather than later.

Tim Thomas, coming off a huge 27-save performance in Ottawa on Saturday will be in net tonight for Boston and will look to improve to 5-3-0 on the short season. The 2009 Vezina Trophy winner has experienced relatively good success against New Jersey, boasting a 4-3-3 record and .920 save percentage, including a shutout of last year’s Devils.

In red and white tonight, while Patrik Elias is tops among Devils forwards when it comes to career points against Boston, Elias will be inactive tonight still recovering from off-season groin surgery, putting the focus on Devils captain and notorious Bruins killer, Jamie Langenbrunner. In 10 games this season, Langenbrunner is already off to a fast start with seven points and a +4. Always the dangerous playmaker due to his size and effective skating, Langenbrunner has already tallied 23 points in 34 career games against Boston and could have more if not contained by the Bruins.

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Ty

This Week In Bruins: Tuukka, The Kids, Philly & My Negativity

Here in the first week of “This Week In Bruins” (okay, I’m cheating, the season is about three weeks old now but who makes up these rules anyhow?), we’re going to examine the past seven days in all things Bruins.

Following a dominating performance against a semi-healthy Dallas Stars team, the Bruins sputtered out of the gate and lost to the currently-untouchable Ilya Bryzagalov the Phoenix Coyotes 4-1 in the desert. Before the game, the Bruins lost Milan Lucic for the night, and went on to lose him for the next 4-6 weeks with a broken finger.

Just how does one of the NHL’s toughest players get away with sitting out four to six weeks because of a broken finger? Well, you can ask him if you see him, but I know I won’t be backing you up.

* To add injury to injury, the Bruins also placed linemate Marc Savard on the long-term injured reserve with a broken foot. While Savard’s seven points were good for best on the Bruins, it was deemed best if 91 spent some time in the press box, giving him time to let the broken bones heal. The injury was suffered during the pre-season, but gives Savard more time to pursue a modeling career, photos by the Improper Bostonian, courtesy of the Looch Ness Monster blog.

* The Bruins call up Guilliam Lefebvre, sent him down, call him up for a half hour, and send him down again. While Lefebvre is heading back to Rhode Island for perhaps the rest of the season, I’ve grown curious as to how much gas money Peter Chiarelli has given Lefebvre.

* Brad Marchand gets an assist in his first NHL game, but rubs Bruins, music, and musically-inclined Bruins fans the wrong way before the game when he admits to wanting to interview Nickelback.

* The Bruins acquire Daniel Paille from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for one of the Bruins 1,982 draft picks. Paille impresses Bruins fans the next night with his dogged determination, tenacity and assist on a game-winning goal for Boston.

* Steve Begin continues to make Boston fans miss P.J Axelsson and Stephane Yelle less and less by the game. Currently, Begin is on pace for 54 points and is second on the Bruins with four assists.

* Surprisingly, Patric Hornqvist survived 60 minutes out there against the Bruins on Wednesday. The Sweden native forward, who stands at a whopping 5′11″ and 186 pounds was hacking away at Thomas’ pads all game, crosschecking Sobotka and being an all around irritation to the Bruins.

* Bruins survive a last second melee in front of Tim Thomas’ crease to secure a win against the Nashville Predators, continuing their streak of inconsistency.

* My negativity towards the Boston Bruins via Facebook status leads to the team waking up, I know I’m friends with Zach Hamill on there, but does news really travel that quickly?

* Both Vladimir Sobotka and Brad Marchand admit that Marley & Me made them cry. Winning the hearts of dog-lovers all over, but creating a buzz about just what is going on in the city of Providence?

* Bruins unveil “official” Winter Classic hats during pre-game skate with Philadelphia Flyers, continuing to upset fans with their lack of anything cool for this year’s battle at Fenway Park.

* The scouting report on Tuukka Rask continues to read “top-shelf”. However, Tuukka still performs admirably in the 4-3 shootout loss against the Philadelphia Flyers, including a stellar save against Jeff Carter on a shorthanded breakaway.

* Scott Hartnell has still refused to get a haircut, to the dismay of even his closest family. His search for revenge on Bart Simpson continues.

*Derek Morris scores his first goal with the Boston Bruins and tallies an assist against Philly, stopping the complaining of B’s fans..for now.

* Is there any team more appealing to loathe than the Philadelphia Flyers? Between that clinically-insane punk Daniel Carcillo to Chris “Mr. Stomp” Pronger, is there any reason as to why anyone outside of Philadelphia would bother liking this club? I suppose it fits their city well though, GREEN-MAN!

* The Canadiens continue to stumble, to the joy of Bruins fans, posing the question, est la Coupe truly downtown? Even more joyous, the Toronto Maple Leafs are still winless seven games into the season, with a wonderfully terrible record of 0-6-1, on pace to give the Boston Bruins the first overall draft pick in 2010. Hey Kessel, how do ‘ya like ‘dem apples?

Tomorrow, the Bruins take to the ice in Kanata, Ontario to take on the Ottawa Senators. This will be the first time that the Bruins face off against Alex Kovalev since his departure from Montreal. Will L’Artist have any tricks up his sleeve or will the Bruins continue to play hard, physical and cliche as they prove to be “tougher to play against”?

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Ty

Glimpse of the Future? B's Without Savard For 4-6 Weeks

When it rains, it pours.

Earlier this morning, the Boston Bruins announced that they’ve placed center Marc Savard on the long-term injured reserve with a broken left foot, joining fellow linemate on the B’s top line, Milan Lucic.

It’s unclear as to when Savard aggrivated the foot he injured during the preseason, but Savard noted that it was undoubtedly in the best interest if he took some time off. “The best thing now is to shut it down for a couple of weeks and let it heal.” a disappointed Savard said today when talking to the media.

Although the struggling Bruins certainly need the presence of their number one powerplay-producer, could B’s fans be getting a glimpse of the future as Savard could be without the club for nearly two months?

Savard enters 2009-10 in the final year of a four year contract he signed with the Boston Bruins back in July 2006 that pays him five-million a year, a bargain when looking at the numbers put up by the 5′10″ center from Ottawa. In all three seasons in the Hub so far, Savard has put up at least 60 assists or more, something only duplicated in the entire National Hockey League by Joe Thornton of the San Jose Sharks.

However, given the expected decrease in the salary cap along with the continuing development of players such as David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, and Milan Lucic, all younger players with contracts of 3.75 million or higher, just where does Marc Savard fit into the plan of the Boston Bruins’ future?

When examining the players who finished with the same amount of points and/or more than Marc Savard last season, their average salary totals out at an average of 6.4 million dollars a season. While there’s been plenty of internet chatter about the Bruins interest in signing Savard to a three-year extension worth 6.5 million a season, there’s been no substantial quotes, figures or talks been expressed by both sides to date.

Regardless of the numbers put up by number 91, the Bruins numbers when it comes to the salary cap sets off quite the alarm, creating a large doubt about Savard’s potential return to the club past 2009-10.

Currently, the Bruins have 39.4 million dollars of the 2010-11 cap tied up between 11 positional players and Tim Thomas. However, besides Savard, included in the Bruins pool of pending free agents are promising players Blake Wheeler, Mark Stuart, Tuukka Rask and Vladimir Sobotka along with roleplayers such as Andrew Ference, Shawn Thornton and Derek Morris.

Without including Savard, the Bruins would have approximately 15.9 million dollars to spend on 10 players to fill out a roster. While it’s expected that players such as Mikko Lehtonen, Zach Hamill, Jeff Penner and Andrew Bodnarchuk will be challenging for spots on the big league roster next September, the likelihood of Savard remaining a Bruin without Peter Chiarelli having to continue to move pieces around is near impossible.

Posing the question, could what we’re about to witness be the future of the Boston Bruins?

Called up from Providence over the weekend, fiesty smaller forwards Brad Marchand and Vladimir Sobotka are expected to make their cases for a role on the NHL roster with Kobasew out of the equation and will certainly get their chances with the injuries to Lucic and Savard. They will be helped by the addition of Daniel Paille and call-up of journeyman minor leaguer Trent Whitfield.

Also expected to take the load off Savard’s back on the powerplay will be promising and proven NHL capable centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. While David Krejci totaled 73 points in 2008-09, the 23 year old Czech forward has shown some signs of still being in the midst of recovering from off-season hip surgery. On the other hand, center and 2003 2nd round pick Bergeron has been on an absolute tear, scoring five points in seven games this season and playing much like he did back in 2006-07 before concussions took their toll on the B’s alternate captain.

While tonight’s match-up against the 2-4-1 Nashville Predators may be a good way for the young guns to get into the action, the real tests will come as the B’s schedule gets tougher with opponents such as the Philadelphia Flyers, New Jersey Devils and Edmonton Oilers facing off against Boston in the next nine days.

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Ty

Bruins Acquire Daniel Paille From Sabres

It didn’t take Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli too long to find an alternative to now former third-line-staple Chuck Kobasew. Today, the club on Causeway announced that they have acquired Sabres forward Daniel Paille in exchange for a third round pick in the 2010 NHL Draft and conditional fourth rounder in ‘11.

While most Bruins fans are no Darren Dreger or Pierre LeBrun, the move has been dubbed as ‘puzzling’, ‘confusing’ and even ’stupid’ on some internet forums so far.

For one, following the placing of Milan Lucic on the long-term injured reserve over the weekend, the Bruins called up forwards Brad Marchand and Vladimir Sobotka to fill in the holes created by Looch’s injury and Kobasew’s departure for Minnesota.

Sobotka, who had an impressive pre-season, creating concerns as to why he wasn’t apart of the NHL roster to begin the season, is absolutely tearing apart the American Hockey League with the Providence Bruins thus far, posting six goals and ten points in just six games so far for the Baby B’s. The same can be said for Brad Marchand, who’s put up eight points, including six goals in six games for Providence.

Seemingly ready for their chance in the National Hockey League, the Boston-hopefuls may have some new competition for ice-time with the addition of Danny Paille into the Boston line-up.

Paille, who’s been a healthy scratch for Lindy Ruff’s Sabres for four games already this season is looking for a new start in the Claude Julien system.

Considering Paille’s decrease in point production by eight points from the season prior, much of that can arguably be attributed to his diminishing minutes as his average time on ice a game went from 13:16 down to 11:54 a game.

So far in 2009-10, Paille has an assist and a +1 in two games for the Sabres. Paille’s career high in goals (19) came in the 2007-08 season, as did his point total, 35, in the same season.

Personally, I love this move. Paille brings many of the same intangibles that Kobasew did, at half the cost with a 1.1 million dollar cap hit. The addition of Paille also gives Boston flexible if Marchand, Sobotka or both, falter at the NHL level, avoiding the idea of thinning out your presumed-NHL-ready depth on the farm.

Kobasew Traded To Minnesota; What's Next?

Well, this is certainly surprising, at least at seven games into the season it is.

Today, the Boston Bruins have announced the trade of Chuck Kobasew to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for winger Craig Weller, the rights to unsigned fourth round pick from 2009, Alexander Fallstrom, and a second round draft choice in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Kobasew, a Boston College alumni and first round pick from the 2001 NHL draft, was beginning his third full season with the Boston Bruins after being traded to Boston midway through the 2006-07 season.

Always the fan favorite, Kobasew was known for his strong two-way play and never-afraid-to-get-your-hands-dirty approach to the game and his steady play has been more than welcomed to the Bruins. In 158 games, Kobasew tallied a total of 44 goals and 84 points frequently playing on Boston’s third line. Kobasew was also coming off two consecutive 20-goal seasons in the Hub of Hockey.

However, while Kobasew was a valued and often unsung hero on the Boston Bruins roster, his presence and increasingly unfavorable contract was without question weighing on Boston GM Peter Chiarelli’s mind.

As it stood in the Hub, and now in Minnesota, Kobasew’s making 2.3 million dollars a season through the conclusion of the 2011-12 season. A price simply too rich for the thinning blood of the Boston salary cap.

Coming to Boston in the now is forward Craig Weller, who’s totaled 95 games, 14 points and 127 penalty minutes in two seasons split between the Coyotes and Wild. Along with Weller and the draft choice, the Bruins have obtained Harvard freshmen Alexander Fallstrom, a Swedish forward with a knack for scoring goals in Europe, something he’s looking to replicate with the Harvard Crimson.

So just what does the moving of Kobasew out West create for possible scenarios for the B’s?

1. Deadline Blockbuster – In Boston, one name has been consistently repeated, Atlanta Thrashers captain and star forward, Ilya Kovalchuk. The Russian forward has put up five straight seasons with at least 40 goals and has an expiring contract and may want out of Atlanta if they continue their decline on the map of hockey relevancy. If the B’s are to fail in landing Ilya, they could also used the freed up cap space to perhaps land a top six forward like Nathan Horton from Florida or Alexander Frolov from the Los Angeles Kings.

2. Re-Signing Savard? – The Bruins have reportedly expressed in re-signing top center Marc Savard before he hits the open market this off-season. Savard is coming off three straight 60+ assist seasons and is in the final year of a contract that pays him five million dollars per season. Savard, who’s already off to a good start to 2009-10 with seven points in as many games, is considered a bargain at five million per season and is often looking for his last big contract in the 6.5 million dollar range.

3. Restricted Free Agency Wiggle Room – At the conclusion of this season, young stars such as Blake Wheeler, Mark Stuart and Tuukka Rask headline the B’s crop of restricted free agents. Given the success of the youth while the cap dwindles down, the Bruins are clearly at a disadvantage and need to take the proper steps towards creating a solid crop of players developed into their own system. The clearing of Kobasew’s contract does just that.

Personally, I believe the Kobasew trade makes the Bruins a premier buyer at the NHL Trading Deadline this year. As it stands now, the Bruins have six draft picks in either the first or second round of the 2010 NHL Draft, absolutely huge bargaining chips at the deadline for a cellar-dwelling team looking to unload some expiring contracts.

Also, I’ve noticed a large outcry from Bruins Nation about the trading of Chuck Kobasew. Honestly, my response is just, “At 2.3 million dollars a season, is he really worth what he is on a very talented B’s club, a third liner?”. While Kobasew is, was, a fan favorite at the Garden, his goals will be replaced by a combination of Brad Marchand, Vladimir Sobotka ( who were both called up from Providence today) along with added offensive contributions from role-players Byron Bitz and Steve Begin.

Heading into Wednesday, the Bruins will likely role a set of lines similar to these.

Marco Sturm – Marc Savard – Michael Ryder

Blake Wheeler – David Krejci – Byron Bitz

Mark Recchi – Patrice Bergeron – Vlad Sobotka

Shawn Thornton – Steve Begin – Brad Marchand

Extra Skater: Guillaume Lefebvre

With the shake-up’s seemingly done for now, the Boston Bruins will focus on the Nashville Predators, who come to town on Wednesday for a showdown at the Garden.

Lucic Injured, Lefebvre Called Up

Tonight, the Phoenix Coyotes will host the Boston Bruins at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona, but a key cog in the Bruins roster will not be active for tonight’s game.

Milan Lucic, who’s coming off a five-hit performance less than 24 hours ago, will be sidelined for tonight’s game and possibly more with a currently undisclosed injury.

In typical Boston Bruins fashion, the injury remains undisclosed, leading me to believe that they’d give us GM Peter Chiarelli’s personal cell phone number before telling us above a top six forward’s injury. Regardless of the info, or lack of, the question remains; Just how did Milan Lucic suffer this injury we know little to nothing about?

It’s very possible that Lucic’s physical play last night could’ve banged him up, as he seemed to have an extra giddy-up (they were playing in Texas, so that’s acceptable for this post) in his physicality. Whatever the injury may be, the Bruins have called up forward Guillaume Lefebvre up from the Providence Bruins on an emergency basis.

Essentially when examining the call-up of the 28-year-old forward from Quebec, the Bruins are replacing one menacing force with another.

Lefebvre, who spent all of the 2008-09 season with the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League, tallying 206 penalty minutes along with 13 points in 70 games, has already made his mark in the Providence penalty box. Just four games into the AHL season, Lefebvre’s totaled 25 minutes in the sin bin and is expected to be in the line-up tonight for the Boston Bruins.

This likely means that Byron Bitz is getting moved up to the third line while Recchi moves up one, or that Lefebvre will be a direct substitution for Lucic on the second line. However, the latter of these plans seems unlikely as in short, Lefebvre’s there for his physical play, not his offensive skills.

Tonight will mark Guillaume’s first game in the National Hockey League since February 4th, 2006 when he was with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Word from John Bishop via the Bruins official Twitter acount is that Lefebvre will wear number 92 tonight for the black and gold.

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Ty

Desert Bound B's: Bruins vs. Coyotes Preview

Last night in the Hub of Hockey, the riot squads were called off and the Bruins were able to shut down the Dallas Stars en route to a 3-0 rout that’s settled down the masses of B’s fans, at least for now.

While the Bruins earned a “that’s how you do it” from most B’s fans for their efforts, Claude Julien’s squad was able to do all the things that made them such a successful team last season. For starters, they were able to kill of an early penalty to Patrice Bergeron 18 seconds into the game, avoiding the loss of any sort of momentum. The Bruins also capitalized on their up-ice rushes, putting three goals by Marty Turco on 29 shots.

In the eyes of Bruins Nation, three players stood out in particular. Michael Ryder, who moved up to the top line, playing with Marc Savard and Marco Sturm had arguably his best game of the season. Although he was held to just one point, Ryder had some great opportunities.

Tim Thomas, who stoned all 27 of Dallas’ shots showed some great poise when under fire and was bailed out numerous times by great defensive efforts from his blue-liners.

The Bruins first star of the game has to go to Marc Savard, who had a phenomenal night offensively as he was constantly creating offensive chances for his linemates and took advantage of his own chances as he banged home two goals by Marty Turco, the second being an absolute bullet that I’m convinced Turco simply didn’t see.

Charging into Arizona, the Bruins will look to continue to ride their momentum from last night as they’re hosted by Dave Tippett’s Phoenix Coyotes.

Coming into tonight’s game, the Boston Bruins will be without forward Milan Lucic, who injured himself during last night’s tilt in the Lone Star State and have called up bruising forward Guillaume Lefebvre from Providence to stand in for Lucic tonight. Lefebvre has one assist and 25 penalty minutes in four games with the Providence Bruins so far this season.

The game plan tonight for Boston will be much of the same, put the pressure on the young Coyotes early and often. Although Ilya Bryzgalov is in the midst of a spectacular start to the season, posting a 4-1-0 record with a 1.17 goals against average, including two shutouts, the Bruins will undoubtedly up the pressure on the 29-year-old Russian netminder as they did on Turco last night.

For the Coyotes, the focus will be on Shane Doan, who’s off to a seemingly typical slow start, scoring just three points in six games so far in 2009-10.

Players To Watch

For Boston, keep your eyes out for defensemen Johnny Boychuk, currently filling in for injured blue-liner Dennis Wideman. The AHL’s 2008-09 Eddie Shore Award winning defensemen, Boychuk is coming off two very strong games where he showed a strong awareness of his space and where the play was going while continuing to throw his body around very well. At this rate, Boychuk will make fans forget all about the loss of Shane Hnidy as the team’s seventh defensemen.

Two more players to take note of are Marc Savard and Mark Recchi. Savard is currently sitting at 199 career goals, one shy of 200 while Recchi is just an assist away from 900 in his career.

Currently, as it stands, the Phoenix Coyotes are the Pacific Division leaders (crazy season, huh). A player who’s seemingly thriving under the system put into place by Dave Tippett is forward Radim Vrbata. Three goals and an assist in six games is making a lot of us forget that Vrbata was the same player who jetted back home to Czechoslovakia after being upset with the Tampa Bay Lightning just 18 games into a lucrative three year contract last season.

Scottie Upshall is another player to keep tabs on tonight if you’re a Boston player. Upshall has absolutely killed Tim Thomas, well actually any Boston goaltender, throughout his career and has eight points in as many games against Boston throughout his NHL tenure. While Upshall’s currently sitting with just two goals so far this season, it’s very possible that he could be the one to make the difference between a Boston win and Boston loss.

If you haven’t already, follow me on Twitter!

Ty

Fight Night Round II: Bruins vs. Stars Preview

“He’s a knee seeking missile, he’s a SCUD.” – Bruins’ play-by-play announcer Jack Edwards on Steve Ott’s questionable hit on Stephane Yelle last season at the TD Garden.

Tonight, the Boston Bruins start their first road trip of the season in Dallas to face off against the 2-0-3 Stars. Fortunately for number 29 and Bruins favorite (wink, wink), Steve Ott, will be witnessing this one from the press box of the American Airlines Center nursing a strained oblique that’s landed him on the injured reserve.

In a rematch of perhaps the most talked about regular season game last year for Boston, the Bruins will seek to get their first win against a Western Conference club this season while the Stars are looking to continue their streak of earning a point in every game of this newborn NHL season.

For Boston, the goal is to get sixty minutes of strong play, something they’ve shown a troubling inability to do five games into the season.

Some changes for the B’s will come up front, as Milan Lucic has dropped down to the second line with Michael Ryder moving up to the top line where he’ll be playing with Marco Sturm and Marc Savard for tonight’s match-up.

The Bruins will also have 2009 Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas back in the crease tonight after a two-game Tuukka weekend in the Hub of Hockey.

Good news for the anemicBoston powerplay, which comes into tonight’s game as the sixth worst in the National Hockey League, converting just four of their 29 opportunities, is that defensive forward and penalty killer Jere Lehtinen will be out for tonight’s game along with two-way forward Mike Modano.

For the Stars, the focus should and will be on goaltender Marty Turco, who’s coming off a shutout of the Nashville Predators. Along with Turco, the Stars will rely on their top line featuring Loui Eriksson, alternate captain Brad Richards and James Neal who have combined for 21 out of 56 points this season by Stars’ players.

Honestly B’s fans, don’t expect a repeat of last year’s fight-filled night of antics in Boston. The reasons?

For one, Sean Avery, the man arguably responsible for ruining any team chemistry in the Stars’ locker room is back in New York with the Rangers while Ott is out for tonight’s game. Secondly, the Bruins just need to head into tonight’s game with a level head, there should be no “revenge for a guy who’s now with the Hurricanes” sort of motive on their mind, “just win” is the idea on the B’s mind tonight.

As nice as it would be to see a Bruins’ blue-liner rearrange Matty Niskanen’s kisser as Jack Edwards so proudly put it last year, I wouldn’t hold my breath for a line-brawl tonight.

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Ty

Oh Captain, Our Captain: Why Is There A Nude Zdeno Chara In My ESPN The Magazine?

No, that's not Bigfoot from the Patterson footage, that's just the captain of the Boston Bruins, Zdeno Chara.

It's guaranteed that most of the sports fans out there weren't too thrilled to open their ESPN: The Magazine this morning and see a nude 6'9" Big Z starting at them provocatively wearing nothing but his birthday suit.

Just why did ESPN pick Chara for their inaugural "Body Issue"? Or better yet, why did Chara accept the offer put forth by the television station that loves to act as if hockey is less important than NASCAR?

I'm no 6'9" Slovak, but here are just a few ideas as to why Zdeno Chara agreed to do this photoshoot.

• Chara saw last season's NHL "Is this the year?" poster that said the only thing more terrifying than Zdeno Chara was Zdeno Chara with a playoff beard and he disagreed vehemently. In fact, Chara believes that the image of his nude stare will in fact burn in the heads of NHL forwards as they make their way up the ice.
• He heard that there was a naked painting of Bobby Orr, he felt that he could one-up number four.
• Chara realizes that when you're captain of the Boston Bruins, nearly seven feet tall on skates and known for tossing players around like ragdolls you probably won't hear too much about it from the opposition.
• After registering the NHL record for hardest slapshot at 105.4 mph, a myth began to grow about how human Zdeno Chara actually was compared to how much of a machine he was. He felt he needed to do this to set the record straight.
• Chara felt extreme jealously towards the modeling shots of Andrew Ference and knew that someone had to show up that Earth-friendly blue-liner. After all, while Ference is preserving the mountains, Chara is conquering them.

Regardless that the magazine also contains players such as Sheldon Souray, Bill Guerin and Mike Komisarek, Chara was the only NHL player to pose nude for the magazine. In the process, Captain Zdeno became the first player to ever appear nude in a magazine, sorry Jiri Tlusty.

Powerplay Outage: Hiller, Ducks Beat Bruins 6-1

Is it too late to change the Boston Bruins motto from “Big and Bad are Back” to “Ten Minutes of Offensive Pressure, Fifty Minutes of Mistakes”?

While it’s still extremely early in the season, there’s no doubting that after a 6-1 demolition of the hometown boys thanks to the at-the-time winless Anaheim Ducks following the steam-rolling of Carolina last Saturday, the fans in the Hub are beginning to wonder what they’re in for this season.

My best advice? Don’t jump off the bridge when there’s still 79 games of hockey left.

Heading into tonight’s showdown at the TD Garden, the Bruins were seemingly back to their offensive-juggernaut ways after lighting up the ‘Canes for 7 goals during a Saturday night physical affair in Boston. Tonight however, Jonas Hiller and the rest of the Anaheim (no longer mighty) Ducks were more than ready. After getting peppered by 19 shots by Boston in the first period of play and only letting one Marco Sturm slapshot get by him, the feeling that this was going to be a difficult night for the Boston offense was beginning to reverberate throughout the minds of the Garden Faithful.

From there on out, it was all Anaheim.

Following an interference call on Matt Hunwick for his rather bizarre knock-down to 6′4″ Evgeny Artyukhin and questionable hooking call against Marco Sturm, the Ducks, who boasted the fourth best powerplay in 2008-09, were set up with one minute and 53 seconds of a five-on-three advantage. Turns out they’d only need a minute and thirty seconds of it to jump ahead.

It was a Teemu Selanne bullet that went by Tim Thomas, who was being screened by Corey Perry uncontested that tied that game and wouldn’t you know it, it was Teemu again who put the puck by a sprawled out Tim Thomas a minute later to give Anaheim a lead they would never relinquish.

After Corey Perry’s goal midway through the second period put the Ducks up 3-1, the Bruins seemed simply unmotivated to win, a sight similar to last week’s home opening against the Washington Capitals. Anaheim, who adopted the idealogy of quality over quantity finished the period with three goals on just six shots whereas the Bruins were held to just one goal on 30 shots through 40 minutes of play.

In similar fashion to the aforementioned game last week, Bruins netminder Tim Thomas gave up three more soft goals in the third period, including a very bizarre shorthanded goal by Corey Perry with under a minute to play and the Bruins were done.

When it comes to tonight’s loss, the Krejci line can simply not feel good about the way they played tonight. Frequently offsides and defensively irresponsible is no way to go through a game, boys. All three members of the Bruins’ second line, Blake Wheeler, Michael Ryder and David Krejci finished the night with an upsetting -3.

Kudos to Boston’s fourth line tonight, which was creating offensive chances and throwing the body around all at the same time. Shawn Thornton, who has a knack for scoring highlight-reel goals was kept off the scoresheet but had a very impressive night when it came to moving the puck around and skating.

All and all, the story of tonight’s loss rests on the unsuccessful powerplay put forth by Boston. The Bruins were 0-6 on the advantage, falling to 4-19 on the season.

Dumb Quote of the Night

“*Sarcastic cheers*” – As Thomas stopped the puck after giving up the sixth goal in the closing minute of tonight’s loss.

Yes, Thomas did get shelled tonight, yes he was looking foolish at times, but why are you booing the Vezina Trophy winner from last season after a rough game? For one, the Bruins defense was not giving Thomas any help whatsoever and secondly, wouldn’t you prefer Thomas to work out the kinks from the off-season in October as opposed to in April?

Jersey-Spotting of the Night

A man walking throughout the balcony tonight in Section 314 was sporting a lovely Boston Red Sox away jersey, bearing the last name “Yankees Suck”, featuring the number 24:7. Interesting to say the least as this last name was so long that it makes Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson look like a nameplate belonging to Steve Ott.

What’s Next?

The Bruins will take to the ice in Boston on Saturday night as John Tavares makes his TD Garden debut when the New York Islanders come to town. The Isles are 0-0-2 on the season following an overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators in Canada’s capital tonight. I’m about 95% sure that following tonight’s frustrating effort put forth by Tim Thomas, who stopped 24 of 30 shots, that the Bruins will give the nod to Finnish phenom Tuukka Rask.

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Three More Years Of Milan: The Lucic Craze In Boston Continues

At just 21 years old, Lucic has arguably become the face of the Bruins franchise to the casual fan in just his third season in the National Hockey League. Just what makes this hulking left winger so popular in the Hub of Hockey?

For one, he reminds Bruins fans of a certain number hanging in the rafters of the Garden, Cam Neely. While Lucic has yet to develop the offensive skills that Neely possessed, Lucic has the frame of a power forward with a dangerously high level of tenacity and aggression when on the ice.

While Neely still receives booming ovations when shown on the Garden jumbo-tron, be it in classic clips, opening videos or live shots from the ninth level of the TD Garden there’s no louder chants heard than when Lucic is on the ice. As the Boston faithful chant their overpoweringly loud chorus of “Loo”, you know the 6′4 forward is stalking an impending victim for a devastating body check and about to create some offensive chances for his linemates in the process.

To say Lucic is more than a just another fight wouldn’t be doing the Vancouver native any justice, as HockeyFights.com has Lucic boasting a 18-4-2 record in the regular season when it comes to dropping the mittens.

In just the past month alone, Milan Lucic has single-handedly bloodied two guys in fights. Lucic’s first victim was Senators enforcer and known tough-guy Chris Neil, who was essentially asking for it after leveling Boston star forward Marc Savard during a preseason tilt. However, the newest face to get pummeled by number 17 is that of Jay Harrison, a defensemen for the Carolina Hurricanes who was getting under the skin of every Boston player throughout the night until his exchange (or lack thereof on his part) of blows with Lucic.

Already achieving of cult status in the city of Boston, the popularity of Lucic is growing relentlessly. “Lucic Crew” shirts with the number 17 on the back along with the phrase “Ass-Kicker” on the nameplate have quickly become a staple in the balcony of every Bruins home game.

While Lucic may have golden-glove-like qualities, primarily from his days as a teenage boxer in British Columbia, it’s becoming more evident that he has more than mediocre skills on the offensive spectrum of things. Playing on Boston’s top line last season, Lucic put together a 42 point season, including 17 goals, including three game winners. Even more impressive for Lucic enthusiasts in 2008-09 was the fact that his penalty minutes actually increased by 47 minutes from the previous season

Outside of the hockey bubble in Boston, the bruising forward is primarily known for his hate-fueled rivalry with defensemen Mike Komisarek. The two, who have been going at it since Lucic’s rookie season, have not only exchanged words, shoves and checks; but fists, twice, with Lucic winning both decisions handily.

In Montreal, there’s no debating that Lucic has become enemy number one for his refusal to drop the gloves with Georges Laraque on numerous occasions as he prefers to instead beat the Canadiens on the scoreboard rather than toil in the penalty box for five with an old fashioned “goon” by NHL standards.

Without question Boston fans love the physical presence provided by their second round choice from the 2006 NHL Draft, as their near 20 foot tall banner featuring Zdeno Chara and Milan Lucic proclaiming that “Big & Bad Are Back” featured on the outside wall of the TD Garden tells us, it’s becoming clear that Lucic has matured immensely through the lessons and mentoring by both head coach Claude Julien and Bruins VP Cam Neely. In just two seasons with the Bruins, Lucic has driven home the point that he’s at his best when the team needs him most. For Lucic, his time to shine has been throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs where in just 17 career games he’s put up 11 points and a +11.

With the Boston Bruins quickly on the rise within their own city and the National Hockey League as a whole, the spotlight on the Bruins prized winger is certainly going to grow larger with the team’s rising success.

Looked upon as a game-changer for the B’s, at the age of 21 mind you, Lucic has shown a willingness to destroy anything and anyone in the Bruins way for a victory and after Saturday night’s display on the Garden ice, we shouldn’t expect him to stop anytime soon as Lucic became a very rich man when he agreed to a three year contract extension through the 2012-13 season worth 12.25 million dollars.

The Chronicles From The Garden's 2009-10 Eastern Conference Predictions

Can't you feel it? The NHL season is officially upon us. Here's my predictions for the regular season this year in the NHL.

Eastern Conference

1) Boston Bruins - Call me a homer, but what's not to like about this team? You have the Vezina in net with Tim Thomas, the Norris on your blue-line in 6'9 Zdeno Chara and Jack Adams winning coach in Claude Julien behind the bench. Although the leading goal scorer from last season is now a Maple Leaf, the return of Marco Sturm, a full season out of Mark Recchi and continued development from the youth should fill in the void. Expected to help on the powerplay is the addition of Derek Morris, a puck-moving defensemen who finished with a disappointing 20 points last season between New York and Phoenix. What's not to like? The lack of depth on the blue-line due to the departure of Shane Hnidy, Steve Montador (perhaps a blessing) and Aaron Ward.

2) Washington Capitals - Alexander Ovechkin is continuing to build on what's looking to be a career full of record breaking in the Nation's capital. Over the offseason, while Sergei Federov and Viktor Kozlov left for their homeland in Russia, the Capitals were able to add former Bruin and Flyer Mike Knuble to their club. Knuble will be a huge contribution to the Washington offense as he has the ability to bang home many of Ovechkin's rebounds. What's not to like? Given the rather unsettling play of Jose Theodore last season, the Caps may turn to Semyon Varlamov to lead the team. Varlamov, who was run out of Game 7 in the second period against Pittsburgh last season has under 25 games of total NHL experience to his name and could be unprepared to take the full load.

3) Philadelphia Flyers - Following two disappointing Stanley Cup Playoff exits in a row, Flyers GM Paul Holmgren was in the market for making a big move during the offseason. There was perhaps no bigger move made than the Flyers acquistion of 6'6 Chris Pronger from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a first round draft pick and expendable forward Joffrey Lupul. Pronger gives the Flyers another valuable weapon on the blue-line and in my opinion, is the one that puts them over the top in their division. What's not to like? The goaltending duo of Ray Emery and Brian Boucher is a stretch for a division winner, if both falter as starter's, then the Flyers may be in the market for a goaltender at the trade deadline.

4) Pittsburgh Penguins - The Pittsburgh Penguins did what many hockey fans, myself included, didn't think they could do, beat the Red Wings without Marian Hossa. Pivotal in the Pens road to the Stanley Cup were veteran Bill Guerin and agile winger Chris Kunitz. Good news for fans in the 'Burgh is that these players have returned to the club for another year. What's not to like? The departure of secondary scorers Miroslav Satan and Petr Sykora along with gritty defensemen Rob Scuderi could hurt the Penguins in the dog days of the NHL season.

5) Carolina Hurricanes - As Boston fans felt the sting of on May 14th, 2009, you should never doubt the 'Canes. In net for Carolina is clutch goaltender Cam Ward, who stymied the opposition until hitting the Eastern Conference Finals and became 36+ million dollars richer over the off-season with a six year extension. The Carolina Hurricanes added a bevy of grit this offseason with the additions of Tom Kostopoulos, Andrew Alberts and members of last season's Bruins in Aaron Ward and Stephane Yelle. What's not to like? In the event of an injury to either Eric Staal or Cam Ward, the Carolina Hurricanes could fall from division contenders to on the outside looking in. The fact that they also will feast off a poor division is a knock on them for many people.

6) New Jersey Devils - Given the absence of Martin Brodeur for 50 games last season, it's a marvel that the New Jersey Devils continued to go on and win the Atlantic Division. While the Devils have a familiar face back behind the bench with the return of Jacques Lemaire as bench-boss of New Jersey, the team is already battling injury woes with Patrik Elias' absence from the line-up while recovering from groin surgery. What's not to like? Over the offseason, the Devils lost their two back-up's, Scott Clemmensen and Kevin Weekes. While 'Clem' went to Florida to back-up Tomas Vokoun, Weekes took a job in the booth for the NHL Network and backing up Marty is now Yann Danis.

7) Montreal Canadiens - It's very safe to say that 2008-09 wasn't quite the centennial celebration that the Habs had hoped for. At the start of the season, the Canadiens seemed poised to win the Stanley Cup with the additions of Robert Lang, Alex Tanguay and tough-guy Georges Laraque. However, a severe rash of injuries and inconsistent play by their top six amidst drug-trafficking allegations against the Kostityn's by the Montreal media and the Habs finished with the 8th seed in the East. Over the off-season, the Canadiens went through a major overhaul, adding Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta, Michael Cammalleri, Hal Gill, Paul Mara, Jaroslav Spacek while parting ways with Saku Koivu, Alex Kovalev, Alex Tanguay, Mike Komisarek and Chris Higgins. What's not to like? The million-dollar question in Montreal remains "Will Carey Price return to his rookie season form?". If not, the Jacques Martin system could falter in it's first year in Montreal.

8) Buffalo Sabres - While it doesn't feel as if the the Buffalo Sabres were two points away from making the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, they were. While the Buffalo blueline lost veterans Jaroslav Spacek along with Teppo Numminen, they added what they hope will be a rebounding Steve Montador. The Sabres were also able to add gritty forward Mike Grier and once-seemingly-NHL-banished defensemen Joe DiPenta. What's not to like? The health of Ryan Miller and Tim Connolly (what else is new?) will be the Sabres biggest concerns in their attempt to return to the playoffs after a two year hiatus.

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9) Toronto Maple Leafs - The Maple Leafs are set to begin year one of the official Brian Burke reconstruction. Burke and the Leafs had a busy off-season to say the least, adding Mike Komisarek, Francois Beauchemin, Colton Orr, Garnet Exelby, Jonas Gustavsson and Boston's leading goal scorer from last season, Phil Kessel. While Kessel won't be ready to play until around mid-November, the addition of number 81 gives Toronto a top-line forward they desperately need for the future. What's not to like? If Jonas Gustavsson struggles at the top level, the Leafs will be forced to rely upon Vesa Toskala, who has never quite provided the numbers expected of him when initially acquired from the San Jose Sharks.

10) New York Rangers - In typical Glen Sather fashion, the Rangers had an expensive offseason. The biggest addition for the blue-shirts is that of Marian Gaborik, the Minnesota Wild's franchise leading point man, to a five year deal worth over 37 million dollars. The right winger, who's experienced considerable injury woes as of late, has been productive when in the line-up. The Rangers were also able to add toughguy Donald Brashear, Boston University standout defensemen Matt Gilroy and secondary scorers Enver Lisin, Vinny Prospal and Chris Higgins. What's not to like? The lack of NHL-ready defensemen on the New York blueline will be a concern as they're in perhaps the best division in the Eastern Conference when it comes to scoring goals.

11) Atlanta Thrashers - While the big question in Atlanta continues to surround Ilya Kovalchuk and whether or not the captain of the Thrashers will remain that by this year's trading deadline, the Thrashers did go out and get some additions to complement their Russian superstar. The biggest names arriving in Atlanta are none other than Nik Antropov and Pavel Kubina, two former Toronto Maple Leafs. The presence of Antropov will without question give the Thrashers another weapon on the powerplay for Ilya and the same goes for Kubina. What's not to like? While Kari Lehtonen is recovering from back surgery, the Thrashers will look to Johan Hedberg and Ondrej Pavelec to stop the pucks. The problem arises even more so when Lehtonen does return because injuries to the back are just so unpredictable when it comes to goaltenders.

12) Ottawa Senators - The problem in Ottawa, for seemingly ever, has been the lack of a true number one goaltender. That problem will continue in 2009-10 as the Sens are expected to role with a platoon of Brian Elliot and the surgery-recovering Pascal Leclaire. Without question the biggest news involving the Ottawa Senators came with the trading of Dany Heatley to San Jose in exchange for Milan Michalek and Jonathan Cheechoo. They, along with the addition of Alexei Kovalev from the Montreal Canadiens will also bolster the Senators anemic secondary scoring situation. What's not to like? The blueline. While players such as Anton Volchenkov and Chris Phillips are good for a depth chart, they should not be relied upon as a top defensive pairing.

13) Florida Panthers - I almost fell for this club last season, their play, including a shutout of the Boston Bruins made me a believer. I was convinced that the Florida Panthers were going to the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference and that Jay Bouwmeester would fall in love with the Panthers and re-sign. Boy, was I was wrong. Due in large part to Bouwmeester's struggles following the trade deadline, the Florida Panthers finished 10th in the Eastern Conference. Although disappointment resonated (well, sort of) in Florida, the Panthers were able to see young stars such as David Booth develop and shine brightly in the Sunshine State. With the loss of Jay-Bo, the Panthers were able to add forwards Steve Reinprecht, Dominic Moore, blue-liners Dennis Seidenberg, Jordan Leopold, and goaltender Scott Clemmensen. What's not to like? The puck-moving ability from the blue-line certainly dropped with the departure of Bouwmeester, but the Panthers top six forwards are simply disappointing and not enough to compete in this year's Eastern Conference.

14) Tampa Bay Lightning - Oh the Barry Melrose era in Tampa, what an illustrious 16 games for all involved, especially Steven Stamkos, who flourished with his near no-ice time, right? After a 5-7-4 start, the Lightning fired the famed coach turned ESPN-analyst and following a voodoo-like hex put on the Lightning by Melrose after his departure, the team began to experience limited success under Rick Tocchet. Amid rumors of Vinny leaving for Montreal, the captain of the Lightning remained in black and blue after the trading deadline, investing some sign of faith towards the future for Bolts fans. The Lightning's biggest additions are on the blueline, with the drafting of Sweedish defensemen Victor Hedman and signing of Mattias Ohlund to a contract. The Bolts were also able to add back-up goaltender Antero Niittymaki through free agency and left winger Alex Tanguay on the cheap in September with a one year deal. What's not to like? Even with the addition of Tanguay, the Lightning become the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League after their second line, up front and on defense.

15) New York Islanders - I suppose there should be no surprise here. This team has a lot of woes, perhaps not as many as the Phoenix Coyotes, but still, the concerns are there. While the Jonathan Tavares era is beginning on the Isle, the question is for how long? Following continuing refusals of the "Lighthouse Plan" proposed by Islanders owner Charles Wang, the frustrated owner is beginning to explore other options that involve relocating the team. On the ice however, the Islanders were able to add Rob Schremp from Edmonton through waivers and two fringe-starting goaltenders in Dwayne Roloson and Marty Biron. What's not to like? There's a question that requires an answer almost too big to comprehend. For the Islanders, the fact that their best defensemen behind Mark Streit is Brendan Witt is an obvious cause for concern.

Eastern Conference Finals Prediction: Boston Bruins vs. Philadelphia Flyers.