The Vezina & The Flash: Boston Looks To Goalies For Anchoring

Not since the days of Andy Moog and Reggie Lemelin (Apologies to Andrew Raycroft and Hannu Toivonen) were the Bruins considered to have as much strength in net as they did in 2008-09. The goaltender duo of Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez proved to be the best in the National Hockey League, taking home the Jennings Trophy for fewest goals against along with Tim Thomas leaving Vegas with the Vezina trophy in June.

Heading into the off-season, it was pretty much a known fact that Fernandez wouldn't be returning to the Bruins for a third season with the club. The 35 year old, who was acquired in a trade with the Minnesota Wild back in 2007, was seemingly in a do-or-die moment when it came to his health. Fernandez, who was sidelined for 78 games of the 2007-08 season with a severe knee injury that required surgery had just one more chance to prove he could perform at a high level in a contract year with Boston.

As the rigorous schedule of a National Hockey League season took it's toll on Fernandez's back and knees, the netminder often referred to as "The Mexican" (he's from Canada, go figure) seemed ready for what could be one final go 'round with Boston.

Fernandez performed admirably in 2008-09, finishing with a 16-8-3 record and a .910 save percentage for the Boston Bruins. Manny's big moment in Boston come in October and didn't end until December as Fernandez performed exceedingly well in a platoon role with Tim Thomas, going 12-2-1 in the 2008 calendar year with a 1.94 goals against average.

The lack of playing time that followed Fernandez in 2009 was due in large part to the success of Tim Thomas along with what was considered either a back sprain, although rumored to be an "attitude issue" that limited 'Mandez' to just 12 appearances in the second half of the season. Fernandez went on to finish the season poorly, dropping four of his last six games.

Obviously, the play of Tim Thomas went on to lead to both zero appearances in the postseason for Manny and a Vezina Trophy for the 35 year old Thomas. The Michigan-native and perhaps one of the best stories in Bruins history put up career highs in all categories with his 36-11-7 record and league leading .933 save percentage and 2.10 goals against average. His strong play in 2008-09 led to the once dubbed "poor-man's Dom Hasek" goaltender to receive a four year contract worth 20 million dollars.

Heading into this season, Thomas is clearly the number one starter for the Bruins for the fourth year in a row. However, Thomas will have new competition on the bench as prized Finnish goaltender Tuukka Rask has finally cracked the big league line-up and joined Boston. Rask, who was originally acquired from Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Andrew Raycroft in what's considered the biggest steal in recent Bruins trade history has spent the past two seasons playing for the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League. In his two seasons of seasoning with the P-Bruins, Rask posted a 60-33-6 record and 2.42 goals against average.

Last season, Rask joined the Bruins for a brief stint and participated in one game during the entire season. This one game proved to be the best of Rask's short NHL career thus far. The Finnish Flash held the New York Rangers off the scoresheet, stopping all 35 shots his faced from the blue-shirts offense. His shut-out on January 31st sparked great internet banter from every wannabe-expert who believed that Rask should have either traded Fernandez to make room for Rask, and or give the reins of the starting job to Rask.

Ignoring the hype from the know-nothings who dub Rask as the Finnish version of Roberto Luongo, there's still a lot to look forward to when it comes to Tuukka. On the surface, Rask appears to be that perfectly mechanical goaltender that every NHL G.M salivates over. At just 22 years old, it's very possible and entirely likely that Rask will only get better with time.

The Boston Bruins are expected to continue to limit the workload of Tim Thomas for stamina purposes while giving Rask his first real taste of the National Hockey League. My realistic expectations of Thomas is to play around 55 games around while Rask will get in for 25, perhaps a little more or less if he is to live up to the hype.

On the farm, the Providence Bruins will have the ability to select through a plethora of goaltending options throughout the year in Dany Sabourin, Kevin Regan and newly signed Matt Dalton. While Sabourin is expected to be the number one for Providence, P-Bruins coach Rob Murray will undoubtedly try to give Matt Dalton a good look while UNH-alum and Boston native Kevin Regan re-cooperates from off-season hip surgery.

Something worthy to note, the Boston Bruins likely have the two most volatile-tempered goaltenders in the crease this season thanks to Tuukka's affection for throwing milk-crates whereas Thomas has a tendency to flip nets off their moorings, tackle forwards, knock down wingers, and chase after agitators when things don't go quite his way.

Bruins Winter Classic Jersey Leak?

On the right is a picture of Tim Thomas and one of the Boston Bruins ice girls or Carrie Milbank of NHL.com as one commentor pointed out (any confirmation is greatly appreciated). Notice anything askew? No, it's not Thomas' new watch, it's the jersey. Poising the question, is this the Boston Bruins 2010 Winter Classic jersey?

If so, here's a few pro's and con's of the jersey that the Bruins will don when they take on the Philadelphia Flyers at Fenway Park on New Year's Day.

Pro's

• Very reminscent of the photo's from the early Johnny Bucyk era and jersey sold on Willie O'Ree appreciation day. Everyone loves the Chief and diversity.
• The sleeve patterns don't stray too far away from the Bruins current scheme. Same goes for the shoulders.
• The jersey numbering and letter will most likely be white with black outlining, which should look absolutely awesome.
• Incorporates all of the Boston Bruins normal colors, with what looks to be some added brown on the spokes of the 'B'.

Con's

• This 'B' is far too cartoon-ish for a serious Bruins fan.
• Doesn't this look an awful lot like the old Providence throwback jerseys?
• We know that the Bruins were trying to go for a Pittsburgh look with the powder blue, something that would incorporate older colors but still be very popular among the fans, so maybe our expectations were a bit over the top for the (possible) end result.

Overall, this jersey gets a thumbs up from me if this will be the one worn by the Bruins on New Year's Day. Despite the fact that it may not be this one, or this one, or this one (thank Eddie Shore), it'll still be better than whatever the Flyers could possibly put together looking at their jersey history. Bright orange? Not a good look unless you're working the tarmac at Logan Airport.

Bruins & Julien Agree To Contract Extension

Waking up this morning, Bruins fans can't help but be happy that the coaching carousel of Boston Bruins head coaches is seemingly over. During a morning press conference at the TD Garden on Friday, the Boston Bruins announced that they had agreed to terms with head coach Claude Julien on a multi-year contract extension.

Following the firing of Dave Lewis after just one season (turns out the dump, chase, dump, chase again and ride Thomas for 60+ games system didn't work too well) the Bruins were in need of a total revamping behind the bench. As rumors swirled throughout the web that included names such as Mike Milbury, Scott Gordon and even Ray Bourque as taking over behind the Boston bench, it was former Montreal and New Jersey coach Claude Julien who received the nod of approval from Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli.

Upon his arrival to Boston in the summer of 2007, many questioned how well Julien's defensive trap system would work in Boston considering the Bruins lack of a premier goalie such as Martin Brodeur or the Jose Theodore from 2003-04. However, to say Julien has worked wonders with the tools and roster he's been given would be putting it lightly.

Since his introduction into the Bruins coaching staff, Julien has teamed up with Bob Essensa to transform Tim Thomas from a "lucky" goaltender with no set style to a Vezina winning goaltender who has a better sense of where he should be at all times and how to better utilize his defense in front of him. Under Julien, including the playoffs, Thomas has a 74-38-13 record in the defensive system. Along with the favorable record, Thomas boasts a 2.27 GAA and .927 SV% in regular season play along with eight shutouts.

Julien's style of play not helped out the Bruins goaltenders, but the captain of the Bruins has arguably benfitted the most from the system Julien has placed into the Boston line-up. During the Dave Lewis era, it's often believed that Zdeno Chara was simply logging too many minutes out there, therefore making him less effective. Under Claude Julien, Zdeno Chara's has been noticably better due to less ice time and in both seasons Chara has seen his point totals go up. Chara's biggest achievement in the Julien system thus far has undoubtedly been taking home the Norris Trophy in 2009.

Along with the improvements of Chara and Thomas under Julien, players such as Marc Savard, David Krejci and Marco Sturm have become much better two-way players and have seen their overall play thrive.

In Julien's two seasons as Boston's bench-boss, the team's overall record has dramatically improved from the year before. However, it's tough to top a 116-point regular season and both Claude and Chiarelli realize the potential of the team taking a step back from that total in 2009-'10. Touching on it during the press conference, Julien mentioned the idea of needing to be ready for every team to come at them even more so because they're now one of the league's elite.

There's not much improvement left for Julien to make in the regular season, but this team and Claude's true test will come if and when the team can make a serious run in the playoffs. Despite the success throughout his career, Julien has yet to coach a team beyond the second round of the NHL Playoffs. However, with this year's club seemingly ready to go already it's very possible that Julien will have yet another chance to advance to a Conference Finals appearance in 2009-10.

The players bought into the system of digging deep, fighting for every possession and being fundamentally sound and it's both the fans and Julien who are reaping the benefits as the club heads into this season as the odds on favorite in both the Northeast Division and arguably the Eastern Conference.

25 Predictions For The 2009-10 Boston Bruins

The month of waiting has begun. We're officially 29 days away from the Bruins taking to the ice in their home opener against Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals, or "Crapitals" as Mike Milbury evidently prefers. To put it lightly, the Bruins are expected to produce huge results in 2009-10 and are favored by many to finish with the top record in the Eastern Conference. In what I'm hoping won't be Montreal Canadiens 2007-08 to Habs circa 2008-09, here are 25 predictions I'm willing to make about this year's Boston Bruins.

1. The Bruins will win the Northeast Division in similar fashion to the 2008-09 club.

2. Tuukka Rask will perform up to snuff and will become the premier piece in any trade rumor involving the Boston Bruins on HockeyBuzz, HFBoards or The Fourth Period. (C'sFromTheG5).

3. Bruins fans will fall in love with Steve Begin's physical style of play by the 5th home game of the season.

4. Dennis Wideman will continue to make Bruins fans forget about Brad Boyes as he'll put up 30+ points on the powerplay, but will continue to frustrate them at the same time with his errant slapshots.

5. Bruins goalie Tim Thomas will continue to get better with age and will continue to build on his Disney-movie-like story as he's named starter for Team USA in the 2010 Winter Olympics.

6. Byron Bitz will continue to win the hearts of Bruins fans, creating the next Lucic-like craze. Expect a song to the tune of Sweet's song "Ballroom Blitz" to eventually come out by someone. Bitz? Bitz? Byron Bitz?

7. Mark Stuart will now officially take over as the Bruins premier juggernaut on the blue-line when it comes to blocking shots, throwing forearm shivers and chime in offensively time and time again.

8. With P.J Axelsson jetting back to Sweeden to play for his hometown of Frolunda of the SEL, Patrice Bergeron will take over as the Bruin with the most stylish hair-doo.

9. Phil Kessel will be a member of the 2009-10 Boston Bruins when he signs a one year tender at the unfortunate expense of Chuck Kobasew and/or Andrew Ference and we conceivably could do this fun saga (of lack thereof) all again in the Summer of 2010, doesn't that sound fun?

10. Michael Ryder will score 30 goals, regardless of playing on a line with Marc Savard or David Krejci.

11. The Bruins Top 9 forwards will be the elite of the Eastern Conference, perhaps the NHL and are better than any Top 9 you can assemble on MySpace.

12. While Aaron Ward will be cheered for his contributions on the Bruins blueline despite his departure with the club for Carolina, Scott Walker will be booed by the Garden faithful louder than Alex Kovalev, Sidney Crosby or Mike Komisarek ever was when the Hurricanes come to town on October 3rd.

13. The Bruins will continue to make the TD Garden a house of horrors for Habs goaltender Carey Price.

14. Patrice Bergeron will officially have his pre-concussion swagger back. The 24 year old center was showing signs of returning to form during the playoffs against Montreal and Carolina where he and line-mates Mark Recchi and Chuck Kobasew acted as the B's number one shutdown line. Although he may not return to the 70-point level in 2009-10, he simply won't need to considering the Bruins talent at the center position.

15. Bruins new comer Derek Morris will perform well in the Julien system and take the pressure off of Zdeno Chara and Dennis Wideman to carry the powerplay from the blue-line. With his expected ice time along with style of play Morris will also record his highest point total since 2003-04 as he'll put up 32+ points with Boston in 2009-10.

16. The 2010 Winter Classic will not disappoint any of it's viewers as Green Monster seats will sell for 15,000 dollars and/or your first born child on craigslist.com.

17. Vladimir Sobotka will continue to struggle on the NHL roster due to his limited role, creating doubts about his career as an NHLer, or at least within the Bruins system. Sobotka may have had a combined 57 points in 58 regular season/post-season games for the Providence Bruins but his dissatisfying -10 on a very well goaltended Bruins team last season is cause for concern.

18. The Providence Bruins will once again put together a highly competitive product under coach Rob Murray with strong play from their netminders and additions of Jamie Arniel, Yannick Riendeau along with others come later in the season and another season out of Brad Marchand.

19. The buyouts of Petr Schaefer, Patrick Eaves and Glen Murray will continue to hurt the Boston Bruins chances of acquiring a possible puzzle piece at the NHL Trading Deadline.

20. Blake Wheeler will have a breakout season as he fully conditions himself to a full NHL season. The 23 year old added 15 pounds to his 6'5 frame and will be expected to use his size to his advantage even more in '09-10. Even if the point totals only see a slight bump, a change in his style of play will be noticed by both Bruins fans and coaches alike as he continues his progression into a solid NHL winger with supreme offensive skills.

21. Matt Hunwick will make strides as a Byfuglien-like hybrid of sorts for the Bruins with his ability to play forward at an acceptable level along with being a sound defensemen.

22. Andrew Ference will still ride his bike to games when the weather permits, but will also make a statement as to why he should remain in Boston and in the Bruins organization with his strong defense and fearless attitude out on the ice.

23. Captain Zdeno Chara will set a new career high in both goals and powerplay goals in 2009-10 due to the possible downgrades in goaltending within the Eastern Conference. (See: Toronto, Ottawa, Philadelphia and Florida).

24. The B's fourth line of Shawn Thornton, Byron Bitz and Steve Begin will absolutely destruct every player of the opposition when out on the ice this season.

25. Jack Edwards will continue to make absolutely insane remarks during games but Boston fans will continue to love him because well, the man calls an absolutely excellent game. He may be no Fred Cusick, but the excitement and enthusiasm Edwards brings to every game regardless of it being Game 7 or a regular season game against the Phoenix Coyotes is enough to keep us entertained. One thing's for sure, the man is high.

Bruins, Datsyuk Look To Hit Jackpot In Vegas

It's been just 6 days since the Pittsburgh Penguins won their 3rd Stanley Cup in franchise history when they beat the Detroit Red Wings in a phenomenal Game 7. The NHL off-season moves fast, and sometimes too fast when you look where we already are: the eve of the NHL Awards Ceremony in Las Vegas. 2009 marks the first time that the award ceremony has been moved from the annual location in downtown Toronto to the City of Sin. The 2009 Awards Ceremony has also put the limelight on new and interesting faces on the rise in the NHL.

The race for the Calder Memorial Trophy was led by one amazing goaltender out of Columbus, Steve Mason. The 21 year old 'tender out of Oakville, Ontario went 33-20-7 with a 2.29 GAA and a league leading 10 shut-outs. Opposing Mason for the Calder are wingers Bobby Ryan and Kris Versteeg. Versteeg, who was obtained from Boston in a 2006-07 (now regrettable) trade where the Bruins acquired just Brandon Bochenski in exchange for Versteeg has had a more than solid season for the 'Hawks. Versteeg scored 22 goals along with 31 assists and finished with a +15 in his first full NHL season. In Anaheim, the potential of the Ducks 2005 first round selection is just beginning to become reality as Bobby Ryan put together an incredibly strong season despite his journey beginning in the AHL. Ryan went on to score 31 goals in just 64 games for Anaheim and became a serious power-play weapon for the Ducks push to the playoffs. Despite the note-worthy playoff performances of both Versteeg and Ryan, you can't look at the numbers Mason posted as a rookie and not be impressed. When all is said and done, Steve Mason will join the likes of Martin Brodeur, Ed Belfour and Tony Esposito as Calder Trophy-winning goaltenders. My Pick: Steve Mason.

The Nicklas Lidstrom Memorial Trophy, I mean the James Norris Memorial Trophy is given to the NHL player who demonstrates the best play as a blue-liner. Lidstrom, a 6-time winner of the Norris has dominated the competition to say the least, however this year's race may be the tightest Lidstrom has ever competed in. Attempting to knock Lidstrom down are two Eastern Conference defensemen; Capitals d-man and mohawk fan Mike Green and Boston captain Zdeno Chara. Along with setting a new NHL record for the hardest slap-shot during the All-Star Weekend in Montreal, Chara is coming off a strong season where he finished with 50 points and a +23. In Washington, Green set an NHL record when he scored in 8 consecutive games for the Capitals and finished with 31 goals, including 18 powerplay tallies. Despite the reputation of Lidstrom and Green's offensive talent, this trophy's heading back to Boston as Zdeno Chara will join the likes of legendary Boston defensemen such as Bobby Orr and Ray Bourque as he'll bring home the Norris. My Pick: Zdeno Chara.

The Lady Byng Trophy, named after the wife of at-the-time Canada General Governor is awarded to the player who expresses the most "gentlemanly" conduct in the game. This year's nominee's are Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk, Devils winger Zach Parise and Tampa's Marty St. Louis. My Pick: Zach Parise

The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is simply put, the NHL's perseverance award. Cancer survivors such as Jason Blake, Phil Kessel and Saku Koivu have all taken the trophy home in recent years and the awarding of the Trophy is in my opinion, a two-man race. Despite the longevity of Chris Chelios' career, he really wasn't plagued by any injuries or had to over-come anything to find himself in the press box for 44 games this season. This brings it down to Steve Sullivan of the Nashville Predators and Richard Zednik, who both came back from serious injuries to return to the game they love. Sullivan was forced to miss all the 2007-08 campaign due to major back surgery and his return to Nashville was more than welcome this year as he registered 32 points in 41 games for the Preds. Then there's Richard Zednik, who's life was in considerable danger last year when he caught a skate in the jugular and needed to be rushed to a local hospital. My Pick: Steve Sullivan.

The Vezina Trophy is in easy terms: the ultimate award for a goaltender in the National Hockey League. When Martin Brodeur went down in November, the chase for the Vezina blew open. Emerging from this pack as a front runner and favorite was Bruins goalie Tim Thomas. Thomas went 36-11-7 and led the NHL in both GAA and SV%. Opposing him is Columbus phenom Steve Mason (33-20-7) and Wild netminder Niklas Backstrom (37-24-8). Despite Backstrom's anchoring of the Wild and Mason's NHL-leading 10 shutout's, this one's all Thomas. My Pick: Tim Thomas.

The Lester B. Pearson trophy goes towards the NHL player who is considered "most outstanding" by the members of the National Hockey League Players Association. The nominee's are Pittsburgh Penguins and Mrs. Malkin's soup junkie Evgeni Malkin, Caps winger Alex Ovechkin and Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk. For me, the choice is simple. Malkin's numbers are just undeniable. My Pick: Evgeni Malkin.

The Jack Adams Trophy is the NHL's form of a Coach of the Year award. This year's nominee's include Sharks coach Todd McLellan, Bruins coach Claude Julien and Blues bench-boss Andy Murray. McLellan coached the San Jose Sharks to their President's Trophy in their 18 year history and were seemingly favorites to capture the Stanley Cup but failed to get by the 8th seeded Anaheim Ducks in the 1st round. In Julien's two years with the Bruins, he's brought them from 13th to 8th, and then from 8th to 1st and has done nothing but help the development and get the full potential out of players such as David Krejci, Phil Kessel, Zdeno Chara and Tim Thomas. Behind bench in St. Louis, Murray worked wonders with essentially nothing. The Blues lost their best defensemen Erik Johnson before the season even began and lost top winger Paul Kariya in the first leg of the season but somehow found a way to sneak into the NHL Playoffs with a team effort. My Pick: Andy Murray.

The NHL Foundation Award recognizes the charity efforts of players within their community. This year's nominees are Columbus captain Rick Nash, Kings forward Dustin Brown and Habs leading goal scorer Alex Kovalev. My Pick: Alex Kovalev.

The Frank Selke Trophy is awarded to the forward who excels in the defensive aspects of the game and this year's nominees include two fresh faces: Flyers captain Mike Richards and Canucks center Ryan Kesler. While these two emerging forwards in the NHL look to capture their first Selke, current holder Pavel Datsyuk is looking to bring home the trophy for a 2nd straight season. My Pick: Pavel Datsyuk.

Undoubtedly, the biggest trophy at tonight's festivities in Vegas is the Hart Memorial Trophy. The Hart Trophy is awarded to the player voted to be the most valuable to his team and this year's contest includes three Russian superstars. Defending the Hart Trophy is current holder Alexander Ovechkin who is coming off yet another strong season in the nation's capital where he scored 109 points in 79 games. Opposing him is 2nd time nominee Pens superstar Evgeni Malkin and Pavel Datsyuk. Despite the strong season of both Datsyuk and Malkin, they are under nearly as much pressure as A.O due to their supporting cast. Ovechkin is without a doubt, the most valuable player to the Washington Capitals and in my opinion, the NHL. My Pick: Alexander Ovechkin.

Tim Thomas: From NHL Castaway To Vezina Favorite

"Is this real?"

This question has undoubtedly ran through the mind of Bruins netminder Tim Thomas at one point or another during his incredible season in between the iron for the Boston Bruins. Tim Thomas, yes the same Tim Thomas who just five years ago found himself playing in Europe wondering if he'd ever have another chance to step on an NHL rink is finally just a few votes away from reaching a milestone his career rightfully deserves. Tim Thomas, who turned 35 in April has seemingly gotten better every year during his tenure in Boston. Called up as an injury replacement for Hannu Toivonen in the midst of the horrid 2005-06 season, Thomas immediately earned a reputation as a wild-man in net. His style, or lack thereof made him a unique character on a rebuilding Bruins team.

As the season continued, Thomas eventually took over for the near useless Andrew Raycroft and went 12-13-10 with a .917 SV%. He was rewarded witha 3-year contract extension at mid-March and with the trading of Andrew Raycroft to Toronto, the job of full time starter for Boston was Thomas' for the taking. Thomas went 30-29-4 with the Bruins in 2006-07 as the team failed to make the playoffs for the second straight year. Thomas' numbers drop was often attributed to coach Dave Lewis' "over-working" of The Tank, who before 2006 had never played more than 54 games in any setting.

Despite Thomas' play, Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli felt that the team had lacked the 'number one' goalie needed to guide the team back into the playoffs. This put the Bruins in the market for a goaltender, and the they got one. On July 1st, the Bruins went out and traded for Minnesota Wild netminder and Jennings Trophy co-winner Manny Fernandez in exchange for prospect Petr Kalus and a 2009 4th round pick. However, fate found Thomas' in Boston's crease yet again. After Fernandez went down with a season-ending knee injury just four games into his tenure with the Bruins, Thomas was once again relied on to be the starter in Boston's push for the playoffs.

A new coach and style of play found Thomas in a favorable position, his numbers went up, and for the first time in his career Thomas was playing in the NHL All-Star Game. Thomas continued to lead the Bruins and played a pivotal role in the team's return to the playoffs and near upset of the number one seeded Montreal Canadiens. The role of the once doubted Thomas was now clear, the role of Bruins starting goalie was officially his.

To put it simply, the 2008-09 season was Thomas' year. He dominated virtually every goaltending categoryin the NHL, finishing with the best SV% (.933) and GAA (2.10) among all NHL goalies. He continued to play up to his numbers during the Bruins bid for their first Stanley Cup in 37 years.

With no disrespect to the seasons of Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom and Columbus phenom Steve Mason, there's no conceivable reason why Thomas will not be leaving the Sin City without some hardware and an answer of "Yes, this is real.". You've earned it.

Datsyuk's Return Spells End For Pens

Alert the mayor, this one's over.

Despite not being officially eliminated after their 5-0 beatdown by the Detroit Red Wings, the Pittsburgh Penguins are simply over matched by the depth and experience of the Motor City. Now, with the return of Detroit's top center Pavel Datsyuk, the Penguins officially find themselves with no room for error. It's undoubtedly a tough reality to grasp for Penguins hopefuls and fans, but simply put, it's inevitable. Fact is, this team's not winning the Stanley Cup if their inability to play their game outside of the Mellon Arena continues. The Pens were completely out-hustled and worked by the elder Red Wings for 60 minutes at the Joe Louis Arena, for the 3rd time out of 3 visits to Motown.

For the Red Wings, the return of Datsyuk into the line-up and more importantly the powerplay was the difference maker in their Game 5 demolition of Marc-Andre Fleury. Despite gingerly skating on his injured foot during the pregame skate, the Russian center proved to be effective as ever. In his 17+ minutes of ice time Datsyuk didn't miss a beat, picking up a pair of assists including a great feed to Brian Rafalski on the powerplay to increase the Red Wings lead to 4-0.

In what has become typical Detroit-fashion, the Wings systemically destroyed the Penguins and exploited their youth throughout all three periods of Saturday night's tilt at the Joe. The Wings got the Penguins frustrated early and often, a tactic which led to 9 powerplay opportunities for the Red Wings. The Red Wings took advantage of this, scoring 3 straight powerplay goals in the 2nd period, putting themselves up 5-0 on the Penguins and leading to the exit of Marc-Andre Fleury from the Pittsburgh net.

As a confidence-less Fleury headed down the runway and back to the Pittsburgh locker room, the doubts of Pens Nation grew. The rumored fatigue of the Red Wings is gone; they're back, and they smell blood.

The Penguins defenders were unable to stop the one-footed Datsyuk and Wings, as they often resorted to swinging their sticks blinding from their knees in a feeble attempt to stop the Wings roaring offense. The series swings back to Pittsburgh on Tuesday, the same setting where the Penguins felt their initial dream of bringing their 3rd Cup to the city of Pittsburgh crushed by Chris Osgood and the Red Wings.

It's not written in stone that the Penguins will not pull off the upset and capture the Stanley Cup, however, the continuing failures at the Joe Louis Arena are creating massive clouds of doubt among NHL fans worldwide, including myself. M.A Fleury has created the image of the Joe being his House of Horrors much like Tim Thomas' was seemingly tormented by the Bell Centre during his first few years in Boston. Fleury's record in Detroit during the past two Stanley Cup's is anything but flattering as he's gone just 1-4 with a GAA just under 3 and a .906 SV%. Fleury's only win came in 2008 Stanley Cup's epic Game 5 where the Penguins survived the Red Wings to avoid elimination with a win in the 3rd overtime.

Now with 2 days for both teams to rest their surely sore bodies, the Penguins have two options before their eyes: regain their confidence and believe that they can top this team or lose once again in front of their home crowd. Despite the added noise and spark the Igloo White-out will provide, the Red Wings are just too strong on their special teams with the return of Pavel Datsyuk. As Nicklas Lidstrom and the rest of the Red Wings will raise their 2nd Cup in as many years we'll learn that Hossa was right, he did have a better chance in Detroit because the Pens are simply done.

To Believe, Or Not To Believe

Well, it's official. The Boston Bruins back's are up against the proverbial wall. There's no tomorrow for the Bruins if they don't win tonight's Game 5 showdown at the TD Banknorth Garden; As with just one more loss against the Carolina Hurricanes the Bruins will be knocked out of the series 4 games to 1. However, all faith should not be lost as this task albeit daunting, is not impossible. In fact, it's already been done once so far in this year's playoffs. For all you doubters, here are your reasons to "Believe in the B" for Game 5 and the rest of the series.

Firstly, the powerplay cold streak has been snapped. The Bruins went into Friday night's Game 4 going 0 for their last 16 powerplay attempts, but broke that with a Marc Savard powerplay goal. With Boston's playoff lives on the line expect to see Mark Recchi and Milan Lucic trying to direct the tip-in's in front of the red hot Ward. The Bruins also possess veteran know how. Aaron Ward has been apart of 3 Stanley Cup winning teams. Mark Recchi and Stephane Yelle are right behind Ward with 2 Stanley Cup rings of their own. Their presence and leadership are welcomed greatly in what could be a nerve-filled locker room. However, there's also 10 players in the Carolina locker room with Stanley Cup experience.

Also, somewhat expected turn of events has occurred: Tim Thomas and the rest of the Bruins are beginning to have a hatred for the 'Canes. It's been said by the Vezina trophy finalist that he's developed a hatred for the Raleigh based franchise and when the Bruins get angry, they pick up their intensity. (See: Dallas Stars game in November, April 9th vs. Montreal and January 13th vs. Montreal.). The Bruins are also at home, there was no team better at home in the Eastern Conference than the Boston Bruins during the 2008-09 season. With 17,565 screaming fans behind them, the Bruins will surely have some added fire and fury in their step. If all goes accordingly, the Bruins could be back in Boston for a Game 7.

One of the biggest factors going into tonight is the fact that they've been here before. Just last year, the Bruins found themselves in a 3-1 hole against the first seeded Montreal Canadiens. They fought back to bring the series to a decisive Game 7, despite losing it showed the heart in the Boston Bruins. The heart of the 2008-09 Boston Bruins has yet to be seen, and with a much more talented roster this season it'll be interesting to see how they come out tonight.

Perhaps the largest mind-block that the Bruins need to get over in order to win is that contrary to popular belief, Cam Ward can be beat. The Carolina net-minder has been virtually unbeatable over the past 3 games, or at least it's appeared that way. However, the Bruins have put minimal pressure on the 25 year old Saskatoon native. Outside of the 16 shot 3rd period of Game 2, Ward hasn't faced more than 10 shots in a period. It's time for Kessel, Recchi, Ryder, Krejci, and Chara to fire away and make Ward uncomfortable in between the iron.

Wheeler In, Ference Out: Game 4 Preview

With the Bruins 4 hours away from dropping the puck in essentially must win game Game 4 against the Carolina Hurricanes, it's confirmed that Blake Wheeler will in fact play. Despite the good news, the Bruins were hit with bad and somewhat expected news as Andrew Ference will not suit up and play tonight. It appears that Ference re-aggravated the lower body injury that he sustained in an April 4th matinee against the New York Rangers.

Ference, a mainstay on the Bruins 2nd defensive pairing and alternate captain missed all of the 1st round against Montreal before returning in Game 1 against Carolina. Ference was a +1 in the first 3 games of the series, and was averaging over 15 minutes on ice per game. Although the lost of Ference is surely what the Bruins don't need at this point in the series, there's no need to count them out for Game 4, and the rest of the series for that matter as the "Sheriff" Shane Hnidy will step in for Ference.

Hnidy has played in just 3 of the Bruins playoff games so far, scoring 1 goal and providing more physicality into the Bruins defense. The Bruins have won all 3 games in which Hnidy has dressed, and Hnidy himself has a +2 in the playoffs. He comes into tonight's game averaging a little under 15 minutes per game, making Ference's subtraction from the line-up and Hnidy's addition a fair trade off.

One of the biggest tasks on hand for the Boston Bruins to succeed will be playing defense as a cohesive unit. In Game 3, the Bruins defense struggled greatly to contain Eric Staal and the rest of the 'Canes high powered offense. As the Bruins defense focuses on containing Staal, they must keep an eye on the 'Canes secondary scoring. Jussi Jokinen is quietly having a Conn Smyth-worthy post-season, Carolina's top defensive pairing of Joni Pitkanen and Joe Corvo have been tallying up the points and Ray Whitney and Chad Larose have proved to be great line-mates for Eric Staal. Considering Mark Stuart's strong play throughout the entire playoffs, expect to see the Stuart and Hnidy pairing log some serious minutes in their effort to stop Carolina early and often.

For tonight's game, the biggest key will be putting the pressure on Cam Ward early. As demonstrated in Game 1, the Bruins rattled Wardo early and went on to win 4-1. Since then, the 25 year old Saskatoon native has been automatic. He's 2-0 with a .966 SV% in game's 1 and 2 and is looking to follow up with yet another strong performance in front of the hometown crowd. Although Ward's stats thus far have been impressive, he has yet to face the full pressure of the Boston offense. Boston's 0-9 on the powerplay in this series, and as stated before have been out shot in 7 out of the 10 periods of play in the series; truly an unusual position for the NHL's 2nd best scoring team behind the Detroit Red Wings. With tonight's game being a phenomenal chance for the Bruins to tie this series up before heading back to Boston and the 17,000+ yellow towels waving for them expect this to be the biggest test for the Bruins heart.

No Rest For Peter Chiarelli

Oh, the life of an NHL General Manager. From the hectic scrambling of draft day to the grueling talks and attempts at luring free agents to their respective cities the job of a General Manager never seems to stop. For the Boston Bruins, the job truly never ends for Harvard alum Peter Chiarelli.

Yesterday it was announced that the club had signed 20 year-old RW sensation Yannick Riendeau to an entry level contract. Riendeau posted phenomenal stats for Drummondville of the QJMHL (Quebec Junior Major Hockey League) where he scored 58 goals and 68 assists in just 64 games. He led the QJMHL in goals, assists and points. So far in Drummondville's 4 playoff games, Riendeau has scored 9 goals and 10 assists in just 4 games. The only known knock on Riendeau's ability to be a capable NHLer is that he's undersized, even in this new smaller-player-friendly NHL. It's probably too early to tell whether the Quebec native is NHL ready without going through the AHL first but he's definitely a player to keep an eye on heading into the 2009-10 season.


However, the bigger news coming out of Boston was the re-signing of Bruins goalie and mentioned Vezina favorite Tim Thomas to a new contract. The signing, which has yet to be announced by Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli is estimated to be around 5.2 million over the next 3 years. The pay is comparable to Martin Brodeur's contract with the New Jersey Devils and surely spells the end for Manny Fernandez's tenure as a Boston Bruin. Then again, who didn't see that one coming?


Although Thomas' pay is debatable as to whether the Bruins over-payed for a 34 year old goalie the move makes sense for a few reasons. Thomas turns 35 on April 15th, meaning that if by some chance the Bruins want to buy out Thomas' contract only 1/3 of his pay will count against the salary cap. An example of this is the Bruins being unable to delete Glen Murray's contract off the salary cap even though his contract was bought out because of when his contract was signed. This pricey contract also addresses Boston's situation in between the pipes going forward into the future as both Thomas and Fernandez's contracts were up at seasons end.


The signing also takes the pressure off Boston during their already busy schedule of re-signing players. It's unsure how the Bruins would of come out if they were to get into a bidding war against some of the teams looking for a starting goaltender come July 1st such as the Philadelphia Flyers, Colorado Avalanche and perhaps even the Detroit Red Wings. However, the current freeze on the NHL salary cap does create some problems for the Bruins.


First off, they need to re-sign restricted free agents David Krejci, Phil Kessel, Matt Hunwick and Byron Bitz. After David Krejci's breakout season as the number 2 center on the Boston offense, one would assume he'd receive a handsome raise. I believe somewhere along the lines of 3-3.5 million for 3 years is a safe bet for the 23 year old Czech. Then there's Phil Kessel, the undisputed number one scoring threat for the Boston Bruins, I'd say 3 years at 4 million a season is enough money to make a decision for Kessel, who missed his chance at 40 goals this season due to minor injuries.


Easier decisions certainly come when it boils down to re-signing Matt Hunwick and Byron Bitz. Both currently make 800,000 dollars and shouldn't see too much of a raise or anything different except for the possibility of their contracts becoming 1-way contracts rather than 2-way contracts, meaning in order to get sent down to Providence they'd need to go through the waiver wire. But still, with the raises for Kessel and Krejci along with Thomas' new contract, the Bruins are certainly over the cap. Putting the Bruins in the situation where they need to make deals.


When it comes to down, the two obvious trade baits the Bruins possess wear numbers 37 and 16. Marco Sturm, who currently makes 3.5 million and has missed much of the season due to knee surgery is no longer needed as the supreme scoring threat on the Bruins roster. As the Bruins have continued to succeed even without him and the emergence of Blake Wheeler and continued development of Milan Lucic, his role on this team is no longer essential to the teams offense. Patrice Bergeron, the Bruins alternate captain since the 2006-07 season, has battled through some serious injuries over the past year and a half. However, Bergeron's tenure as a Bruin may be over when this season concludes.


As much as it pains most Bruins fans to realize this, it's time to look at the facts. Bergeron's a 3rd line center on this team. Marc Savard's effectiveness as the Northeast's best set-up man and David Krejci's emergence as a dangerous scoring threat puts the 23 year old Quebec native on the 3rd line. Bergeron is the 3rd highest paid Bruin, making 4,750,000 a season but at that pay, he's perhaps the most expensive 3rd line center in the NHL. If Bergeron and Sturm are both moved, one could make the argument that the Bruins do not lose nearly as much of their offense compared to if they were to let Kessel or Krejci walk.

Tim Thomas, the Vezina?

Journey-man, career back-up at best, a poor man's Dom Hasek. These were a few of the terms used to describe Bruins goalie Tim Thomas throughout his career. However, All-Star wasn't a term ever used, until the 2007-08 season. Thomas built off this success in 2008-09, getting named to yet another All-Star Game and essentially winning the game for the East. Now, with 7 games remaining in the regular season, the question is: Is Tim Thomas really the Vezina trophy front runner?

Most Bruins fans say yes, but some of them probably also feel that the rules of the NHL should be re-worked so that Milan Lucic wins the Art Ross Trophy. With Martin Brodeur not playing nearly enough games to be in the running, Thomas is by far the clear cut favorite in the Eastern Conference. One could make the argument for the Rangers goalie and King of Sweden Henrik Lundqvist but his stats pale in comparison to Thomas. In fact, there's no goalie in the Eastern Conference or NHL for that matter that can post stats that look better than Ole' Reliable Tim Thomas' do.

For those who do not know, the Vezina works on a 5-3-1 point system. The G.M's of all 30 NHL clubs meet and vote for 1st place (5 points), 2nd place (3 points) and 3rd place (1 point). With the Boston Bruins success this season, surely it would be a Bruin, right?

However, the biggest factor working against Thomas winning the Vezina Trophy is his games played. Often, in order to be in contention for the Vezina Trophy a goalie must play over 55 games. This of course causes problems for Thomas' chances as he split time with goalie Manny Fernandez almost 50-50 for the first 2 months of the NHL season. Thomas is currently at 50 games played, with 7 remaining. With the Bruins clinched for a division title and playoff spot, it's possible and likely that Thomas won't play 5 out of the next 7 games, putting him at the 55 game mark.

Number 30's biggest competitor may reside in the Western Conference, Miikka Kiprusoff. The Flames goaltender is currently leading the NHL in wins with 43 and has played in 70 of the Flames games. This of course gives him an edge over Thomas, but if you look beyond the wins the real Vezina resides in Boston. That being said, you can't ignore Timmy's numbers. He's number one in the NHL for GAA (2.13) and SV% (.931).

Thomas is currently selling the doubters following two incredibly strong performances. Last Sunday, the Bruins netminder held the at-the-time 2nd place in the East New Jersey Devils to 1 goal on 42 shots. His encore was in fact, even better as last night Thomas held the Philadelphia Flyers to 3 goals on 48 shots. In the past two games, Tim Thomas has a .957 SV%. That's what I'd call Vezina worthy.

Although Kiprusoff has been a busy camper for the Calgary Flames, I would not put him in as the Vezina Trophy winner. Evgeni Nabokov has been another intriguing option but the fact that he plays in such a mediocre division is a minus for him. Although Lundqvist's stats are promising, the fact is he's just been too inconsistent to bring home the hardware. This leaves just one, the 34 year old goaltender, son of a Michigan blue-collar family and once NHL-never-was Tim Thomas.

Elite of the East

Consider this past week yet another test for the Black and Gold. Their mission was by no means an easy one. Just beat Washington, New Jersey, the Rangers and the Habs. Oh, and that game against Montreal yeah that's going to be in Montreal, a place in which you've only won 100 times in 85 years. The comeback kids themselves, the Boston Bruins proved to they're the true elite of the Eastern Conference by picking up 7 out of a possible 8 points. Their biggest win was by 2 goals, showing their ability to keep games close and hang with some of the league's best scoring teams.



The key factor in the Bruins week was the goaltending. Tim Thomas went 2-0-1 and showed great poise against Montreal and Washington, arguably the East's best offensive teams behind Boston. Even on Thomas' day off the Finnish Flash Tuukka Rask stepped in and held the over-hype that are the New York Rangers to nothing. His poise and positioning was that of a seasoned veteran as the 21 year old notched his 1st career shut out. Even without Manny Fernandez, it's apparent the Bruins have a solid goal-tending situation.



Not only was the victories all well and dandy for the Bruins but the fashions in which they're getting the job done is key. In 3 of the 4 games the Bruins come back from a deficit to tie or take the lead. Weather it was 1 or even 2 goals the Bruins showed their unwillingness to throw the towel in and quit. They keep fighting and fighting until the final horn blows to end the game. It's the characteristics that only show you that this team is playoff ready and they are the Beast of the East.

Yesterday's win over Montreal continued the Bruins streak of getting at least 1 point in to 6 games now. Along with this streak they improved to 9-3-2 in 2009 and have only lost 1 game by more than 1 goal (January 3rd vs. Buffalo). The quest for a Presidents Trophy continues later this week with two road games against the always dangerous Flyers and last place Ottawa Senators before the B's return home to take on the Flyers in a Saturday matinee at the Garden.

1st Half Grades

Well with the team getting back to action tonight I figured I'd procrastinate until the last second and make my grades on the Bruins through the mid-way point of the NHL season.

P.J Axelsson: B-, his PK ability is still there and was showing signs of turning it on before the All-Star break. Hopefully with this team getting back to 100% P.J can go back to being what he's best at being: a 3rd line LW.

Patrice Bergeron: C. We know there would be some rust but he went cold often. Going goal-less for 7 games, scoring 1 goal in a 4-2 rout of Florida and proceeding to go goal-less in his next 11 games before getting reinjured. Not to mention he scored just two points and had just a +2 in the Bruins two big wins (7-3 @ ATL and 8-5 vs. TOR).

Zdeno Chara: A+. The Captain's playing like a true Norris trophy winner. He's becoming even more of a powerplay weapon and is still one of the hardest D to go 1-on-1 with.

Manny Fernandez: A. He's surprised the heck out of me with his play. Granted he's missed time as of late due to 'injuries' but no one could say they saw this coming.

Shane Hnidy: B. For a 3rd line defensemen he stepped up big when guys like Ward and Ference went down. The beatdown of Matt Niskanen gets him a bump up in my book.

Matt Hunwick: B-. He looked outmatched last season, I'm not going to lie, I doubted his skill as a serious NHL player. This year he showed his offensive side, but is currently pointless in his last 13 games, in which he has a -3 with 11 PIM.

Phil Kessel: A. The same guy Bruins fans were pleading to get traded for Marian Hossa last February is now the Bruins number 1 goal scorer. Funny what a player can do when you light a fire underneath him.

Chuck Kobasew: B-. Injuries have plagued his tenure with the Bruins but has shown he is a valid 2-way player when healthy.

David Krejci: A+. He has been by far the Bruins best forward since the end of November, around the same time of the formation of his line with 73 and 26. At 22, it's scary to think what he can do as time goes on.

Milan Lucic: B+. One hat trick, a +16 and one Komisarek beatdown later Lucic is on his way to becoming a household name in the city of Boston.

Petteri Nokelainen: D. 0 goals, 1 assist and a -3 aren't going to cut it on this team. After showing a bit of scorer's touch last year (scoring 7 goals in 57 games last year as a 4th liner) he appears to be overthinking every shift and not playing his game. Maybe a benching or two will get him back to being a level headed grinder.

Michael Ryder: A. He was having some trouble finding his groove in Beantown at first but being put on a line with David Krejci has worked wonders for him, along with finding his place within the Boston powerplay. His 7 GWG's and +21 are also giving reasons for GM Peter Chiarelli to applaud this signing.

Marc Savard: A+. He's already beat his 07-08 goal total in 30 less games and a plus 28 is a stat that Bruins fans aren't used to seeing with Marc Savard as he averaged a -16 in his first two seasons with Boston.

Mark Stuart: B. A little offensive touch from Mark Stuart is always a bonus from "Caveman", and that's been the case as he's already matched his 2007-08 point total and has added the physical element to the defense of Boston in the absence of Ference and Ward.

Tim Thomas: A+. Tim Thomas, Vezina front runner? Never thought I'd say that. He's posted incredible numbers at 20-5-4 with a .934 SV% and a 2.09 GAA. The Bruins need to lock him up before seasons end in my opinion.

Shawn Thornton: B+. Throwing fists and hard checks has been Thornton's role as a Bruin and this year has been no exception. He's stuck up for team-mates (see: November 1st vs. Dallas when Steve Ott went at Stephane Yelle's knee) and has thrown down with the best of them including Georges Laraque against whom he held his own.

Aaron Ward: B-. His physical play is apparently starting to affect his body. Ward has been out 3 times now with minor injuries to his lower body. Nevertheless his +14 and veteran know-how is a big boost to the young memebers of the Boston D.

Blake Wheeler: A. No one saw the impact that Blake Wheeler has had on the Bruins this season coming. When signed by the Bruins back in July they expected him to start out the year in Providence and maybe get the call when someone went down but a fantastic pre-season found the Minnesota talent in Boston. His 1st NHL shot was a goal and since then he's been a pivotal part of the Bruins offense. His +27 and 30 points are a big reason why he's considered the front runner for the Calder Memorial Trophy.

Dennis Wideman: A+. When Dennis Wideman was traded to the Bruins back in 2007 he was the subject of much scrutiny. Who could blame us though? Here was a guy who was best known for falling down during a shootout attempt who was traded for what looked like a promising young scorer. It's safe to say however that Wideman has come into his own here in Boston; posting a +26 and 20 powerplay points already.

Stephane Yelle: A-. For 750,000 this signing came as a steal as Yelle has dawned the "A" on his chest this season and has been consistently great at winning faceoff's and filling the role left by Glen Metropolit.

Coach Claude Julien: A+. If the season ended today, I'd say he's your Jack Adams winner. He's executed game plans perfectly, made adjustments that he felt necesary when players were hot or cold and has done an overall great job at keeping everyone level headed.

Incompletes: Marco Sturm, Matt Lashoff, Tuukka Rask, Byron Bitz, Vladimir Sobotka, Martins Karsums.

Injuries Showing; Replay Robbery

Injuries plauged the Boston Bruins in 2007-08 and it seems that yet again the injury bug has hit the Bruins, hard. "It's frustrating for everybody, it's frustrating for the players, it's frustrating for the fans, and then people that have seen our team in a better position before" Coach Claude Julien said regarding the teams recent injury woes. Yesterday the Bruins took to the ice without Milan Lucic, Phil Kessel, Patrice Bergeron, Andrew Ference, Aaron Ward and Marco Sturm (who's lost for the season). It was evident yesterday that these are not the Boston Bruins we've watched with such excitement this year. Julien later remarked "You can't replace Patrice Bergeron or Marco Sturm for his speed and his skill level..You got guys moving up that are playing big roles..and doing the best they can" and it's starting to show.


You can't blame everything on injuries though it was clear that the Bruins seemed very lackluster out there against a last place team. "I don't think our effort was there like it was against Washington". The Bruins were apparently on cruise control up until they were blessed with a 5 on 3 powerplay. They scored twice, Ryder (18) and Axelsson (4) to put them ahead 3-2. Then Chara put a weak shot from the blue line right through the 5-hole of Mason and it was 4-2 Boston. Game over, right? No. After a Stephane Yelle penalty the Blues scored on the powerplay. 4-3, about a minute left. They could still hang on, right?



Wrong. With the goalie pulled, Blake Wheeler's shot goes just wide, Krejci gets the rebound but Jackman blocks it with his body and the Blues skate up ice. Shane Hnidy then knocks the puck out of the Boston zone, and with 9 seconds left St. Louis makes their final rush then in a final frenzy David Backes bats the puck into the net past Tim Thomas with .2 seconds left on the clock as if his name was David Ortiz. Bruins players and fans thought they heard the voice of God over the PA in the words "The play is under review". It was clearly a high stick in the eyes of Bruins and fans as the stadium sang "No Goal", but the zebras and suits in Toronto had their say. The ruling was a goal. Seriously? It appeared the rules of "no goals when the stick's above the crossbar" were changed overnight and no one in the Boston area was told.

I honestly couldn't believe this call. I mean can't you just tell by that screenshot above that his stick was a good 2-4 inches above the red? Granted the Bruins were lucky to even get a point out of this but there wasn't enough conclusive evidence to say it wasn't a goal? I don't buy it. Neither did Claude Julien 'Everyone on our bench thought it was no goal'. It happens, there's 82 games in a season. But the bigger issue in this one is do the Bruins have enough fire-power to carry on down the stretch run?


With Sturm done for the year and his placement onto the Long Term Injured Reserve list the Bruins have 4+ million to play around with and be potiental buyers at this years trading deadline. Fact is, hoping for Lecavalier, Gaborik or Kovalchuk to be dawning a Bruins uniform into March is just being unrealistic; the price tag's are too high and the cap-hit is too much with guys like Krejci and Kessel becoming RFA's at seasons end. A name that intrigues me is St. Louis Blues LW and Medford, Massachusetts native Keith Tkachuk.


Adding Tkachuk would undoubtedly be a rental but his veteran presence and know-how could give nothing but an extra boost to this Boston club. Sturm's loss and the gain of a Keith Tkachuk would give the Bruins another weapon on the powerplay as 13 of Tkachuk's 30 points have been on the powerplay. His price tag may also not be as large as someone like a Nik Antropov, Mike Comrie or Islanders Captain Bill Guerin. Another appealing attribute Tkachuk has is his ability to play both left wing and center. Usually I'm not one for deadline deals ever since the Gonchar deal in which the Bruins lost both a 1st and 2nd round draft pick and saw Gonchar leave for Pittsburgh in the off-season but with the injuries this team's combating and question mark that is Patrice Bergeron I believe a deal would only benefit this team.