Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Bruins light up Lightning on Causeway street

The Bruins and Lightning squared off from the TD Banknorth Garden on Tuesday night, and the Bruins took care of business for their fourth straight victory.

The game was a physical battle from the beginning as before the halfway point of the first, captain Zdeno got into it. Evgeny Artyukhin was in the midst of going after Milan Lucic, when Chara stepped in and told him to take on someone his own size. Artyukhin isn't as big as Chara, but is a healthy 6'5, 255. However, Artyukhin was still no match for the massive Slovak.

The Bruins carried the momentum after the fight and it paid off with a Blake Wheeler tally. Wheeler corralled a Marc Savard rebound and backhand slammed it past Tampa Bay goaltender, Mike McKenna.

Into the second it went and the captain was active yet again. This time, Chara scored goal number 17 of the year which matches his career high set last season. Chara took a nice pass from Patrice Bergeron and the B's took a two-goal lead on the Lightning.

The scoring wouldn't end there in the second for Boston as Chuck Kobasew was next to light the lamp. Kobasew's goal gave him 20 on the season, in just his 62nd game. The tally gave Kobasew 40 points, which is a new career high for Chucky.

The Bruins would not go quietly into the locker room, as at the end of the third period, Milan Lucic TKO'd Josef Melichar with two blows. Melichar had caught Lucic high with the elbow and Lucic took exception. Advantage Lucic in a very uneven bout.

In the third period, the Lightning did not quit and were eventually able to beat Manny Fernandez and break up the goaltender's shutout bid. It was number one overall pick in last year's draft, Steve Stamokos beating Fernandez for his 20th of the season.

The Bruins were able to hold off a late Lightning comeback attempt and take two points. The win does not clinch the conference for the Bruins, but it sure does seem like it.

The Bruins now have a nine point lead in the Eastern Conference with just six games to go. The Bruins will next play Thursday night in Boston against Ottawa.

Here are some BruinSpace game notes:

*Phil Kessel missed his third straight game due to injury. Kessel is questionable against Ottawa on Thursday but may return Saturday against the Rangers. Kessel's injury status is unknown.

*Shawn Thornton missed tonight's game with an undisclosed injury. Thornton's status for Thursday's game is unknown.

*Local writers named Bruins center Patrice Bergeron the Boston nominee for the Masterton Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.


Here is an updated look at the standings.

1) Boston: 108 points - (6 games remaining)
2) Washington: 99 points - (6 games remaining)
3) New Jersey: 98 points - (6 games remaining)
4) Philadelphia: 92 points - (7 games remaining)
5) Carolina: 91 points - (5 games remaining)
6) Pittsburgh: 90 points - (6 games remaining)
7) NY Rangers: 89 points - (5 games remaining)
8) Montreal: 88 points - (6 games remaining)
9) Florida: 87 points - (5 games remaining)

Monday, March 30, 2009

Bruins off today, Hunwick to chat Wednesday

Hey all,

It's time for Bruins quick hits, Monday's edition.

*The Bruins had today off and will be back on the ice tomorrow against the Tampa Bay Lightning. It will be Matt Lashoff and Martin Karsums return to Boston, I know hold your excitement.

*Bruins rookie Matt Hunwick will host a live, online Rinkside Chat, presented by Covidien, from 3:00-4:00 PM ET on Wednesday, April 1.
An updated look at the standings after Monday's games. The Bruins are oh so close to clinching the conference.

1) Boston: 106 points - (7 games remaining)
2) Washington: 99 points - (6 games remaining)
3) New Jersey: 98 points - (6 games remaining)

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Practice Notes 3/26/09

Here's your Thursday Bruins practice notes. Yes, I know what a boring week, don't worry only two more days until a game.

As for practice today...

*Byron Bitz, David Krejci, Dennis Wideman, Chuck Kobasew, Manny Fernandez and Tim Thomas were the only players taking place in the skate today.
Kobasew, who had missed the last two days of practice for, "maintenance" was back on the ice today.

The rest of the team put in off-ice workouts.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Tuukka Rask not suspended for meltdown

Here is an update on the Tuukka Rask situation. To all who missed it, let's just say Tuukka lost his mind last week.

Rask, who had a meltdown after last Friday's AHL game against the Albany River Rats, will not be suspended for his stick-smashing, crate-tossing tantrum, the Providence Journal reported Tuesday.

Bruins coach Rob Murray said the AHL office has notified the club that no suspension was forthcoming, adding that he did not know if Rask had been fined, according to the Journal.

Here's a look.

Chucky misses second straight practice for some "maintenance"

Your Wednesday update.

*Chuck Kobasew was the only Bruins player missing from practice this morning.

This is Kobasew's second straight day not participating in practice. Both Kobasew and David Krejci missed practice yesterday, however, Krejci was back today.

*According to Claude Julien, Kobasew will be back at practice tomorrow and has been given back to back "maintenance days."

Below is a video of Claude Julien after practice.
http://bruins.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?catid=660&id=37683

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Rask Gone Wild: The future has anger issues


For those of you who haven't seen it, Tuuka Rask was a bit angry last night after a 1-0 loss. Well, angry may be an under statement as Rask slammed his stick against the glass, and then through it across the ice. Not only did Rask throw a stick, but he found a milk crate in the hallway to the locker room and threw that also. Check out the video below.

Now, I don't know about you all but I would like to see some of this emotion travel up 95 to Boston. The Bruins have been lifeless lately and needless to say Rask has a bit of emotion running through his system.

Boston fans like to see their Bruins play with emotion and passion. Well, when Rask is with the big club next year you can expect him to become a fan favorite with this kind of fight.

Here are some quotes about the incident.

Here's a quote from Rask,“He went backwards and stopped the play and waited three seconds and then shot it,” Rask said. “I guess the guy didn’t believe it either because he stopped and then took the shot. As long as the ref doesn’t blow the whistle, it’s game on I guess.”

P-Bruins head coach Rob Murray also weighed in on the call.

“He said that the puck was always in motion and never stopped. But I can’t find it in the rulebook,” Murray said. “It says that the puck has to keep in continuous motion to the goal line. But it doesn’t say anything about a guy over skating the puck and literally … I have no answer. He said it was because the puck was still in motion.”

“I was celebrating when he lost the puck. I mean, I was off the bench. I couldn’t believe that he counted it.”

Want to see Rask's antics, click here,


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yshV_P4qB8w&feature=player_embedded

Bruins and Devils tomorrow at Garden

The Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils will face-off tomorrow in a battle of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. The Devils come in having won eight of their last ten, while the Bruins have only won three out of their last ten games.

The Bruins prepped with a tough practice today. Today's practice emphasized battle drills and races for pucks.

Mark Recchi got a little bit of veteran privelege yesterday as he was given a maintenance day. Today, Recchi was back at practice and particapted in full.


Here is an updated look at the standings,


1) Boston: 100 points (10 games remaining)
2) New Jersey: 97 points (11 games remaining)
3) Washington: 96 points (9 games remaining)

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Bruins pick up 100th point in OT heart breaker

The Boston Bruins picked up point number 100 tonight against the Los Angeles Kings tonight. However, they blew a golden opportunity to also pick up point number 101.

With the competition charging, the Bruins needed to take two points against a Los Angeles team who sits 13th in the Western Conference standings. But the Bruins blew a two goal, third period lead and two points turned into one.

Dustin Brown was the player to drive the stake through Bruins fans hearts, with just 34 seconds remaining in overtime. Brown's 24th was netted off of a rebound. Again, like with the Kings tying goal, the Bruins were unable to control the front of the net.

Controlling the front of the net and not scoring on the power play are what did the Bruins in tonight and is something that will need to be corrected by Sunday. All three of Los Angeles' goals came on second chances and the Bruins power play was a ghost yet again, going scoreless (0/3).

The Washington Capitals defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight, 5-2 and are now second place in the Eastern Conference, four points behind Boston.

Here are the updated standings for the top three teams.

1 Boston: 100 points (10 games remaining)
2 Washington: 96 points (9 games remaining)
3 New Jersey: 95 points (12 games remaining)

We know these teams will be the top three, but in what order will they finish?


The Bruins goal scorers:
Mark Recchi (17)
Matt Hunwick (6)

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Fernandez in the dog house, may ride bench rest of way

*Stephane Yelle is considered day-to-day and is questionable for tomorrow's match-up with the Los Angeles Kings. Yelle has not dressed for the last five games.

The Bruins were worked hard again today, and worked a lot on the PP.

The units were as follows.

PP1: Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, Marc Savard, Michael Ryder, Mark Recchi.

PP2: Dennis Wideman, Andrew Ference, David Krejci, Chuck Kobasew, Phil Kessel.

As you noticed, by him being on the PP unit, Phil Kessel was back at practice today.


And now onto something that I am reading into here. Now if you want to speculate further on this, be my guest. Manny Fernandez hasn't seen action since a 4-3 loss to the Rangers on March 8. Now, with the teams willingness to put Fernandez in the net all season long, people are expecting Manny to start Thursday night. However, not so fast according to head coach, Claude Julien.

"There's no issues there," Claude Julien said of Fernandez. "What people see on the outside and what's happening on the inside are two different things. We talk. He knows exactly what's going on. There are things that not everybody needs to know about. We'll leave it at that."

And what exactly is going on coach? To me it has to be that Julien, and the Bruins players have lost confidence in him and they are going to ride Tim Thomas the rest of the way. With 11 games remaining, and only a four point lead over the Devils in the standing, the Bruins can not afford to toy around with Fernandez. Look for Thomas to start nine of the remaining 11 games, with Fernandez getting looks in the back-to-back contests.

And then come playoff time, forget about it.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Brodeur collects win #552, now all-time wins leader

Associated Press--


NEWARK, N.J. -- Martin Brodeur stands alone among NHL goaltenders.
Marty's Milestones

Brodeur posted his 552nd win and passed childhood idol and Hall of Famer Patrick Roy for the most career victories in league history. He made 30 saves in the New Jersey Devils' 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night.

The victory came in Brodeur's 987th game in a 15-year career played entirely with the Devils.

During that tenure, the likable Brodeur has led the Devils to three Stanley Cups and won four Vezina Trophies as the league's top goaltender.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

More importantly for Bruins fans, the New Jersey win pulls the Devils within four points of the Bruins in the Eastern Conference.


The updated standings:

1) Boston - 99 points (11 games remaining)
2) New Jersey - 95 points (13 games remaining)
3) Washington - 94 points (10 games remaining)

Bruins News and Notes: 3/17

*With the boys taking Monday off it was not unexpected to see Claude Julien put the Bruins through one of their most competitive practices of the season today.

Patrice Bergeron thought that the hard practice was beneficial to the Bruins, saying, "That's what we need." "Claude wanted us to really make sure on putting the emphasis on being sharp and focused. We did that."

*Phil Kessel was given a maintenance day today. He was the only Bruin not to practice today.

Here were the lines at practice today.

P.J. Axelsson - Marc Savard - Blake Wheeler
Mark Recchi - Patrice Bergeron - Chuck Kobasew
Milan Lucic - David Krejci - Michael Ryder
Shawn Thornton - Stephane Yelle - Byron Bitz

Zdeno Chara - Dennis Wideman
Andrew Ference - Steve Montador
Mark Stuart - Aaron Ward

Tim Thomas
Manny Fernandez
Shane Hnidy and Matt Hunwick were the two spare defensemen.

*On Friday, March 20 Bruins great Derek Sanderson will join fans for a "Rinkside Chat" online at BostonBruins.com from 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
The Original Six: History of the Boston Bruins DVD launch party.

*During the DVD Launch Party on Tuesday, March 24, Bruins greats Ray Bourque, John Bucyk, Ferny Flaman, Cam Neely and Milt Schmidt as well as current Bruins captain Zdeno Chara will participate in a Question and Answer session with NESN commentators Andy Brickley and Gord Kluzak. This event will begin at 6 p.m.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Bruins take day off, change on the horizon?

Hello BruinSpace faithful,

The B's took the day off today and will get back to work at the ice box tomorrow. With the B's having the day off today and no game Wednesday, expect tomorrow's practice to be a doozie.

We won't know until tomorrow morning if Dennis Wideman, will be available for Thursday night's tilt against the Los Angeles Kings.

The same goes for Stephane Yelle, who is still recovering from an awkward fall into the end boards a week ago Saturday.

With the Bruins carrying eight defensemen, is this the time to shake things up on the back side? Chara, Wideman, Ward and Ference will be your top four, but who gets the final two spots? The candidates are Marc Stuart, Steve Montador, Matt Hunwick and Sherrif Shane Hnidy. A shake-up could be in order.

We'll check back tomorrow evening folks.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Bruins outlast Isles, 2-1

The Boston Bruins defeated the New York Islanders 2-1 today at the TD Banknorth Garden. Outlast

The Bruins looked like they were going to coast to a victory today after taking a 2-0 lead, just over four minutes into the game. However, the Isles tightened things up and the B's had to battle for their two points.

With the two points, Boston moved eight points ahead of the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference. The Bruins have 12 games remaining on their regular season schedule.

Here is an updated look at the standings.

1 Boston - 99 points (12 games remaining)
2 New Jersey - 91 points (15 games remaining)
3 Washington - 90 points (13 games remaining)

Here is a look at the Bruins goal scorers today.

Phil Kessel (30)
Marc Savard (22)

This is Phil Kessel's first 30 goal season and Marc Savard tallied his 76th point, and is leading the Bruins in that category.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Bruins Sink Sens, 5-3

The Boston Bruins survived a late Ottawa rally and beat the Senators, 5-3 Thursday night at the Garden.

Ottawa came from 4-1 down to cut the Boston lead to one, before Phil Kessel put in an empty netter to ice the triumph.

With the win, the Bruins remain six points up on the New Jersey Devils with 13 games to play.

An updated look at the standings.

1 Boston - 97 points (13 games remaining)
2 New Jersey - 91 points (15 games remaining)
3 Washington - 90 points (13 games remaining)

The Bruins goal scorers:
Phil Kessel (28, 29)
Chuck Kobasew (17)
P.J. Axelsson (6)
Aaron Ward (3)

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Bruins lose for fifth time in six games

The Bruins dropped yet another one tonight, this time against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The final score was 2-0, with the Jackets scoring an empty netter with 26 seconds to play.

It was a very disappointing offensive night for the B's as the chances were sub par in the first two periods. The Bruins had some good chances in the third, but Steve Mason was up to the task stopping all 35 of Boston's shots.

The question is whether or not this is a cause for concern or just a minor bump in the road. It's not like this is a big skid right, just five-of-six?

The Bruins are now 4-8-3 in their last 15 games, so yeah that can be considered a large skid. The problems seem to be different each and every night, so you'd have to say the problem in consistency.

Will Boston be able to turn things around sooner, rather than later. The road gets a little easier for the B's as they return home Thursday night to play the Ottawa Senators. The Bruins are 33 points ahead of the Senators, so one would think the B's should handle the Sens.

Boston could really use a win, as New Jersey has closed the gap to six points in the East. The Devils also have two games in hand.

Here is an updated look at the standings.

1 Boston - 95 points: 14 games remaining
2 New Jersey - 89 points: 16 games remaining
3 Washington - 88 points: 14 games remaining



And now to a cheerier note as, Byron Bitz will chat with fans at BostonBruins.com Wednesday, March 11 at 3:00 PM ET.
Got a question for Bitzy? Log on and fire away.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Habs ax Carbonneau

The Bruins had some light work outs today and will hit the ice tomorrow morning before facing off against the Blue Jackets tomorrow night.



In some rival news, the Montreal Canadiens have fired head coach, Guy Carbonneau. The Habs currently sit in fifth place in the Eastern Conference but are only one point ahead of the New York Rangers for ninth. Yes, ninth, meaning out of the playoffs.

The Canadiens have been a .500 team for a long time now and may be in need of a jolt. GM, Bob Gainey will step in for Carbonneau behind the Montreal bench.

This is the second time Gainey has whacked his coach and taken over the reins. In 2005-06, Gainey fired Claude Julien and took over coaching duties.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Fernandez struggles, Rangers Edge Bruins at MSG

The Boston Bruins and New York Rangers squared off at Madison Square Garden today and played their normal tight game.

The end result was not what the Bruins wanted to see as they fell to the Rangers, 4-3. Even with the loss, the Bruins remain eight points ahead of the New Jersey Devils for the top spot in the Eastern Conference with 15 games to play.

The first period set the tone for what would be a rough and tough battle. Sean Avery announced his presence as he and Marc Savard were battling back and forth.

In the second, the Rangers opened things up, and new Ranger, Nik Antropov rocketed a quick wrist shot over Manny Fernandez's shoulder. Antropov's first goal as a Ranger gave New York a 1-0 lead.

Just two minutes later, Chuck Kobasew answered the Rangers goal with one of his own. Kobasew was able to get behind the New York defense and put a back hander past Henrik Lundqvist.

Later on in the period, New York was able to beat Fernandez twice, on two goals Fernandez would love to have back. Scott Gomez scored the first and Ryan Callahan the second. After the game Fernandez said he should have had both of these goals, and Bruins fans would certainly agree.

Early in the third, Zdeno Chara wound up from outside the circle and launched a puck past a defenseless Lundqvist. With the goal, the Rangers lead was cut to one.

Just over a minute later, Michael Ryder tied the game on a pass from Marc Savard. The momentum looked as if it had shifted to the Bruins, however, a bad bounce would spell the end for Boston.

Nikolai Zherdev picked up a carom off the rear boards from a Marc Staal shot and put it in the back of the net. Fernandez was out of position on yet another goal, and the NBC crew really gave it to Fernandez.

With the loss, Fernandez has extended his personal losing streak to five. There is no doubt that with his recent struggles he is opening up a can of worms in Boston. Let the Tuuka Rask talk begin.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Recchi Helps Bruins Hammer Hawks: Avery Will be Bugging B's Tomorrow

The Bruins got back in the win column today and I for one will say thank god for that. Mark Recchi scored his first two goals with the Bruins and was a presence in front of the net.

With the Bruins win and Devils loss to the lowly Islanders, the Bruins are now eight points ahead of New Jersey for the first seed in the East.

Boston will next face off tomorrow afternoon at 12:30 against the Rangers. The game will be the game of the week tomorrow on NBC so all of you kiddies will get the pleasure of watching Pierre Maguire and Mike Milbury yell at eachother between periods.

The big thing here is that Sean Avery is now on the Rangers. Remeber the last time Avery was at the Garden? Yes, it was with the Stars and Steve Ott was the main villan, but hey, things could get interesting. The atmosphere will be playoff like as the Rangers are tied for sixth place with Florida and Pittsburgh. This could very well be a first round, playoff preview.


Today's Goal Scorers:

Phil Kessel (27)
David Krejci (21)
Mark Recchi (14,15) {First two with Bruins}
PJ Axelsson (5)

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Bruins Acquire Recchi and Montador


The trade deadline has passed and the Bruins have made two trades.

The first: (12:45 p.m.)

The Bruins have traded Petteri Nokelainen to the Anaheim Ducks, but not for Chris Pronger. It was for defenseman, Steve Montador.

The second: (1:30 p.m.)

The Bruins traded Matt Lashoff and Martins Karsums to Tampa Bay for Mark Recchi and a 2010 second round draft pick.

The Bruins kept their word. They signed both a defenseman and a forward. Steve Montador is a solid defensemen and will likely be replacing Sherrif Shane Hnidy on the back line.

Recchi is the left-handed shot the Bruins wanted to acquire. Recchi, is 41 and has been through as many battles as anyone in the NHL. Recchi will undoubtedly be placed on the first PP unit, replacing PJ Axellson.

Recchi is a great pick-up for the B's. Recchi is in his 24th NHL season, playing for the Penguins, Flyers, Canadiens, Hurericanes, Thrashers and Lightning. Recchi is a two-time Stanley Cup Champion. Recchi won the Cup in 1991 with Pittsburgh and 2006 with the Hurricanes. He was teammates with Aaron Ward in Carolina when the Canes hoisted the Cup.

Recchi has scored 535 goals over his career and has scored 13 goals and tallied 32 assists this season with the Lightning.

The Bruins will hold a press conference at 4 p.m. to discuss both signings. Check back later for more.

Leopold to Calgary

About a half an hour ago one of the targets the Bruins may have been looking at has been taken from the table.

Jordan Leopold has been traded to the Calgary Flames for defensemen, Laurence Nycholat and Ryan Wilson. The Flames will also receive Colorado's 2009 second round draft pick.

Stay tuned for some possible Bruins moves. We'll check back in at the deadline.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

NHL Trade Deadline: The Final Day

The Bruins played an ugly third period tonight folks and they got dropped by the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-2. Patrice Bergeron and Stephanne Yelle both scored their seventh goal of the season in the loss.

The loss was tough, but the biggest story is the rapidly approaching trade deadline. 15 hours and counting.

The names still floating with Bruins interest are Chris Pronger, Derek Morris, Keith Tkachuk, Tomas Kaberle, Jordan Leopold, Nik Antropov and Chris Neil. A dark horse could be Bill Guerin who looks to be on the way out on the Island. Washington is the most interested in the Guerin sweepstakes.

Chris Pronger:

I was listening to the Dale and Holley show this afternoon on WEEI and fans calling in were certainly most interested in Pronger. The big message, do not trade Phil Kessel.

According to Pierre LeBrun, a solid hockey insider, the talks regarding Pronger are next to nothing at this point. It looks as though the Ducks will keep Pronger until the off season and try to trade him there.




Derek Morris:

An above-average, puck moving defenseman who is likely headed out of Phoenix. Morris will likely cost a mid-round draft pick.




Keith Tkachuk:

Next to dead. The Blues think they can make the playoffs this year. The Blues are only four points out but they are in 12th place in the West. Will the 4-0 loss to Detroit tonight make them become sellers again?




Tomas Kaberle:

The Leafs like Kaberle and he is likely not going anywhere unless a great offer comes their way. Kaberle would except a trade to Boston but don't expect anything here.




Jordan Leopold:

This puck-moving blue liner was a hot name a week ago. However, his named has slowly disappeared. The Avalanche are certainly out of the mix at this point with absolutely no goal tending (Andrew Raycroft) so it may be that Leopold's name is back in the mix tomorrow. I would expect Leopold to go.



Nik Antropov:

Antropov is almost certainly out of Toronto. Brian Burke said he has received offers for Antropov and the Bruins have been said to have had interest.




Chris Neil:

Neil and Ottawa talked about a contract extension yesterday but nothing could be worked out. It looks as though Neil will be heading out of time by 3 PM on Wednesday. The Red Wings would like to get Neil but they are right up on the cap.




Others:

There are so many other names out there and I'm sure even others that will come out of the wood work tomorrow. The Bruins will try to do something to create a spark. It is not known what may be done but we shall soon find out.

I will check in tomorrow night with a Vlog talking about what did or did not happen on deadline day for the Bruins and what it means the rest of the way. You can check that out at www.youtube.com/bruinspace

Tick, tick, tick.....



The Bruins media availability tomorrow:



From BostonBruins.com--


BOSTON - The Boston Bruins announced their schedule and media availability for the NHL Trade Deadline Day. The NHL Trade Deadline is Wednesday, March 4 at 3:00 p.m. ET.
The team will practice at Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington, MA from 11:30 - 12:15 p.m., with Bruins players available at approximately 12:20 p.m. and Head Coach Claude Julien available at approximately 12:50 p.m.
Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli will hold a press conference in Legends at TD Banknorth Garden at 4:30 p.m. ET (Legends is located on level three at TD Banknorth Garden on the West End of the building). The press conference will be held as scheduled regardless of whether or not the team makes a trade.
Following the press conference, Chiarelli will participate in a 30-minute "Rinkside Chat," presented by Covidien, with Bruins fans online at BostonBruins.com from 5:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. ET.
The Will McDonough Press Room at TD Banknorth Garden will be open to working media beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET. Light snacks and refreshments will be served from 2:00 p.m. through 6:00 p.m.
Fans will be able to follow all of the day's action on BostonBruins.com, NESN and the NHL's three media platforms. BostonBruins.com will provide behind-the-scenes access in to the Bruins War Room, with minute-by-minute updates and exclusive interviews throughout the day from Bruins Hockey Operations personnel including Chiarelli, Assistant General Manager Jim Benning, Vice President Cam Neely, and Director of Hockey Operations Don Sweeney.
NESN will broadcast a live NHL Trade Deadline Special from their fifth floor Garden Studio from 2:30 - 4:30 p.m, with analysts Andy Brickley, Naoko Funayama, Mike Milbury, and Kathryn Tappen breaking down all of the trades from around the league. The show will re-air at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday evening.
The NHL Network, NHL.com and NHL Radio will dedicate six hours of programming to Trade Deadline Day. The NHL Network will be having a free preview on March 4, making their three-hour NHL Trade Deadline Special show available in more than 34 million homes. The NHL Network's Trade Deadline Special will provide interviews from General Managers from around the league, as well a glimpse into the NHL's Central Registry trade office, enabling viewers to watch as transactions become finalized through trade calls among the participating General Managers and league officials. The NHL Network's Trade Deadline Special will air from 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. ET.
The Bruins continue their six-game homestand tonight when they host the Philadelphia Flyers at 7:00 p.m at the TD Banknorth Garden.




Karsums back to Providence:
Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today that the club has assigned forward Martins Karsums to the Providence Bruins.

Deadline Approaching

Today's Practice Line-up:

Matt Hunwick-Marc Savard-Phil Kessel
P.J. Axelsson-Patrice Bergeron-Chuck Kobasew
Blake Wheeler-David Krejci-Michael Ryder
Shawn Thornton-Stephane Yelle-Byron Bitz/Martins Karsums

Well, none of you are blind so you see Milan Lucic was not fully participating today. He had on a red, non contact shirt and is questionable for tomorrow's game.

''Lucic's situation is day-to-day,'' noted Julien. ''He's a possibility for tomorrow.''

Today's Bruins related rumors...

*Coyotes D Derek Morris is a "near certainty to be moved" before the trade deadline, according to the Ottawa Sun.

Morris was a healthy scratch Saturday against the Blues and TSN reported that Morris has decided to sit out until he's traded.

~I've been looking around on this and apparently the Flyers and Bruins are the two biggest players for Morris. Morris has five goals and seven assists and is a -13. I would not give up anything for this guy. In my mind he is no better than a Hnidy or Stuart. No need to shake things up for him. He can move the puck a little better but the mood around the locker room is that the Bruins like what they have.

*Keith Tkachuk
This guy's name just won't die, although the Blues look like they want to be buyers at the deadline and make a run at the eight seed. The Blues are apparently in on Chris Pronger, big time.

*The Bruins have offered their 2008 first-round pick, Denver University F Joe Colborne, their 2009 No. 1 pick and a third-round pick to the Maple Leafs in exchange for D Tomas Kaberle, according to the Boston Herald.
Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke, however, told TSN there hasn't been an offer.
"It's not true, a total fabrication," Burke told TSN. "I sat with (Boston GM) Peter Chiarelli for the first period of Saturday's game in Boston and we never discussed Tomas Kaberle. We hadn't spoken about Kaberle before that and we most certainly haven't since then. There is no truth to it at all. None."

~I tend to believe Burke here. I really don't see the Bruins giving up two number one picks for Kaberle. Kaberle is a good D, but the Bruins also aren't going to bid that high.

*Chris Pronger's name has been thrown out there quite a bit since Pronger and the Ducks were in Boston. However, the Bruins are losing interest by the day accoring to sources. Pronger would cost too much for the B's who like their young talent, a lot.