Ward a no go: For Sturm, same old story

The Bruins practiced today and it was the same old story for Marco Sturm. It will be a game day decision for Sturm on whether or not he will suit up for the black and gold. Sturm skated on the fourth line and participated in power-play and shootout drills today, and was apparently feeling good.

Coach Claude Julien commented on Sturm after practice saying, "He's felt pretty good the last few days," "He's willing to give it a try, but I think we'll wait to see how he feels and make that decision on game day."

The decision on Sturm might not come until game time, but if Sturm were to suit up you could expect Vlad Sobotka to be the healthy scratch.

Aaron Ward missed practice again today which would lead you to believe that he is out for tomorrow night's tilt.


The lines will look like this in all likelihood tomorrow.

Milan Lucic -- Marc Savard -- Phil Kessel
P.J. Axelsson -- Patrice Bergeron -- Chuck Kobasew
Blake Wheeler -- David Krejci -- Michael Ryder
Sturm/Sobotka -- Stephane Yelle -- Shawn Thornton

Mark Stuart -- Zdeno Chara
Matt Hunwick -- Dennis Wideman
Matt Lashoff -- Shane Hnidy

Manny Fernandez/Tim Thomas

Happy hump day to all. Just six shopping days til' Christmas.

Sturm and Ward's status in question vs. Leafs

The Bruins got back on the ice today for practice after taking the day off yesterday. Patrice Bergeron, out for Saturday's win over Atlanta with flu-like symptoms, was one of the first players onto the ice this morning.


Marco Sturm was also on the ice this morning as one of eight Bruins to participate in an optional practice. Sturm is still considered day-to-day, though given what has been seen from Sturm lately he is doubtful for Thursday's game with the Maple Leafs.

Aaron Ward didn't skate today, but Claude Julien said the defenseman is making progress. Ward is doing everything off of the ice as usual but the ankle injury is still slowing him a bit on the skates.








On one final note Glen Murray's grievance hearing has been pushed to Jan. 16. It was originally scheduled to be held today in Toronto. If you forgot the Murray situation and what the hearing was for let me refresh your memory.
In November 2008, Glen Murray had ankle surgery. Since Murray claims this is a result of an injury he sustained during play of the 2007–2008 season, his agent has filed a claim against the Boston Bruins. This could nullify the original buyout, as the NHLPA does not allow a team to buy out an injured player. This is controversial, since Murray shopped himself to other teams during the 2008 off-season claiming to be "healthy", which could hurt his chances to win the claim. If Murray wins the claim, he will be placed on LTIR (Long Term Injured Reserve) and receive his full 4.1 million dollars this season instead of 1.38 million dollars for each season for the 2008-09 and 2009–10 NHL seasons.

Caps end Bruins five game win streak

Whenever you face-off against the Washington Capitals you know it will be exciting. The reason for that is number eight in red, (at least in Washington) Alex Ovechkin.

It wasn't long before Ovechkin would make an impact in this one. On an early power play for the Capitals on an interference call to Stephane Yelle Ovechkin powered a wrist shot toward Manny Fernandez that Nick Backstrom was able to tip into the net, 1-0 Washington.

The Bruins started to pick up their play after the goal and got some quality shots on Brent Johnson. Johnson stuffed both Patrice Bergeron and Chuck Kobasew from in tight which was a sign of things to come.

With roughly seven minutes remaining in the first period the Bruins went down a skater but had a golden opportunity to tie the contest. PJ Axellson had a short handed break away but put the shot right into Johnson's bread basket and the Capitals kept the lead.

The Bruins had some good chances in the latter third of the period but Johnson stood tall and Washington took a 1-0 lead into the locker room.

Coming out in the second period the Capitals had the lead but didn't out play the Bruins in the first, but that soon changed. For the first five minutes of the period the Capitals were on the offensive and took it at Manny Fernandez. At the 4:52 mark the net crashing paid off. Tom Poti's original shot was stopped by Fernandez but the rebound was not taken care of and Alexandre Giroux potted the Capitals second goal.

When it looked like the Bruins would enter the third period down two goals they were finally able to catch a break. Zdeno Chara forced a turnover and Phil Kessel took the puck off the side boards and fed Milan Lucic who knocked the puck into an empty net. It was a very well executed 2-1 by the Bruins, and with the goal Kessel extended his point streak to 13 games.

Early in the third period the Capitals had a shot to extend their lead on a Giroux penalty shot but Fernanez was up to the challenge.The rest of the third period was full of back and forth action and some solid opportunities, but Johnson was a wall for Washington.

The Bruins tried to tie the game late but with the net empty for the B's Ovechkin was able to pot an exclamation point.

Washington with the W, 3-1.

NEWS AND NOTES

*Although the Bruins recalled Vladimir Sobotka to the big club he didn't get to lace them up tonight. Stephane Yelle was able to play tonight despite originally thinking he would miss the game with a middle-body injury. Stephane Yelle's ribs aren't broken, according to x-rays and it is believed to be just a muscle spasm. Expect Sobotka to head back to Providence.

*Aaron Ward missed his fourth straight game, while Marco Sturm missed game number 10 in a row tonight.

*The Bruins next play a home and home series against the Atlanta Thrashers with the next game coming Friday night in the ATL. On paper this looks like a mismatch as the Bruins are first in the conference with 42 points while Atlanta sits in the thirteenth spot with 22 points.

Bruins bring early thunder, knock out Lightning: Bruins lose Yelle, recall Sobotka

The Bruins are on quite a roll. With the win the Bruins have won their fifth straight and tenth straight at home. The Bruins took it to the Lightning in the first period and left the ice with a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes.

After that the Bruins went through spurts and let the Bolts back into the game. The Lightning cut it to 4-3 late but the Bruins were able to add an empty netter with 10 seconds to play and took the game 5-3.

During the game the Bruins lost Stephane Yelle, who suffered an upper-body injury in the second period. The irony of this is that Yelle ran into a linesman and took the worst of it.

Yelle is experiencing muscle spasms and from reports it looks as though Yelle will be out Wednesday against the Capitals. However, according to head coach Claude Julien Yelle is not seriously hurt.

After the game the Bruins recalled Vladimir Sobotka from Providence on an emergency basis. Sobotka will practice tomorrow and may very well play if Marco Sturm isn't ready to get back in the lineup.

Neither Aaron Ward nor Marco Sturm played tonight. Today was Ward's second day back on the ice since suffering his left leg injury last Saturday night. Sturm had a setback but said he's hoping things restart in the right direction. Both Ward and Sturm are expected to travel to Washington tomorrow for the start of the club's two-game road trip. Ward looks like the closer of the two to a return.

Manny blanks Panthers, Bruins roll:

When the Bruins headed for Florida it was expected that they would return with four points. Mission accomplished. The Bruins were able to pound the lesser competition of Tampa Bay and Florida by a total of 7-1.

Tonight's message was clear, get off to a good start and don't be forced to play from behind. With 11:02 remaining in the first period the Bruins passed this test as well.

It was Michael Ryder who was able to pot the Bruins first goal of the evening on a great effort. Ryder warded off a hard stick check and snapped a shot through a screen past Craig Anderson giving the Bruins the lead for good.

Early in the second period, Phil Kessel struck again. Kessel was able to fly through the Panther defense and snap a wrister over Anderson's left shoulder and it was 2-0 Boston.

The Bruins kept their foot on the pedal in the third period and an unlikely Bruin gave them the three goal advantage. Shane Hnidy was able to wrist one top drawer from the blue line and you knew it was the Bruins night. Just for good measure Blake Wheeler netted his ninth of the season on a nice feed from Chuck Kobasew to give the Bruins a 4 goal victory.

On the other end it was another great night for goaltender Manny Fernandez. Fernandez made some difficult saves and was able to pitch his first ever shutout as a Bruin. The shutout may have been his first but it sure wasn't his first when it came to wins. Fernandez is red hot, snapping off seven straight victories. The guy is finally healthy and is showing that he is not the bust that Boston credited him as.

Some final notes here as Dennis Wideman was back in the line-up after his one game absence after sitting out with a middle-body injury. Marco Sturm missed his eighth straight game with whiplash and is listed as day-to-day. By the talk around the room Sturm doesn't sound so confident about a quick return but we shall see.

With the win the Bruins are in sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference.

Bruins Bruise Bolts 3-1: Where's Wides?

The Boston Bruins didn't bring their A-game down to Tampa Bay, but even without a top-flight performance the Bruins were able to pick up two points.

Two Bruins defensemen were forced to make their 08-09 NHL debuts Thursday night as both Aaron Ward and Dennis Wideman were held out of the action due to injury. Now we all knew Ward had a leg injury, but what about Wideman? I still haven't heard an update as of yet but I would expect Wideman is suffering from groin issues. I commented on this, this week but I didn't think this was a serious issue. Stay tuned.

Now to the game. In the first two minutes the Bruins did something they've done a lot lately, fell behind. A neutral zone mishap by Zdeno Chara let Vincent Lecavalier break down the left wing and slide the puck to an uncovered Martin St. Louis who put the puck into the vacant net.

The first seven minutes were dominated by the Lightning with the Bruins failing to generate any offensive pressure. It was very similar to the Bruins start against the Red Wings Saturday night. The Bruins started to play a little better at the end of the period but still went into the locker room down a goal.

The Lightning came out buzzing again to start the second and probably should have taken a two goal lead but missed a golden opportunity. The Bruins turned the tide and started getting offensive zone pressure. About eight minutes into the second, Phil Kessel driving down the right wing beat Mike Smith to the far side but clanged the iron.

Fear not, as less than five minutes later Kessel was able to find the back of the net. Kessel kept the puck in on the right wall, filtering the puck down low to Marc Savard. Savard found a streaking Kessel in front of the goal and it was 1-1. The Bruins controlled most of the second periods remains and skated into the locker room with the momentum.

About five minutes into the third Tim Thomas was able to stone Steve Downie on a clean look and was bowled over for his efforts.

Later in the period the Bruins found themselves on the penalty kill but have no fear, David Krejci is here. Krejci received a breakout pass from Blake Wheeler, curled and dragged past a Lightning defender and put the puck in the back of the net. Talk about a back breaker, a shorty in the ladder half of the third period to take the lead.

The Lightning had some late pressure but the Bruins were able to pull it out. Kessel was able to slide in an empty netter with under a second to play and the Bruins took the first half of the Florida swing, 3-1.

Questions surround Bruins: Ward back within a week? Sturm or Nokey? Lashoff or Boychuk?

The Bruins are on their way to Florida while we are in for a few days with highs in the 30's. Talk about a good time to head south.

*Aaron Ward is said to have a sprained ankle and was seen walking around the room without his walking boot. It is said that Ward is progressing with his injury and he could return as soon as next Wednesday in Washington.Claude Julien did say that Ward could start skating again by Sunday.

*Marco Sturm's status for the game tomorrow night is still in question. Claude Julien said he will make up his mind during tomorrow's morning skate. If he isn't ready to go Petteri Nokelainen will skate on the fourth line instead of Sturm.

*A last note out of today's practice is that coach Julien has not decided whether Matt Lashoff or Johnny Boychuk will get the call tomorrow. My instincts tell me it will be Boychuk but the verdict is still out. We'll probably find out tomorrow afternoon as well.

*One final note, Glen Murray's grievance hearing is scheduled to take place in Toronto on Dec. 16. Oh yes, old friend Glen Murray and his chance to get more money before he admits that he is over the hill. As a refresher, Murray is claiming the Bruins improperly bought him out because of an existing ankle injury.

With Ward out baby B's must step up

TODAY'S PRACTICE

Marco Sturm, who has missed the last six games because of a concussion, was back on the ice for practice this morning. Sturm was skating with Stephane Yelle and Shawn Thornton, indicating that Sturm may skate on the fourth line when he comes back. Sturm is probable for Thursday night's game against the Melroseless Lightning.

Those missing from practice were Aaron Ward, Patrice Bergeron, Dennis Wideman, and Shane Hnidy.

Dennis Wideman is said to have a sore groin and was given the day off to rest the injury. Look for Wides to be fine as he fought through this injury last year.

AARON WARD TO MISS AT LEAST TWO GAMES

Ward, who didn't practice today, was wearing a walking cast on his left foot. The coaching staff declined to disclose the specifics of Ward's injury. All that is known at this point is that it is a leg injury. The next two games are down in Florida for Boston (Lightning on Thursday, Panthers on Saturday) and Aaron Ward will miss both contests at the minimum.

LASHOFF/BOYCHUK RECALLED

With Aaron Ward out for at least the next two games, the Bruins recalled Johnny Boychuk and Matt Lashoff from Providence.

People may think that Lashoff is the obvious choice for a sixth d-man plug in but not so fast. Boychuk leads Providence in scoring with four goals and 19 assists. However, Boychuk has less NHL experience.

FERENCE TO LTIR

To make room for Matt Lashoff and Johnny Boychuk, the Bruins have placed Andrew Ference on long-term injured reserve. The Bruins are $1.54 million under the cap at the moment.