Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Bruins confirm Sturm out for Season & Playoffs

THE BRUIN'S STATEMENT ON MARCO STURM'S SURGERY

Boston, MA - Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced that earlier today Marco Sturm underwent successful surgery to repair his meniscus and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Peter Asnis and Dr. Thomas Gill at Mass General Hospital, and will force Sturm to miss the rest of the 2008-2009 NHL season.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Kessel placed on IR: Fernandez and Hnidy updates

EDIT--
Peter Chiarelli said it is going to likely be a month without Phil Kessel for the Eastern Conference Leading Bruins.

Chia had this to say...

''The general assessment of mononucleosis is that a guy is typically out around a month,'' said Chiarelli. ''That said, it could be longer, could be shorter...all based on how an individual recovers.''

This will be quite a chunk of games in which Kessel will be out. How much more can they take, with Sturm, Bergeron and now Kessel out up front?


*The Bruins announced late this afternoon that forward Phil Kessel has mononucleosis and is going on injured reserve. No indication how long Kessel will be out. Although, as you would know if you've had mono, it takes a while to regain your strength. The Bruins called up Martin St. Pierre to take Kessels spot. Who will be the first line call up? If Milan Lucic is healthy again you can bet he might be the guy.

*In other roster moves, the Bruins sent down Matt Lashoff and Kevin Regan (came up for practice today) and called up Tuuka Rask.

*Shane Hnidy skated today with a visor at practice. Hnidy will suit up tomorrow night against the Canadiens wearing the visor.

*Netminder Manny Fernandez remained out of uniform with what head coach Claude Julien referrred to as a ''minor issue.'' Fernandez is questionable to suit up against the Habs, and if he doesn't it will be Tuuka Rask on the bench, backing up Tim Thomas.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Shanahan Signs With Devils: Carbonneau will be Julien's Right Hand Man in All-Star Game

From NHL.com--
Brendan Shanahan is going home again.

Shanahan, who began his career with New Jersey more than 20 years ago, has agreed in principle to rejoin the Devils, who selected him with the No. 2 pick in the 1987 Entry Draft."

Brendan Shanahan has agreed in principle to join the New Jersey Devils," General Manager Lou Lamoriello said in a statement issued Saturday. "He will begin skating on his own. Brendan will join the team at a date to be determined."

Shanahan has not yet signed a contract, but Lamoriello said that will be worked out, "in the next couple of days."

*We are posting this bulletin as it was thought that the Bruins may have been interested in bringing in Shanahan to fill the hole left after Marco Sturm went out with a season ending knee injury. Now it looks as if the Bruins will have to look inside the organization to fill the hole; atleast for now.
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On another note Claude Julien will be joined by Guy Carbonneau on the bench at the All-Star game. What do you know about that, a Bruins and Canadiens coach on the same bench. It's also funny that the game is in Montreal but the Bruins head man will be the ring leader for the East. Ah, the story lines are endless. The two can talk about that Tuesday at the Garden when the Canadiens will face-off with the Bruins, but I doubt it.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Rask Heading Back to Providence

Peter Chiarelli has announced that the club has assigned goaltender Tuukka Rask to the Providence Bruins. Rask was recalled earlier today on an emergency basis and served as the team's backup goalie in their 5-1 win over the Hurricanes.This would indicate that Manny Fernandez is OK and will be back with the Bruins on Tuesday night. Still no word on why Fernandez missed the game, but with the quick assignment of Rask it looks like it may have just been the flu.

Boston up Five After Two, Cruise to 5-1 Win

The Boston Bruins defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 5-1, Saturday afternoon at the Garden. The Bruins led 5-0 after two periods and held on for their second straight victory.

The game started out with the Bruins looking a little sluggish, but it didn't take long for the B's to wake-up. Just six minutes into the game the Bruins found themselves on the power play and with just a few ticks remaining on the PP they were able to capitalize.

Dennis Wideman found a streaking Blake Wheeler, who dished to David Krejci who put a back hand shot past Cam Ward.

Then at 17:21 of the first period, one of the call ups, Martins Karsums was able to collect his first NHL point. The goal was credited to Stephane Yelle as he was able to knock in the puck heading toward the goal. At the end of 20 minutes the Bruins led the Hurricanes 2-0.

In the first few minutes of the second period another Bruin tallied his first career NHL point. This time is was Byron Bitz who got the helper on Mark Stuart's goal. The goal would spell the end for starter, Cam Ward who looked weak giving up the third goal.

Michael Leighton replaced Ward in net, but things didn't get any better for Carolina.

Michael Ryder was the next Bruin to get on the board on a feed from David Krejci. Ryder slid the puck through the crease on what looked to be a pass attempt, but the shot found the goal and the Bruins were delivering a knock-out punch early.

The final goal of the day for the Bruins came from Ryder again, however, Krejci was the guy that made the play that will put him in Sports Center's Top-10. Krejci made a behind the back pass to Ryder which had the Bruins fans ooh'ing and aw'ing.

Then, in the final few minutes Matt Hunwick who threw an elbow a bit earlier had to answer the bell. He got into a bout with Justin Williams and it looked like Williams was going to take Hunwick to school until Hunwick landed a huge right that put Williams on his backside.

The Bruins went to the third with a five goal lead and coasted to the victory. The only blemish against Tim Thomas, was a goal from Justin Williams who made a nice tip off of a Frantisek Kaberle wrist shot. Thomas had already committed to the shot and had no chance once Williams changed direction of the shot.

With the win the Bruins moved to, 31-7-4 and are now nine points ahead of the Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference.

The Bruins next game of course needs no introduction, as the Bruins will face-off against the Habs Tuesday night at the Garden.

Rask Recalled: Julien to Coach Eastern All-Star's

New York (from NHL.com) -- Head coaches Claude Julien of the Boston Bruins and Todd McLellan of the San Jose Sharks will lead the Eastern and Western Conference All-Star Teams, respectively, at the 57th NHL All-Star Game, Sunday, Jan. 25 at Bell Centre in Montreal (6 p.m. ET, CBC, RDS, VERSUS, NHL Radio).
Head coaches Bruce Boudreau of the Washington Capitals (27-12-3, .679) and Guy Carbonneau of the Canadiens (24-10-6, .675) still are in contention for the Eastern Conference assistant coaching berth, which will go to the winner of tonight's game between the clubs at Montreal.

Wouldn't that be interesting if Carbonneau was on the bench with Julen?



*Tuukka Rask was recalled today from Providence and will back up Tim Thomas, replacing Manny Fernandez on the bench. Claude Julien said there's a minor issue with Fernandez. Stay tuned for that.
This means that Tim Thomas will be in goal for the B's.

Karsums and Bitz Recalled For Today's Tilt With Carolina

The Bruins have recalled Martins Karsums and Byron Bitz from Providence. Both are expected to play today against Carolina.

BOSTON--
Bitz has registered three goals and seven assists in 37 games for Providence this year. The 24-year-old scored 13 goals and made 14 assists in 61 games with the Providence Bruins last year. Before joining the P-Bruins in 2007, Bitz played four seasons at Cornell University with 28-60-88 totals and 155 penalty minutes in 124 career games.
The 6'5", 215-pound Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native was originally drafted by the Bruins in the 4th round (107th overall) of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. This is the first recall of Bitz' professional career.


Karsums is currently the leading scorer for Providence with 16 goals and 23 assists in 38 games, and ranks 8th in points overall in the AHL. Recently named an AHL All-Star, he will play for the Planet USA team in the AHL All-Star Classic on January 26. He was recalled by Boston earlier this year and made his NHL debut against the Atlanta Thrashers on December 13. He tallied a career-best 20 goals and 43 assists in 79 games during his second professional season with the Providence Bruins last year and joined the P-Bruins in 2006 after playing three seasons of junior hockey with Moncton of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
The 5'10’", 198-pound Riga, Latvia native was originally drafted by the Bruins in the 2nd round (64th overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

Hnidy out vs. Canes

*Shane Hnidy will not play tomorrow afternoon against the Hurricanes. He is expected back on Tuesday night when the Bruins will face off with the Habs in the final game of a six game home stand. When Hnidy returns he is expected to have to play with a visor. Hnidy took a shot to the eye Tuesday night against the Wild.

*Also, as I posted earlier Milan Lucic is also out. The Bruins sent down Vladimir Sobotka and Martin St. Pierre to Providence. The initial thought was that one of these players would come back up to take Lucic's spot. However, with the Bruins needing to fill two spots coach Claude Julien said neither Sobotka or St. Pierre will get the recall.


One expected recall is Martins Karsums who leads the P-Bruins in points. The other is up in the air. However, my guess is that it will either be Jeremy Reich or the more probable call up, Brad Marchand. No doubt Peter Chiarelli is looking for a guy to come up and impress with the news that Marco Sturm has been lost for the season.