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.

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.