Wednesday Bruins news and notes

It is a very busy day here for me in the hub. I have been throwing things off the wall with people all morning and afternoon.

However, first things first, the Bruins have a game tonight at the TD Garden against the Atlanta Thrashers.

Here is what I have been told for tonight's contest. Tuuka Rask is the expected starter, with Tim Thomas likely getting the nod for Friday's Winter Classic.

Also, Milan Lucic will not play tonight and is likely out for the Winter Classic. I have been told that Lucic will return sometime between January 4-7.

As far as the Ilya Kovalchuk rumors, people are telling me forget Kovalchuk and focus on a lower priced option. That option could be a guy like Alex Frolov who will cost a lot less and scored 32 goals last season. Frolov has under achieved this season, but if paired with Marc Savard could be a nice fit.

*One final reminder is that Don Cherry night has been rescheduled due to inclement weather. So, no Grapes with Mike Milbury and Kathryn Tappen tonight.

Four Bruins going to Vancouver ... so far.

Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and Marco Sturm have punched their tickets to Vancouver.

Chara has been named to the Slovakian Olympic roster.

Bergeron has been named to the Canadian Olympic team.

Krejci has been named to the Czech Republic Olympic roster.

Marco Sturm was named to team Germany's Olympic roster.

Team USA's Olympic roster will be announced on January 1, and it is expected Tim Thomas will be one of the three goaltenders heading to Vancouver in February.

Winter Classic in jeopardy for January 1?

NHL Facilities Manager, Dan Craig said, "Right now it looks like we’ll be good to go to play the game," speaking about the Winter Classic. However, forecasts have called for a wintry mix on Friday, which may push the game to Saturday.

I got an email from one of my friends who works for the NHL. They are having an "NHL Tweetup" on Jan 1. If you want further information on the "Tweetup" click the link here. http://nhltweetup.com/2009/10/winter-classic/

Bruins get struck by Lightning

The Boston Bruins were in Tampa Bay on Monday night to play their second game in two nights. Over the first forty minutes of the game, it showed too.

Late in the first period, the Bruins caught a bad break when a dump in took a bad bounce and ended up on the tape on Vincent Lecavalier. Lecavalier fed a brilliant behind-the-back pass to Alex Tanguay who was able to finish.

In the second period, Tampa Bay fed off of their late first stanza goal and dominated Boston. The Bruins almost got out of the period unfazed, key word, however, is almost.
On the power play, it was Kurtis Foster who blasted a shot that trickled through Tim Thomas' legs. With the puck spinning on the goal line, Martin St. Louis beat the Bruins defense to the puck and slammed the biscuit into the goal.

Advantage St. Louis in the battle of former UVM teammates. The goal was a back breaker against Boston, coming with less than 12 seconds remaining in the period.

As the third period came and advanced it looked like Boston may have awoken. A few bad breaks for Boston, however, kept the Tampa Bay lead at two.

With 7:30 left in the third period, the Bruins finally found the back of the net. It was Marco Sturm who fired a shot past Lightning goaltender, Mike Smith, and Boston had life after being on life support.

With three minutes remaining in the game, Sturm was at it again, but this time his snipe rang the iron.

Boston had a late power play nullified due to a Mark Recchi slash and the game ended with the Bolts downing the B's, 2-1.

Boston has one game remaining until the Winter Classic on Friday at Fenway Park. Let the Ilya Kovalchuk rumors swirl yet again, as Kovalchuk and the Thrashers will invade the TD Garden on Wednesday night.

Morris and Lucic will make the trip

Good afternoon to all, and I hope you and yours had a very Merry Christmas.

The news from Bruins practice this morning was that both Derek Morris and Milan Lucic will travel with the team to Florida.

The Bruins are on a two game Florida trip to play the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning. There was no word, however, as to whether Morris and Lucic would play Sunday night.

There really wasn't a lot of talk on Lucic, but Julien did say that he thought Morris had a good chance to crack the lineup.

Bruins explode for six and win in front of Kovalchuk

It was two nights before Christmas, and all through the Garden the players were stirring up an old fashioned shoot out.

It makes perfect sense that on the night the most coveted player in NHL trade talks comes to town the Bruins break out of their offensive slump.

Boston was on the power play in the first period, with the game still scoreless and Zdeno Chara was able to find Marc Savard cross-ice for the tally.

Just 48 seconds later it was Steve Begin in the offensive zone, who dropped a pass for Mark Recchi, who dished to a wide open Daniel Paille for the tap in goal.

As if that weren't enough, just 20 seconds after Boston's second goal, Shawn Thornton slid a pass over to Vladimir Sobotka, who tipped the pass into the back of the goal.

The massacre was on and Ondrej Pavelec was off; to the locker room that was after giving up three goals in a mere minute and eight seconds.

Atlanta, however, seemed to wake up after watching Pavelec skate off the ice. Bryan Little put the Thrashers on the board with a slap shot from the left hash, on a shot that Tim Thomas would stop more often that not.

Less than three minutes later, Ilya Kovalchuk fed Maxim Afinogenov, who beat Thomas through the wickets. It was the second scoring play in which Zdeno Chara had a bit of a hiccup and let Atlanta cut the lead to one.

As the second period started, Boston found themselves on an early five-on-three. Toward the tail end of the five-on-three, Chara found the back of the net after his slap shot was deflected off of an Atlanta defender.

After five goals in the first period, Chara's goal would be the only one in the second.

Just shy of half way through the third period, the Bruins looked to take a strangle hold of the game. On the power play it was Michael Ryder who was able to get the tally, putting home a loose puck courtesy of a Patrice Bergeron one-timer. The goal was Boston's second five-on-three goal of the evening.

However, Atlanta showed a lot of fight, and would mount another comeback on the Bruins. After Evander Kane made it a 5-3 game, it was the man in the spotlight who would cut the deficit to one.

Kovalchuk came in off the right wing on a breakaway and was able to beat Thomas through the legs. Chara left Kovalchuk alone and the sniper made him pay, potting his 21st goal on the year.

Kovalchuk's goal came with 4:52 left in the third period and the fans at TD Garden began to get a little antsy.

However, fear not as season MVP to this point, Patrice Bergeron won a key defensive zone face-off and then was rewarded with an empty net goal.

The final score was 6-4 and even though the Bruins and their fans have to be happy with their six goal explosion, they too have to be disappointed with the defensive mistakes.

It is not often where Chara will make multiple mistakes in the same game, but he did. Hopefully this was just a slight misstep for the reigning Norris trophy winner.

The Boston fans were also able to see what kind of player Kovalchuk really is. He showcased his speed, and wicked shot and showed why he expects a max contract for his services.

And with youngsters like Duncan Keith getting 13 year deals, why not a 10 year deal for a player of Kovalchuk's talent. If the Thrashers don't want to offer it, you better believe there will be a half dozen other teams that would love to.

Boston will enjoy a mini holiday break, until Sunday when they will be in Florida to face the Panthers.

Here's wishing all of Bruins nation a Merry Christmas, and a nice reminder to you all that there are only nine days left until hockey at Fenway.

Boston and Atlanta pre-game notes

Good afternoon to all of you black and gold fanatics.

Tonight is a special night for Claude Julien, who will hopefully be able to celebrate his 200th game as the Bruins head coach with a victory.

Look for Tim Thomas to start tonight against the Atlanta Thrashers after shutting out the Ottawa Senators on Monday night. Derek Morris on the other hand will sit out, for the second straight game.

There should also be some questions tonight for Marc Savard about a popular CBS game show. Savard appeared this morning on the Price Is Right and was part of the Showcase Showdown.

One final item worth noting is that today marks marks the 30th anniversary of Bruins players climbing into the stands and Mike Milbury pounding a guy with a shoe at MSG in New York.

I celebrated by watching the video on youtube, and I think you should do the same http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ef1YVXM9IU.

I wonder if the video will be brought up tonight on the pre or post game show? Let's see what NESN can dig up.

Morris out tomorrow, Lucic 50-50 for Winter Classic

The Bruins held practice this afternoon in Wilmington even after getting in early this morning from Ottawa.

The buzz today was whether or not Milan Lucic would be ready before the Winter Classic. Lucic took the ice this morning briefly for the first time since injuring his ankle nearly four weeks ago.

Lucic said he was "50-50" for the game, so we'll have to wait and see when it comes to him playing at Fenway Park.

Another announcement came down today, regarding another key member of the Bruins. Derek Morris will not suit up tomorrow night against Atlanta according to head coach, Claude Julien.

Morris is officially listed as "day to day," and it is uncertain whether he will make the Florida trip after Christmas.

On another note, there are only 10 shopping days left until the Winter Classic.

Thomas shuts out Senators, ends Bruins losing skid

The Bruins came into Monday night's game against the Ottawa Senators looking for goals. They didn't come early, but they came just the same.

The first period was a bit of a snoozer, with only a few legitimate scoring chances. Tim Thomas was sharp when he was tested, and the team's left the ice scoreless after twenty.

In the second period, Boston had some early chances on the power play. Mark Recchi had a nice tip on a Zdeno Chara slap shot, but Brian Elliott was up to the task.

Heading into the third period, Boston was still looking for their first goal. A few minutes into the third period that first goal finally came.

Shawn Thornton got the puck on the right hash and fired a shot on Elliott. Elliott left a juicy rebound, which Patrice Bergeron knocked into the back of the goal. The goal was Bergeron's ninth of the season, giving Bergeron a team leading 27 points.

Just under 10 minutes later it was Marco Sturm getting on the board, on a great pass from Marc Savard. The goal was Sturm's tenth on the season, which is good for the team lead.

The connection between Savard and Sturm is what Boston was looking for when they paired the two in Toronto.

Tim Thomas did the rest for Boston, stopping 29 Ottawa shots for his fourth shut out of the season. Thomas looked the sharpest he has looked since being injured last month in Pittsburgh.

Boston will return home after going 1-1-1 on their three game road trip. The Bruins will play the Atlanta Thrashers on Wednesday night at the TD Garden.

The game will match two bordering teams in the standings with Boston owning the fifth seed at the moment and Atlanta owning the sixth. It will be the Bruins last game before the Christmas holiday.

Gustavsson shuts out Bruins, hands Boston fourth straight loss

The Bruins took the ice tonight in Toronto with only three of their regular defensemen on the ice. At the end of the game, it was not the defense that was the problem, it was the offense.

Boston was shut out by Jonas "The Monster" Gustavsson tonight, losing their fourth in a row. It was Gustavsson's first career NHL shutout, and it also got Phil Kessel his first win against his former team.

The Bruins and Leafs played a scoreless first period, but Toronto didn't waste much time in the second to get on the board.

Tomas Kaberle came down the left side and put a wrist shot on Tuukka Rask. The puck slid through Rask, and trickled over the goal line. The goal was possibly the worst goal Rask has allowed this season, and is definitely one he would love to have back.

The game trudged along without a lot of chemistry on either side. The Bruins especially looked disinterested, which is the opposite of what they were in Boston when Toronto came to visit.

Toronto was able to put another goal on the board midway through the third period. This time it was Jason Blake who potted the Maple Leafs goal. Blake fired one over the glove of Rask, and gave Toronto a 2-0 lead.

The scoring ended with Blake's goal, but not the hitting. At the 13:20 mark of the third period, Johnny Boychuk laid out Matt Stajan. After the hit a scrum occurred, but not much came of it.

After looking at the replay, it looked like Boychuk's hit was cleanish. However, I would expect a fine for Boychuk as the NHL is not lenient when it comes to hits to the head.

After losing four games in a row, Boston now sits in a tie for sixth place in the Eastern Conference with 39 points. The Bruins are now six points behind division leading Buffalo.

Boston will be off tomorrow, and will next play in Ottawa on Monday night. The Senators are in fifth place in the conference, one point ahead of the Bruins.