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The Bruins suffered their worst defeat of the season at Buffalo on Wednesday night, losing 6-0. Sabres goalie Ryan Miller made 36 saves for the shutout while Jason Pominville scored twice, Tyler Ennis had a goal and an assist and Ville Leino had two assists as the Sabres beat the Bruins for the first time this season.

Bruins allow frustration to unravel them: One of the Bruins' greatest characteristics last season and for the majority of this season has been their ability to not let bad calls or breaks affect their psyche and their game. But in this game they strayed from that strength. At 8:20 of the first period and already down 1-0,it appeared Milan Lucic had tipped the puck past Sabres goalie Ryan Miller to tie the game. But referee Rob Martell waived the apparent goal off immediately, ruling that Rich Peverley had inadvertently interfered with Miller just prior to the play. From there on it seemed the Bruins were rattled. They allowed the Sabres -- especially Patrick Kaleta, who was a pest all night -- to capitalize in one of Boston's worst efforts. Every team goes through ups and downs, but the Bruins seem to have hit a rut, not just a bump. They have lost three of their past four and are not playing their game.

Rask pulled: Just as his teammates did, Tuukka Rask had an off night and was pulled after three goals. CClaude Julien decided to give Rask the hook at 1:52 of the second period when Tyler Ennis beat him on a goal the Finnish netminder probably wants back. While Rask -- who allowed three goals on 10 shots -- had some bad luck with Gregory Campbell accidentally tipping in a Christian Ehrhoff shot at 6:23 of the first period, he was not on his game like he has been so many times this season. Unfortunately for the Bruins, neither was Tim Thomas, who let in three goals on 19 shots in relief of Rask.

Krejci doesn’t respond: Julien decided to switch up David Krejci and Chris Kelly during the Bruins’ 4-1 win at Washington, but the same move didn’t pay dividends Wednesday. As the game went on, Julien was juggling his lines once again. But the question remains: What is wrong with Krejci? He has been streaky throughout the season and appears to be searching for his game again. On Wednesday, Krejci was basically invisible. He was a minus-2 in 15:41 and didn't help his new linemates Jordan Caron and Benoit Pouliot; his playmaking skills have seemingly disappeared as of late.

Bad blood continues: When the Bruins and Sabres met on Nov. 23 after Milan Lucic bowled over Sabres goalie Ryan Miller on Nov. 12, the two teams let their grievances be known in a physical affair. That bad blood was evident again in this game as there were three fighting majors and plenty of rough stuff. Some of that was due to the lopsided score as the game went on, but it is clear that the remaining three games (at Buffalo Feb. 24; at Boston March 8 and April 7) between these two clubs will be physical affairs.

ESPN.com’s Pierre LeBrun handicaps the Norris Trophy race, saying it’s a two-player contest right now between Nashville’s Shea Weber and Boston’ Zdeno Chara. Writes LeBrun:

1a. Shea Weber, Nashville Predators
Ever wonder what this guy would fetch July 1 if he was unrestricted as opposed to a restricted free agent? Let’s put it this way: I’m guessing at least a third of the general managers in the NHL would pick him first overall if the league redrew the rosters. Among the league leaders in points (36), plus-minus (plus-20) and ice time (26:15), Weber just does it all. Runner-up last season to the legendary Nicklas Lidstrom for the Norris, this finally could be Weber’s first win -- unless of course the next guy on this list wins it. They’re neck and neck in my opinion.

1b. Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins
The parallels with the younger Weber are all too true. Physical impact, offensive force, shutdown terror and a great leader. They apply to both players; the only difference is that the veteran Chara has done it longer in this league. The 2009 Norris Trophy winner has a great shot at another one.

Click HERE to read the rest of LeBrun's piece

ESPN hockey guru Barry Melrose says the Bruins' recent doldrums shouldn't be cause for concern, and that it may even be a good thing for coach Claude Julien.

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- With his team on a two-game losing streak and in need of a scoring spark against the Washington Capitals on Sunday, Bruins head coach Claude Julien decided to switch up his lines, moving center David Krejci down to play between Jordan Caron and Benoit Pouliot and Chris Kelly up to play between Rich Peverley and Milan Lucic. The move worked as the Bruins, with just one goal in their previous two games, lit the lamp four times in a 4-1 win.

When the Bruins returned to the ice for practice Tuesday, the questions regarding the lineup move by Julien weren’t just about the spark he was searching for but also whether he was sending a message to Krejci, who has been very streaky this season.

“I don’t think there’s really any message other than we expect our players to come out and be the best they can every night,” Julien said. “That’s something that I think they owe it to the organization especially based on their contracts. That’s what we expect from them no matter where they are. The message should be the same whether he plays with certain players, his normal linemates or other players.”

Krejci was asked the same question and said he would just continue to work hard.

“I don’t really want to comment on it. I’m a professional,” the Czech center said. “I’m going to go out there every day and compete my hardest. That’s all I can control.”

Krejci who had an NHL best eleven-game point streak in January and then had points in four of the five games heading into the all star break admitted his play has tailed off a bit since returning from the break and promised to improve.

“I felt really good about my game going into the All-Star break. We had a couple bad games after the All-Star Game,” said Krejci, who now has 39 points in 48 games. “It happens. Just have to get back to where I was before the All-Star Game. I’ve done it many times before. I’m not worried about how I’m going to do it again. I have to look at it positively, go out there every day in practice and games and do my best.”

Julien didn’t seem to concerned about his usual top center either and credited him for helping his new linemates in the win at Washington.

“I thought he responded well and when you look at his stats after the game, and the line with Caron and Pouliot and how they created, they weren’t even getting shots so they were good and I didn’t mind them at all,” Julien said. “They did the job and I thought David was good himself. It’s just about getting everybody going again and sometimes those changes are not bad things.”

Wilmington, Mass. -- Bruins forward Zach Hamill, who was waived by the team Monday, cleared waivers Tuesday and will be sent down to Providence. The 2007 first-round pick had a strong start to his recent stint with the big club, but has struggled overall with just two assists and no goals in 16 NHL games this season. But according to head coach Claude Julien, it hasn’t so much been Hamill’s production as much as it is his strength and consistency.

“I just think again he needs to get a little bit stronger,” Julien said. “He’s a guy that’s capable of making plays and he’s a smart individual. He came up and really had a good, strong showing but the thing is trying to maintain that level of play. Sometimes it drops and sometimes it drops because they don’t play much or they get to be healthy scratches and you have to send them back to find their game again. But I really liked a lot of things he did. He sees the ice well, he understands the system very well and he’s a smart player. Probably the one thing though is his strength and is something he needs to keep working on and keeping the level of play where it was when he first came here.”

Jordan Caron, who played in the 4-1 win over Washington Sunday, will remain with the Bruins as they travel to Buffalo for a tilt with the Sabres Wednesday night.

Wilmington, Mass. -- The Bruins held practice at Ristuccia Arena on Tuesday morning before jetting off to Buffalo for a Northeast Division tilt with the Sabres on Wednesday. While Buffalo is just 13th in the East and the Bruins are 2-0 against them this season, the B’s realize they can’t take their division rivals lightly.

“The one thing that we’re well aware of is that we haven’t fared well against teams that are out of the playoffs right now,” Julien pointed out. “We have to be a little bit better and our goal right now is to carry last game (a win in Washington) into this game here. I really felt like we had control most of the game and we did the things that we normally do when we’re successful. So we need to bring that to Buffalo and repeat it. I think that’s what our main focus is on and the challenge is playing better against those teams. Just because they’re there right now, doesn’t make them a bad team, it makes them a hungry team. So we are certainly aware of that and our focus is about our team more than it is other teams at this stage.”

Zdeno Chara was absent from practice Tuesday, but Julien calmed any fears following the skate, telling the media the captain was given a day off after a hectic week last week following the All Star weekend in Ottawa.

The forward lines once again looked the same as they did when the Bruins 4-1 win at Washington concluded on Sunday with David Krejci centering Benoit Pouliot and Jordan Caron instead of being in his normal slot next to Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton (or whoever is playing in place of Horton, who is out with a concussion.

Lucic was playing with Rich Peverley, who was again in Horton’s slot and Chris Kelly in Krejci’s place at center.

Speaking of Horton, Julien had no updates to give after practice, and wasn’t too happy he was asked to give one.

“Guys, I’m done talking about it,” a seemingly frustrated Julien said. “You know I look at every team who has guys with concussions and it would be nice if you guys would give him a chance and let him go through his things. I can’t give you an update every day because it could be long, it could be short. When you see him on the ice with us, it’s going to be a real good sign so we’ll leave it at that. I don’t have the answer so I’m not going to give you the answer when we don’t know what concussions are all about. There’s forward steps and there’s backward steps and I just can’t come out here every day because it doesn’t make sense.”

Here’s what the forward lines and defensive pairings looked like Tuesday:

Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Milan Lucic-Chris Kelly-Rich Peverley
Benoit Pouliot-David Krejci-Jordan Caron
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Johnny Boychuk-Steven Kampfer
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid

Tim Thomas(
Tuukka Rask

Since the calendar turned to 2012, things haven't been quite the same for the Bruins. The video above looks at some of the numbers that illustrate their problems, including penalty killing and a mini-slump for Tim Thomas.

The Bruins snapped out of their funk in a big way Sunday with an impressive 4-1 win at Washington. Tim Thomas was stellar between the pipes making 35 saves in the win while Brad Marchand and Rich Peverley each had a goal and an assist to lead the Bruins attack. Tyler Seguin and Milan Lucic also scored for Boston and Patrice Bergeron had two assists.

Bruins playing Bruins hockey: After veering away from their brand of hockey and their defensive-based system, the Bruins returned to form Sunday. They were tight in their own zone and as a result were moving the puck up ice better than they had been over the last three games. As it did in November and December, the Bruins’ system translated into better offensive chances. Another key to their game Sunday was the net-front presence in front of Capitals goalie Tomas Vokoun. Lucic did a great job of driving to the net on his first period goal and net-front presence was instrumental on the Marchand goal in the opening frame and Seguin’s third-period goal.

Marchand-Bergeron-Seguin line heats up: The Bruins’ best line this season had been relatively quiet the last three games, but they woke up in a big way on Sunday as Marchand had a goal and an assist, Bergeron had two assists and Seguin scored his 20th goal. They were dangerous all game.

Thomas shines in second straight start: In a surprise move, Bruins head coach Claude Julien decided to start Thomas for a second straight game and Thomas didn’t disappoint making 35 saves. Thomas came up with a number of big saves, none bigger than when he made a pad save on an Alexander Semin breakaway bid late in the first to preserve a 2-0 lead at the time. That save seemed to set the tone that Thomas was going to be very difficult to beat.

Horton set to skate: Nathan Horton, out since January 22 with a mild concussion, was scheduled to skate Sunday according to head coach Claude Julien, who addressed the media prior to Sunday’s game. If the skate went well, Horton could resume practicing with the team this week without contact. There is still no timetable on his return to the lineup.

Chara owns Ovechkin again: Alex Ovechkin hasn’t been his normal dominating self this season and that wasn’t any different Sunday with Zdeno Chara blanketing the Caps star. Chara has always done a great job of shutting down Ovechkin and he did it again on Sunday, suffocating the Capitals captain and holding him to no points. Chara was a plus-3 in 25:49 of ice time and Ovechkin was a minus-2 in 22:49.


Caron in; Hamill scratched: After being recalled from Providence on Saturday but sitting out as a healthy scratch, winger Jordan Caron was back in the Bruins lineup skating in Zach Hamill’s spot. Hamill had only two points in 16 games with the Bruins this season and head coach Claude Julien apparently decided it is time for Caron to get another chance to stick with the big club. Here’s what the lineup looked like Sunday:

Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Rich Peverley
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Jordan Caron
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid

Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins were a little banged up physically after Saturday's 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins at TD Garden.

Fortunately for Boston, none of the injuries were serious, and Bruins coach Claude Julien expects everyone ready for Sunday's game against the Capitals in Washington.

Bruins defensemen Dennis Seidenberg received a total of 20 stitches to repair of pair of cuts between his eyes and on his nose after he was slammed face-first into the glass early in the third period. He was able to return in the waning minutes of the game.

Fellow blueliner Joe Corvo, who scored the team's only goal, collided with partner Andrew Ference late in the third period and did not return.

"I just got stung a little bit," Corvo said. "When collisions like that happen, we're both going fast in opposite directions and we don't mean to hit each other. I just got stung a little bit."

Corvo did say he expects to play Sunday in Washington.

Bruins forward Tyler Seguin had a fat upper lip and said his teeth were sore after he caught a high stick to the face at 8:56 of the second period that resulted in a double-minor penalty on the Penguins' Pascal Dupuis. Boston could not capitalize on the four-minute man-advantage.

BOSTON -- The Bruins lost their second straight game Saturday with a 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. Evgeni Malkin and Matt Cooke scored for the Penguins. Joe Corvo was the only Bruin to solve Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who made 28 saves. Tim Thomas had 26 saves for the Bruins.

Frustration building as Bruins can't get offense going: The Bruins snapped their goalless streak with Corvo's tally in the third period, but they still appear to be frustrated offensively. They faced another great goalie in Fleury, but they need to create better scoring chances. Too many of their shots came from defensemen and from the perimeter, and no one was in position for second chances and rebounds. They need to get back to their brand of hockey: strong forechecking and rushing to the net.

Thomas does his job: Just as Tuukka Rask couldn't be blamed for the loss to Carolina on Thursday, Tim Thomas was not at fault for this one. Thomas made 26 saves and looks to be rounding back to the Vezina Trophy worthy form he flashed in November and December.

Corvo snaps goalless streak but exits after taking stick to face: Joe Corvo's goal at 6:45 of the third period snapped a 22-game goalless streak. Corvo's last goal came on Dec. 10, when he lit the lamp twice in a 5-3 win at Columbus. Those were his only other goals until Saturday. He now has three to go along with 17 helpers for 20 points. Corvo hasn't been as bad as his stats might indicate, but he has been inconsistent. To his credit, on Saturday he did more of what the Bruins wanted when they traded for him: He created offense. Along with his goal, Corvo had four shots Saturday. Unfortunately Corvo took an inadvertent stick to the face late in the third period and did not return.

Power failure: Just as their 5-on-5 offense has gone stale, the Bruins have had a power failure on the man-advantage. Since going 2-for-4 in the 4-3 comeback win over Ottawa on Tuesday night, the Bruins are 0-for-4 on the power play, with another 0-for-2 performance Saturday.

Caron called up but lineup remains the same: Jordan Caron was recalled from Providence (AHL) just prior to game time but did not play Saturday. Instead Zach Hamill remained in the lineup. Expect Caron to get a shot Sunday at Washington as Hamill's game has been uninspiring. Here's what the lineup looked like:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Rich Peverley
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Zach Hamill
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid

Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

BOSTON -- The Bruins had to be feeling like Phil, Bill Murray's character in the 1993 comedy "Groundhog Day," as they were beat for a fourth straight time by the Hurricanes and swept for the season series. Cam Ward was sensational against Boston once again, making 47 saves in the 3-0 shutout.

Many in attendance were left wondering how Carolina, which sits last in the Eastern Conference even after winning Thursday, seems to have the secret to beating the defending Stanley Cup champions.

"Obviously Ward has had their number but really I don't know, it's a mystery," one NHL scout told ESPNBoston.com as the seconds wound down in a game the Bruins will do their best to learn from.

But while the Bruins were by no means brushing aside the Hurricanes' performance, they seemed to have a good grasp on why Carolina was again able to beat them.

"Well if they did I'm not going to tell you," defenseman Andrew Ference said with a laugh when asked if the Hurricanes had the perfect game plan against the Bruins. "I think there's a combination. The teams are -- it's very cliché and it probably gets used too much -- but the teams are very close to each other night in and night out and if they're not sharp, and if you're not playing really good hockey, you can get beat. ... I don't think we played our best, and in this league if you're not at your best you definitely leave yourself open to be beaten."

Fellow rearguard Dennis Seidenberg echoed his teammate's sentiments.

"Well, just like the first three games, they're working really hard," Seidenberg said. "They're disrupting our breakouts, they're hard on us, and we just don't seem to find a way to get our game going. But, it all has to do with us being strong mentally and executing out on the ice."

Both Seidenberg and Ference said the Bruins hurt themselves by not getting rebounds and second chances.

"There were a lot of shots. But if a goalie sees the pucks, most of the time he stops them," Seidenberg said. "We just didn't do a good enough job to get in front of him and get those rebounds and put them in."

Ference concurred, saying, "Despite the number of shots, the second opportunities are the ones you usually score on, on a good goalie like that. ... If you can't win those races and the battles to the puck and second opportunities, it's going to be a high shot count but not necessarily that really good quality on those second chances."

BOSTON -- On Groundhog Day, it was the same old story for the Bruins against conference-worst Carolina.

Cam Ward made 47 saves and the Hurricanes swept the season series with a 3-0 win over the Bruins at TD Garden Thursday night. Eric Staal, Tuomo Ruutu and Brandon Sutter scored for the Hurricanes, while no Bruin could beat Cam Ward. Tuukka Rask made 28 saves for Boston, which will try to rebound on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Hurricanes, Ward have the Bruins' number: Attention, all Stanley Cup contenders! Have your coaches and players study video of every Bruins-Hurricanes game this season with extreme focus! The Canes entered this game last in the Eastern Conference, but swept the season series with Boston with their 3-0 win. One of the main reasons was the play of Cam Ward, who stifled the Bruins with 47 saves and stemmed any momentum the Bruins had early when he made 22 saves in the first period. But beyond that, it is a "mystery," as one NHL scout told ESPNBoston.com during the game, that a team like Carolina could beat the defending Stanley Cup champions four straight times.

Rask left to do it alone: You can't blame Tuukka Rask for the 3-0 loss Thursday. Rask made 28 saves and did everything he could to keep the Bruins in the game and give them a chance to come back. Unfortunately, the defense in front of him looked out of sync throughout the game, and the forwards couldn't solve Ward.

Plenty of scouts on hand as trade deadline nears: With the trade deadline on Feb. 27 approaching, teams are starting to send their scouts to examine their targets. The scouts were out in full force Thursday at TD Garden as 12 teams were represented. There have been plenty of rumors flying that the Hurricanes will be moving winger Tuomo Ruutu soon, so chances are the scouts were keeping a close eye on him. He didn't disappoint, scoring a goal and being his usual pest self.

Ference returns; Horton still out: After a three-game suspension, Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference returned to the lineup. Ference was suspended for hitting Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh from behind in a 3-2 loss to New York on Jan. 21. Ference's return meant Steven Kampfer was back up top in the press box as a healthy scratch. Bruins winger Nathan Horton missed his third straight game after suffering a mild concussion Jan. 22 in the 6-5 shootout win over the Flyers. Zach Hamill was once again in the lineup as a result, skating alongside Chris Kelly and Benoit Pouliot. Rich Peverley was up on a line with David Krejci and Milan Lucic. Here's what the lineup looked like Thursday:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Rich Peverley
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Zach Hamill
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid

Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- Boston Bruins coach Claude Julien said after practice on Wednesday that he would have a better update on the status of forward Nathan Horton (mild concussion) on Thursday.

“He’s continuing to progress,” Julien said. “It’s not a negative thing, but right now he’s still not capable of skating. It’s still one day at a time. Our doctors have evaluated him and they like the progress he’s making, but he’s not ready, yet.”

If Horton continues to progress, he could start physical activity on Thursday.

Horton suffered the injury in the second period against Philadelphia on Jan. 22 when he was on the receiving end of a late hit by the Flyers' Tom Sestito. Horton stayed in the game for the remainder of the period but sat out the third.

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- Boston Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid missed practice on Wednesday morning at Ristuccia Arena due to a lower-body injury he suffered late in the third period of Tuesday’s 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators at TD Garden.

He’s questionable for Thursday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes, according to Bruins coach Claude Julien. McQuaid caught a rut late in the game and was shaken up on the play.

“We felt it was better to keep him off the ice today and we’ll re-evaluate his situation tomorrow morning,” Julien said. “Hopefully we’ll get him back on the ice tomorrow.”

McQuaid also dropped the gloves late in the first period with the Senators’ Zenon Konopka, but Julien said the blueliner was not injured during the fight.

The Bruins will have fellow defenseman Andrew Ference back in the lineup Thursday after he completed his three-game suspension.

BOSTON -- The All-Star break is over and the stretch run begins for the NHL.

The Boston Bruins began the unofficial second half of the season with a 4-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators Tuesday night at TD Garden.

The Bruins capitalized on a pair of power plays with goals by Zdeno Chara and Brad Marchand. Boston also received even-strength tallies by Milan Lucic and Dennis Seidenberg en route to victory.

The first half of the opening period was a bit sloppy on both ends -- not all that surprising, as it came after a brief hiatus due to the annual All-Star Game.

The Bruins finally gained a 1-0 advantage at 11:57 when Chara's shot from the left point beat Senators goalie Craig Anderson through traffic in front during Boston's first power play of the game. It was Chara's first goal in 16 games. Six of his eight goals this season have come on the power play.

In the waning minutes of the first period, however, the Senators knotted the game at 1-1 when Ottawa's Colin Greening scored an even-strength goal at 18:40.

The Senators scored a pair of goals in the second period to gain a 3-1 lead. Ottawa's Kyle Turris scored at 7:43, before defenseman Erik Karlsson contributed a tally at 13:28. Boston cut its two-goal deficit by one when Lucic finished off a 3-on-2 with a goal from point-blank range at 19:15 of the second period. The tally was Lucic's 18th of the season.

Boston tied the game at 3-3 only 2:20 into the third period when Marchand collected his 18th goal of the season. The Bruins were on the power play when Marchand picked up the rebound in front off of Joe Corvo's shot from the point. Marchand's relentless effort resulted in the goal.

Seidenberg's go-ahead goal came at 7:09 of the third period when his slap shot from the red line beat Anderson to give Boston a 4-3 lead.

DROP 'EM, BOYS: NHL heavyweights dropped the gloves Tuesday night when the Bruins' Shawn Thornton and the Senators' Chris Neil went toe-to-toe at 12:38 of the first period. The two exchanged big-time blows in a spirited bout as the majority of the 17,565 in attendance were on their feet. The fisticuffs continued minutes later when the Bruins' Adam McQuaid and the Senators' Zenon Konopka went at it in another good bout of the big boys. The Bruins are now tied with the New York Rangers for the league lead with 38 fighting majors. In the second period, Neil caught the Bruins' David Krejci with a leg-on-leg hit, and linemate Milan Lucic tried to entice Neil to no avail.

COMING BACK: Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference sat out his final game of his three-game suspension Tuesday night. He'll be back in the lineup Thursday night against the Carolina Hurricanes at TD Garden. Ference received his suspension after his dangerous hit on the New York Rangers' Ryan McDonagh on Jan. 21. Ference forfeited $36,486.48 in salary due to his suspension.

UP NEXT: The Bruins will host the Carolina Hurricanes Thursday night at TD Garden at 7:05. The Hurricanes are 3-0-0 against the Bruins this season.