ESPN Insider begins its in-depth look at the draft by breaking down two of the most enticing possibilites: Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin. (Insider content)
In the NHL, great goaltending is the great equalizer. And while the Bruins will be content just to get into the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs, it would be nice to avoid the Buffalo Sabres for that reason.
But by the same token, that's also why teams are going to want to avoid facing the Bruins, should they qualify for postseason.
In the Bruins' 3-2 shootout win over the Sabres Tuesday night, both clubs flaunted their fantastic netminding. Tuukka Rask continued to build his go-to goaltender resume with a career-high 43 saves, plus three stops on four attempts in the shootout. Olympian Ryan Miller, was no slouch for Buffalo either, with 32 saves, including several spectacular stops in overtime when the Bruins were firing on all cylinders during a power play.
A Boston-Buffalo best-of-seven series could be a classic. Not only has the netminding been top-notch in all the head-to-head matchups so far this season, but Tuesday tempers started to flare with Zdeno Chara nearly coming to blows with Paul Gaustad and then Milan Lucic and Adam Mair dropping the gloves in the third period.
For all their troubles this season, the Bruins have won two of three games against the Northeast Division-leading Sabres. And each contest has been all about the goaltending.
Rask again was calm as could be against a relentless Buffalo attack in the second and third periods. Miller was just as good in defeat as he was in his victory over Boston a couple of weeks ago.
You really can't count out Buffalo making a run to the Stanley Cup finals or Boston winning a round or two as long as their men between the pipes are playing their best.
But we can't get too far ahead of ourselves. Even with two straight victories (which qualifies as a winning streak with the Bruins), Boston is still on the outside of the top eight in the Eastern Conference. But it's worth pondering what type of a matchup Boston would be for the upper-echelon teams if the Bruins are still standing come mid-April.
Sunday afternoon's 3-0 shutout of the Canadiens at Montreal might have sealed Tuukka Rask's ascension to the No. 1 goaltender job. Not since Tim Thomas' injury absence in November had Rask started as many as three straight games, but he capped such a streak with one of his finest performances of the season in the 36-save blanking of the Habs.
For the first time since Jan. 5, the Bruins won in regulation as they ended a 10-game winless string (0-6-4). Except for an embarrassing loss at Carolina Jan. 24, the club's worst all-around performance of the season, goaltending has not been an issue for the offensively challenged Bruins during the slide. But that doesn't mean that they shouldn't go forward by riding the hot hand of Rask as far as it will take them.
Rask was on fire against the Habs, especially during a second period in which the Bruins took a siesta. Montreal outshot Boston 15-3 in the middle session, and the Bruins took 15 minutes to register their first shot on net during the period. But Rask gave the Bruins the type of wall-like netminding Thomas has been famous for.
No one was frustrated more by Rask than Montreal center Tomas Plekanec, who failed to capitalize on nine shots on net. In that lopsided second period, Plekanec had a chance to slice the Bruins’ lead in half but was denied by a Rask blocker save on a clean breakaway.
You have to figure that Rask will start in net as long as his play warrants. He played well enough in the two defeats leading up to the Montreal victory to earn the nod against the Habs. That means he could take the Bruins right through to the Olympic break later this week or even the entire playoff push.
The Bruins hoped when the season opened that they had a solid No. 1-1A situation in net, and that's been the case most of the way. The numbers of both goaltenders are virtually identical with Thomas' goals-against average of 2.52 only slightly higher than Rask's 2.02. Thomas (.915) and Rask (.929) are neck-and-neck in save percentage. Imagine what the numbers would be if both goaltenders weren't playing behind the league's worst offense.
Even if the roles of 1 and 1A are flipped, that shouldn't prevent the Bruins from keeping the pair together. Many have been clamoring for a trade with Thomas that would bring in some offensive help from outside the organization. Rask's recent performances will probably ramp up those calls. But Thomas isn't going anywhere, first and foremost because –- as ESPNBoston.com confirmed last week –- he has a no-trade clause through July 1, 2012 written into the four-year extension he signed last spring.
Thomas, a native of Michigan, has adopted New England as his home ever since he returned from Finland to play for Providence in the AHL, and he's not likely to agree to a deal out of town.
Of course, the Bruins wouldn't likely even ask him to waive such a clause. They know all too well that the road is littered with goaltenders that were given too much responsibility, then collapsed under the pressure. That's unlikely to happen to Rask, whose childhood in Finland obviously included his blood being chilled to just the right temperature that no game situation fazes him (a much-publicized tantrum after an official's call last season notwithstanding). But to make sure they're covered in case of emergency, the Bruins have to keep Thomas around.
To date, the best move general manager Peter Chiarelli made since this season started was getting Rask's name on an extension for two years beyond this campaign. The Bruins now have $6.25 million of cap space devoted to goaltending for the next two seasons, which is a reasonable number -- even if it turns out that the 1A is taking home $5 million of it.
Only a fool would count out Thomas at this point of his career. He's battled through too much to just fade into the shadows and let Rask grab all the glory. There's little doubt the Bruins will need Thomas to step in at some point, whether Rask is slowed by injury or slump this year or beyond, and Thomas can be counted on to be ready when needed.
For now, though, it's obvious which Bruins netminder needs to be in the crease until he hits a bump in the road. It has to be Rask.
Even without Krejci, the Bruins were able to snap their 10-game winless (0-6-4) streak as Boston's other centers Patrice Bergeron, Marc Savard and Steve Begin all took turns centering Krejci's usual line with Blake Wheeler and Michael Ryder on the wings and logged more minutes than their season averages.
Boychuck breaks orbital bone, out 7-10 days
So Boychuk will not play until after the upcoming Olympic break.
"He’s very lucky. A quarter-inch the other way and it could have been a lot, lot worse," Julien told reporters Sunday afternoon in Montreal, where his team will take on the Canadiens.
Boychuk was hit in the left side of the head with a slap shot from Canucks forward Mikael Samuelsson during a first-period penalty kill. He was bloodied and helped off the ice by teammates Blake Wheeler and Zdeno Chara.
In 31 games, Boychuk has posted 2-7--9 totals for the Bruins this season.
Boychuk was hit in the left side of the head with a slap shot from Canucks forward Mikael Samuelsson during a first-period penalty kill. Boychuk did not return to the game.
The Bruins start a four-game road trip Sunday against the Canadiens. Julien said that if Boychuk cannot make it, defenseman Andrew Ference might be able to step in. Ference has been out since Jan. 5 with a groin injury and joined his teammates for practices last week. An extra defenseman could also be recalled from Providence (AHL), but Julien said that as of his postgame press conference there were no plans to do that.
Boychuk hit in head by puck, won't return
Boychuk was hit in the left side of the head with a Mikael Samuelsson slap shot during a first period penalty kill. He was bleeding profusely and had to be helped off the ice by a couple of teammates and Bruins trainer Don Del Negro.
After he was injured, Ference’s prognosis was a return in six weeks. If he makes it back during the upcoming pre-Olympic break road trip, he would be back a week early.
“I did some stops and starts and tried some accelerations at the end. It felt all right,” he said. “It’s a big step. I’ve done it before. There’s a big jump between feeling like you’ve got some jump in practice and actually jumping on a guy in a game and hitting him and closing the gap and recovering from a mistake. There’s a big difference. I know there’s still a little bit of progress that has to be made to be effective out there.”
Unfortunately for Ference, he has a lot of experience with trying to make a return from injury.
“You have to go through a series of steps to work yourself up,” he said. “You can’t just all of a sudden jump in and try everything because you’ll hurt yourself again. I was able to start those initial things earlier, which is good, but I still need the important stuff to feel strong.”
The Bruins, losers of nine in a row, could certainly use Ference’s help on the back end. He said that even if he doesn’t play before the break, he will definitely be available afte itr. The Bruins’ post-Olympic schedule opens March 2.
• A change of venue for Wednesday’s practice didn’t change the Bruins’ fortunes. So Friday they used some props. At each end of the rink, they laid 8-foot long “Border Patrol” partitions from the goal post diagonally encasing the slot. This allowed rebounds to stay around the net and shooters to easily get to pucks. After the formal session, one group of players practiced shooting the puck over one of the partitions from an angle, while another stacked them three high and practice roofing wrist shots.
"He'll be in there tomorrow," said the coach.
Friday morning they hit the ice for practice again with one last home game on the docket Saturday against Vancouver. Andrew Ference, trying to return from a groin injury, again skated. Forward Marco Sturm did not take the ice and defenseman Derek Morris joined practice late.
The formal session started at 11:30 a.m. but at around 11, a handful of players were already on the ice working on different power-play situations with assistant coach Geoff Ward.
Unfortunately for the Russian superstar, after all the rumors turned to an actual official trade, his next destination is another city -- Newark, N.J. -- where he'll skate in front of mostly empty seats. So much for the rumor that he only wanted to go to a warm-weather city, unless he meant he wanted to be near garbage pails with bonfires.
The deal was unfortunate for the Boston Bruins too, because at the same time that the New Jersey Devils and Atlanta Thrashers were announcing their deal, Boston was in the midst of squandering a two-goal lead en route to a 3-2 shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens despite a 47-25 shot advantage.
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BOSTON -- The Bruins are hoping their final six games before the Olympic break turn out better than their previous eight outings. The attempt to forge a turnaround starts Thursday night at TD Garden against Montreal.
Rookie Tuukka Rask was the first goaltender off the ice after morning skate, so he should get the start against the Canadiens. He hasn't started since a 2-1 loss at Buffalo Jan. 29. He hasn't earned a win since Dec. 30 against Atlanta and is 0-1-0 in his career against Montreal.
Defenseman Matt Hunwick and forward Steve Begin, who were both given "maintenance days" by head coach Claude Julien Wednesday, took part in the optional morning skate and should be back in the lineup.
BELMONT, Mass. -- We're getting closer and closer to the NHL Olympic break and the trade freeze. The break starts Feb. 14, but the freeze begins Feb. 12.
The actual trade deadline is March 3, but there will be little time between the end of the freeze , March 1, and the end of trading season to get deals done. So, as expected, the rumors are getting more and more specific. On Wednesday came word via TSN in Canada that sources say underachieving Bruins winger Michael Ryder has become available. In 54 games, Ryder has scored just 12 goals and 20 points after he registered 27 goals and 53 points in 74 games in 2009-10.
"You definitely, especially in Montreal, there's always media talk and all these things buzzing around," said Ryder after practice at Belmont Hill Academy. "I just learned there, don't pay attention to it and block it out."
Ryder left the Canadiens, who had banished him to the dog house in his last season after he failed to live up to the expectations his two 30-goal campaigns had set, to sign a three-year deal with a $4 million cap hit each season. The reunion with head coach Claude Julien, who had mentored Ryder on three other teams, seemed to work last season. But up until the Bruins' last three games, Ryder has been a major disappointment this season.
Ryder is hoping to get a chance to make things right in black and gold.
"I didn't really think about not being a part of this team. It's part of the game, but I definitely want to stay here and try to help this team win," he said. "I think we have the team that can do some damage if we get to the playoffs. It's just a matter now of putting things together and getting back on track."
More names are sure to come up in rumors and reports of near-deals. Right now, Julien doesn't think there are any trade-related distractions for his team, which has lost eight in a row.
"Every year you go through that," Julien said. "And the guys understand that this time of year is one of those times that you hear a lot of rumors and talk. So they've been through it before. I don't think, to be honest with you, so far I haven't sensed that it's been a distraction to our hockey team. I think the biggest thing is the guys really are focusing on turning this thing around more than they're even worried about the trade rumors right now."
BELMONT, Mass. -- In the minds of Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli and head coach Claude Julien, it was time to shake things up a bit without altering the makeup of the team.
So instead of reporting to Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington, Mass., the Bruins hit the Olympic-sized sheet at the Jordan Athletic Center at Belmont Hill Academy on Wednesday morning. The players actually boarded a chartered bus and headed over as a team to the school Chiarelli's son attends.
Then the team went through its usual practice routine in front of close to 100 members of the student body.
"We're hoping it can [help]. It's just a change of scenery and something a little different and something Peter thought might be good for our team," said Julien, whose team lost its eighth in a row Tuesday night.
The players were all for a change in scenery.
"Maybe that was the plan behind today, just try something different, have some fun," said center Marc Savard. "We're keeping our spirits up, and like we said in the past, we just have to stick with it."
The question came up whether the Bruins have to adopt Belmont Hill as its new practice rink if they beat Montreal Thursday night. That won't happen, but goaltender Tim Thomas is hoping the change of venue will pay off.
"After we win [Thursday] night, we can say it was all because of this," he said.
NOTES:
* Defenseman Matt Hunwick and forward Steve Begin were excused from practice for "maintenance days," according to Julien. Hunwick was leveled by a Tom Poti hit Tuesday night. The Bruins backliner returned to the game after heading to the locker room to check out an undisclosed injury.
* Andrew Ference practiced again Wednesday but said he didn't add anything more strenuous to his workout. The defenseman said that Friday he might be able to add some hard stops and starts, and some contact as he attempts to return from a groin injury.
BOSTON -- Those ridiculous screams for Bruins coach Claude Julien's head were reduced to murmurs by Boston's performances in two hard-fought losses over the weekend.
They should be completely silenced now, even though the Bruins' losing streak stretched to eight games with a 4-1 loss to the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals Tuesday night at TD Garden.
You fire coaches when players lose faith in the system and stop playing within it, or when the bench boss' words start to fall on deaf ears. If anything, the Bruins are relying too heavily on the system in which they have undying belief. How else to explain Matt Hunwick's egregious decision to pass the puck with his backhand back around his own net rather than shoot it out, a turnover the Capitals converted into the go-ahead goal 5:04 into the third period.
In that situation, no matter what the game plan is, a player has to realize that when a player like Washington's Alexander Semin is on the ice, the puck has to be moved forward.
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Matt Kalman
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for ESPNBoston.com. He has been on the Bruins beat since the lockout for numerous publications and has been covering the Boston sports scene for a decade. Send any questions for Matt to his mailbag and he might answer them in his Bruins mailbag.
