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BOSTON -- For the past two days, the Boston Bruins insisted their late-season funk was in the rearview mirror. There would be no more blown leads in the third period and no more lackluster starts. The skilled and physical Bruins would return.

Well, the Bruins kept their promises as they overcame an early Toronto Maple Leafs power-play goal and scored the next four goals, dominating the Leafs 4-1 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

David Krejci had a goal and two assists, Wade Redden had a goal and an assist and Nathan Horton and Johnny Boychuk both lit the lamp for the Bruins. Tuukka Rask looked solid between the pipes, making 19 saves, with James van Riemsdyk’s power-play goal in the opening period the only shot that beat him.

For the Leafs, James Reimer was under siege all night as the Bruins poured 40 shots on him.

Lucic-Krejci-Horton line clicks again: One of the big question marks heading into this series was whether Milan Lucic, Krejci and Horton could find their magic again. If Game 1 is any indication, the band is back together and the magic is there. In addition to Krejci’s three-point performance and Horton lighting the lamp, Lucic had two helpers and continued to look more like the Lucic who used a combination of grit, size and skating to earn two straight seasons of 20-plus goals. The chemistry was back as Horton and Lucic got to open spaces to benefit from Krejci’s playmaking skills, and Krejci looked a lot like the player who was a candidate for the 2011 Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

Bruins defense provides offensive boost: Prior to Game 1, coach Claude Julien lauded Redden for his recent play and puck-moving skills. Redden continued to impress with his goal and an assist, but the Bruins' entire defense did a great job of moving the puck and creating offense in Game 1. In addition to Boychuk's goal, Bruins defensemen helped in peppering Reimer and controlling neutral zone play.

Power play looks better: While the Bruins’ power play (1-for-5) can certainly still be better, it did convert once and moved the puck a lot better. The passes were crisp, and there was less hesitation. If that continues, the scoring production will increase.

Suspension coming for Ference? Andrew Ference could very well be sitting out a game or more after elbowing Leafs forward Mikhail Grabovski in the head in the first period. No penalty was called, but the replay clearly shows an elbow to the head.

Bruins have two goals called back: Things could have been even worse for the Leafs if not for two Bruins goals being called back. The referees and replay officials got it right in calling back a Tyler Seguin shot that clearly rang off the post 1:10 into the second period. But Patrice Bergeron’s no-goal was a bit questionable as the referees claimed the whistle was blown before Bergeron pushed it into the net. But even if the refs were wrong, the rule states if they intended to blow it and didn’t do it in time, then it’s still not a goal.

Bad blood boils at end: In addition to Ference’s questionable hit to the head of Grabovski, there was plenty of hard hitting throughout the game. As time wound down in the third period and it was clear the Bruins would win, the Leafs decided to let the Bruins know they were still there, taking plenty of extra hits after the whistle and then stirring things up at the final buzzer. The result was a Chris Kelly-Leo Komarov fight. It should be a physical Game 2.

Hamilton and Peverley sit: Not surprisingly, Julien kept Dougie Hamilton in the press box as a healthy scratch. The defenseman struggled in his last few games of the regular season, and Julien seems to have opted to take the learning-from-up-top route he took with Seguin as a rookie to start the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs. While Rich Peverley might have had an off season, one would think Julien would prefer playoff and Cup experience in the lineup instead of an inexperienced Kaspars Daugavins. But it was Daugavins playing with Kelly and Jaromir Jagr for Game 1.

Here’s what the rest of the lineup looked like:

Forwards
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand-Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Daugavins-Kelly-Jagr
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Defensemen
Zdeno Chara-Dennis Seidenberg
Ference-Boychuk
Redden-Adam McQuaid

Goalies
Rask
Anton Khudobin

BOSTON -- After sitting out for 14 games with a broken tibia suffered on March 11, Chris Kelly was back in the lineup for the Boston Bruins' 6-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday. Kelly skated on a line with Daniel Paille and Tyler Seguin, finished with no points and was minus-1 in 13:23 on ice. He finished with 12 faceoff wins and overall felt better than expected after missing so much time.

"Surprisingly, my wind was pretty good, and I thought throughout the course of the game I felt pretty good the entire night," said Kelly, who has two goals and four assists in 24 games. "I think just reacting. I would have liked to have been a little better on faceoffs and timing and things like that, but it's to be expected when you've been off a month, and guys are more than midseason form. There's only 10 games left. I was just trying to go out there and, I don't want to say blend in, but just be part of it."

This was the longest stretch of games that Kelly has missed in his career, and while he didn't enjoy it at all, he still remains grateful it wasn't season-ending or worse.

"It's not fun, but the way I looked at it was it could have been much worse," Kelly said. "It could have been a lot longer, so I just tried to work hard, and get back as quick as possible and be ready to feel good when I did come back."

But while Kelly was satisfied with his first game back, he and his teammates realize they still have plenty of room for improvement. The Bruins continue to allow too many scoring chances. They were outshot 18-9 in the first period and 42-36 overall.

"I think we've got to do a better job at taking the opposing team's time and space away," Kelly said. "I think we're maybe overthinking sometimes out there instead of reacting and jumping on them and closing that gap as quick as possible.

"I think we can manage the puck a little better than what we did. I don't want to be doom and gloom. We scored six goals, and we've got to take some positives out of what we did tonight, but I still think there can be times where we can manage the puck better and closing that gap, especially in the D-zone, and taking time and space away."

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- Boston Bruins forward Chris Kelly participated in the team’s full practice Friday at Ristuccia Arena, and then he traveled with the team to Montreal and there’s a chance he could return to the lineup against the Canadiens Saturday night at Bell Centre.

Since suffering a broken left tibia on March 11 at Ottawa, Kelly’s missed 13 games.

“It felt good today,” Kelly said after practice. “It was nice to practice with the guys, and get out there not just for a morning skate but an actual practice and throw my weight around.”

He’s unsure whether or not he’ll be cleared to play Saturday night, but he’s hoping he can return.

“I don’t know,” he said. “We’ll see what the best thing is and go from there. I don’t want to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ but I’m pushing it pretty good and it feels good, which is a good thing.”

Bruins coach Claude Julien said he’ll let the medical staff make their decision.

“He’s moving in the right direction, so it’s a good sign and it’s good to see him back on the ice with us,” Julien said. “I’m going to leave it as a day-to-day right now. He’s progressing and I don’t know what his status is going to be moving forward, if that’s tomorrow or the beginning of next week. He’s progressing well and I’ve got to let the medical staff do their job properly. I’m not one to push those guys. They know what they’re doing, so I’ll let them evaluate him as we move forward.”

BOSTON -- After skating on his own for a few days, Bruins forward Chris Kelly participated in the Bruins’ morning skate on Thursday and is confident he can return from a broken tibia soon.

“It’s been good,” Kelly said of the recovery process. “Obviously hard work but it’s been good. I never really had a timetable to be honest. It just depends on how you feel. Every day you come in and if you feel good you put pressure on a little more and if you feel worse, then you scale back. It’s felt better and better every day which is good. I’m trying to push myself as hard as I can go and I skated by myself for a few days and today was the first day with the guys so I’m just going to keep pushing it and pushing it until I’m back playing.”

The plan now is for Kelly to keep skating with the team. He will not play tonight against New Jersey but will travel with the team to Montreal this weekend for their game Saturday against the Canadiens.

Kelly has been out since March 11 when he collided knee-on-knee with Senators tough guy and a former teammate of Kelly’s Chris Neil. It has been a frustrating season for Kelly to say the least. After scoring a career-high 20 goals last season, the solid two-way forward has struggled with only two goals in 23 games. He's also struggled in his own end, where he is depended on for his defensive game. Heading into that game March 11 though, Kelly had just scored his second goal of the season, snapping a six-game stretch without a goal and he seemed to be turning a corner. He was asked where his frustration level was at now after suffering the injury and missing the last 12 games?

“You never want to get hurt but things happen for a reason,” Kelly said. “It could’ve been much worse and done for the rest of the year or even worse. But it wasn’t as bad as maybe I originally thought it was when I was laying on the ice. I’m happy that I will have an opportunity to come back.”

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- Even though Boston Bruins forward Chris Kelly is out indefinitely with a broken left tibia, he remains upbeat and hopes to return by the end of the season.

Kelly suffered the injury when he collided with the Ottawa Senators’ Chris Neil during the second period last Monday at Ottawa.

“It hurt,” Kelly said Friday afternoon at Ristuccia Arena. “But it could’ve been much worse. It was pretty sore.”

Kelly admitted the hit was accidental.

“It was just a hockey play,” Kelly said. “Both guys kind of turned and we didn’t have anyplace to go. Things happen quick out there and that’s all it was.”

Neil sent Kelly a text message after the game to apologize.

“I just said: ‘It’s a hockey play.’ That’s all it was,” Kelly said.

There’s still swelling and he’s trying to make sure he doesn’t lose strength in the leg because he would like to return by the end of the season.

“I’m hoping,” he said. “They haven’t really given me a timeframe. It’s one of those things you need to let heal and hope for best.”

There was no discussion of needing surgery on the break.

BOSTON -- Even though the Bruins will be without forward Chris Kelly for the foreseeable future because of the broken left tibia he suffered Monday at Ottawa, Boston is prepared to carry on without its assistant captain.

In the team’s first game without him, which resulted in a 3-2 loss to the Penguins on Tuesday at Pittsburgh, Bruins coach Claude Julien had veteran forward Jay Pandolfo on the team’s third line along with Rich Peverley and Jordan Caron.

Based on the Bruins’ morning skate in preparation to host the Florida Panthers tonight at TD Garden, Julien will use the same lineup. Still, Kelly will be missed.

“It’s unfortunate,” Pandolfo said. “He’s a huge part of our team and he’s a great leader in the room. All the little things he does on the ice, he’s a tough guy to replace, but when stuff like this happens, everyone as a group needs to step up and help out with some of the stuff he did.”

Peverley will serve as the line’s center, with Caron and Pandolfo on the wings. Kelly is the center on that line, but Peverley is versatile and very good at faceoffs, with a 62.2 percent rating (98-for-160).

“We’re lucky to have guys like Pevs, even [Tyler] Seguin, who have played center most of their career that can step in there and be comfortable in that position,” Julien said. “Pevs is going to have to fill some big shoes there with Kells being a real versatile center man that can do a lot of different things for our team.”

The Bruins’ decision to sign Pandolfo as a free agent on Feb. 12 has worked out.

"It did right from the get-go and that’s one of the reasons we signed him," said Julien. "We knew going through this grind the last two months we would need some players to step up, and some experienced guys would be pretty useful, so Pando comes in at a real good time.”

Pandolfo, 38, can kill penalties and is not a liability. Plus, his veteran presence helps both on and off the ice for the Bruins.

Julien likes to have those types of veteran players on his team because they’re so valuable. Late last season it was Brian Rolston, and for the previous three seasons it was Mark Recchi. Now Pandolfo fills that role.

“Besides the experience that we always talk about, they’ve been around the block a few times; it’s also the wisdom in the dressing room,” explained Julien. “When guys are panicking, they can settle them down. When guys are too settled, maybe they crank them up a bit. They seem to know what buttons to push in the dressing room.

"Coaches do a certain job, but you don’t underestimate what players can do in the dressing room just amongst themselves. Guys like that are pretty valuable, especially as you get deeper into the season.”

BOSTON -- With Boston Bruins forward Chris Kelly out indefinitely with a broken left tibia, general manager Peter Chiarelli has some serious thinking to do before the NHL’s trade deadline on April 3.

Even before Kelly suffered the injury during a second-period collision with the Ottawa Senators’ Chris Neil on Monday night in Ottawa, Chiarelli already had started his due diligence in the trade market.

He has the resources ($7.6 million in cap space) to make a deal for a top-tier player, and now with Kelly sidelined, Chiarelli could pull the trigger sooner than later.

A name that quickly comes to mind is the Calgary Flames’ Jarome Iginla. When the Bruins announced Kelly’s injury Wednesday afternoon, the Flames were in last place in the Western Conference with 22 points, but only six points out of a playoff spot. The highly talented forward becomes an unrestricted free agent after this season, so he could be a quick fix and could be lured to Boston with the chance of winning a Stanley Cup.

Here’s the problem: With the condensed schedule, more teams are still in playoff contention, so teams might not be as willing to part with talent. Plus, Chiarelli needs to add to the team without subtracting from the current roster and core chemistry.

If other GMs are not willing to deal with the Bruins, Chiarelli will have to focus internally on a solution. He recently recalled forward Jordan Caron from Providence of the AHL, and in the three games he’s played for the big club, Chiarelli has been impressed with the 22-year-old forward.

In Kelly's absence during Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, veteran Jay Pandolfo was inserted onto the line with Caron and Rich Peverley. Pandolfo, 38, has played only five games for the Bruins this season, but coach Claude Julien understands what the veteran can add on and off the ice.

Also, forward Lane MacDermid has been a healthy scratch for the majority of the season. He has played only three games but could be called upon.

As of Wednesday night, the Bruins had not recalled a player from Providence, even though Chiarelli believes there are P-Bruins players ready to contribute if needed.

Chiarelli’s job is to improve the team, and he’ll attempt to do that before the trade deadline. He hasn’t been shy in the past, and he won’t be now.

BOSTON -- Bruins forward Chris Kelly is out indefinitely with a broken left tibia, the team announced Wednesday afternoon.

Kelly suffered the injury when he collided with the Ottawa Senators’ Chris Neil in the second period of Monday’s 3-2 shootout win at Ottawa.

In 23 games this season, Kelly has two goals and four assists for six points. Veteran forward Jay Pandolfo replaced Kelly in the Bruins’ lineup on Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

This is the first major injury a Bruins player has suffered this season.

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- It’s amazing what scoring a goal can do for an NHL player when he’s gone six games without lighting the lamp and had previously endured a 13-game drought.

After breaking his latest dry spell on Saturday in a 3-0 win over the Flyers, Bruins center Chris Kelly was in fine spirits Sunday and joking with the media as he held court following practice. Kelly was asked about his double-fist pump following the goal Saturday and joked that he may need to work on the celebration a bit.

“I guess it was a reaction and maybe I need a better celebration,” Kelly said with a laugh. “Maybe I should have a better celebration. I don’t know. (Brad) Marchand just seems to go and chirp the other team’s bench.”

A reporter then asked if Kelly retrieved the puck.

“Did I ask for the puck?” Kelly quipped. “It’s my second goal. I need one for 100 (in his career) and you guys are acting like I never scored before.”

After scoring a career-high 20 goals last season, Kelly has been in a season-long drought as he and linemates Chris Bourque and Rich Peverley have been unable to provide the scoring depth that the Bruins got from the third line last season.

Bourque was waived Thursday and reassigned to Providence, and on Saturday Kelly and Peverley found themselves with a different linemate for the second straight game as recent call-up Jordan Caron replaced Jay Pandolfo, who skated on the left wing of the third line Thursday. Caron assisted on Kelly’s goal, and Kelly said he and his linemates were happy to finally ease the scoring load off the first two lines.

“It’s been no secret that our top two lines have done all the scoring and we’re in the situation where we are because they’ve been producing,” Kelly said.

The success of the team has helped the third line remain pretty upbeat despite their struggles, but as Kelly pointed out it’s still nice to leave the rink satisfied that they have done their jobs and helped the team.

“We thought we played well and it was nice to leave the rink with a bit of a smile on our faces and feel good about the way we played," Kelly said. “We expect a lot of ourselves and team success is the most important success, but you want to be contributing. You don’t want to feel like you’re letting anyone down and making other guys have to do more nor carry more of the weight than they should. So it was nice to leave feeling good about your game.”

A reporter pointed out to Kelly that the Bruins have won the last 26 games in which he’s scored.

“I heard that stat. I guess I need to score more,” Kelly said with a laugh. “I got two in 20-plus games but maybe next game, we’ll start with that.”

If he does, then maybe he can grab that puck and put his early-season woes behind him.

BOSTON -- Last season, the Bruins’ normal third line of Benoit Pouliot, Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley combined for 46 goals, with Kelly leading the way with 20 lamplighters. It was welcome scoring depth for the Bruins, as the line depended on for their defensive play gave opponents another threat to worry about. But with Pouliot traded to Tampa Bay in the offseason and Chris Bourque now on the left wing and still trying to find his way, the third line has yet to find its stride offensively. Kelly hasn’t scored yet, and Peverley and Bourque have just one goal each.

But while the trio is trying to kickstart their offense, Kelly believes they’re at least getting better at what they’re counted on for, and that’s keeping the other team off the scoreboard.

“Our line was to contribute more offensively and I think we’re getting better with generating more time in the offensive zone,” Kelly said. “I think we’ve been pretty good in our own end. The offense will come, but when it’s not there, you need to do other things throughout the game that helps the team. Right now, I think we’re doing those little things that are helping the team.”

Kelly acknowledged, though, that just like the media and fans, he and his linemates expected to generate more offense by now. But they said they must be careful not to force it at the expense of letting up on their defensive game.

“It’s a fine line not pushing it and not getting away from our game," said Kelly. "I think we’re a defense-first team and especially our line is too. We don’t want to give up on our defensive part of the game to cheat to get some offense. When you’re not contributing like you have in the past, the tendency is to do that. But at the end of the day, that doesn’t help the team.”

Coach Claude Julien didn’t seem too worried about his third line, and pointed out that players are still shaking off rust after the lockout.

“They started with a new player again, and Chris [Bourque], as you know, has been feeling his way through,” Julien said. “Also, ‘Kells’ [Kelly] probably hasn’t had the start he had last year. He had a really good start last year where he scored a lot, and that’ll come. I think you look at how that line is getting more chances now, and Peverley’s getting some really good looks, and I think it’s just a matter of time before that line starts to produce. There’s lines that will start producing a little bit more, and we’ll be a better team down the road, but there’s still some guys that aren’t at the peak of their game, and that can be said about every player on every team in the league, around the league. Not everybody’s going at 100 percent yet.”

Forward Chris Kelly became the 10th Bruins player to sign overseas during the NHL lockout, signing a month-long deal with HC Red Ice of the First Amateur League of Switzerland, his agent Pat Morris confirmed to ESPNBoston.com.

Kelly, who signed a four-year, $12 million contract with Boston on July 1, can renew his contract monthly and has an out clause if and when the NHL lockout ends.

The Ottawa native is coming off a career year in which he scored a career-high 20 goals and had 39 points.

The Bruins on Wednesday announced the signing of forward Gregory Campbell to a three-year contract and an agreement in principle with forward Chris Kelly on a four-year pact. Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said the deal with Kelly can't be completed until July 1 due to payroll tagging issues, but both sides have let it be known there won't be any reneging.

Campbell, Kelly and Chiarelli made it clear that there was never any doubt the two players would remain Bruins instead of becoming unrestricted free agents on July 1. While Kelly and Campbell most likely could've commanded more than the respective $3 million and $1.6 million per season that they signed for with Boston had they hit the free agent market July 1, they knew from the second negotiations started that it wasn't about getting the most lucrative contract. Staying with the team they won their first Stanley Cup with -- and one they hope they can win more Cups with -- was the main priority for both players.

"It was extremely important to me to at least give it 100 percent of my effort to be back with the team because it's really a team that fits my style of play and it's a team that's built on winning championships and a team that's fully committed," Campbell said. "My first priority going into free agency was ultimately to not even make it there and sign with the Bruins."

Kelly concurred and expressed his gratitude to the Bruins for making it clear how much they wanted him back.

"There was not really any other decision than to come back and be part of the Boston Bruins organization," Kelly said. "Right from day one [Chiarelli] knew that I wanted to be back and they wanted to have me back. There's no better feeling than to be wanted to come back to such a great organization."

Chiarelli was thrilled with Campbell's and Kelly's initial desire to remain Bruins.

"These two guys to want to come back – and Kells is another guy as a centerman that had he gone to the market he would've got much more money than this," Chiarelli said. "It's kind of a feel-good story in these two players and I'm happy to get them done at this time. They're two really important pieces to our team."

Both players noted the winning attitude of the organization as well as the strong sense of team unity as the main reasons they wanted to stay in Boston.

"I've had nothing but great memories with this team and as soon as I signed I got text messages from every single player on the team," Campbell said. "That really exemplifies how close we are as a team and it's just really great to have almost the entire 2011 championship team back. I know that this year was a little bit of an underachievement but with all that being said we really played well as a team and I really believe there's a lot of good things to come and that's why I want to be a part of it."

Kelly expressed the same sentiments and was honored to remain a Bruin.

"To be a Bruin is something that's been really special to me," Kelly said. "Getting to win a championship in Boston was something that I can't describe and I know Peter and the whole organization is willing to have that become a regular thing. That was a huge reason why I wanted to come back because it's such a great organization that wants to win. You only get so many opportunities to get a chance to win and obviously I wanted to get as many chances as I could so Boston was the right decision for myself."

(Editor's note: The third in our end-of-season report card series on the 2011-2012 Bruins.)

BOSTON -- On Friday morning, the Boston Bruins cleaned out their dressing room stalls, had their exit interviews with coaches and management and headed into a summer they never expected to come so early.

Instead of practicing and preparing for the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, they were still scratching their heads and wondering what happened. Did the defending Stanley Cup champions really just lose a seven-game series to the seventh-seeded Washington Capitals?

"To be honest I woke up yesterday and even again today feeling like it was just a dream," said winger Brad Marchand. "It's really weird to be done so early after how far we went last year. I think we're all still pretty shocked and wondering how that happened."

But it's no dream. There will be no Duck Boats rides through the streets of Boston with the Bruins hoisting the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy for adoring fans, as the Bruins did on a hot summer day last June. The reality is the Bruins didn't become first to repeat as Stanley Cup champions since the 1998 Detroit Red Wings.

Instead, it's time to regroup and look ahead to the 2012-13 season. On Friday, Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli was already doing that, promising that while this team may have underachieved, he has no intentions of breaking up a core that won the Stanley Cup last June and has had only two first-round exits in the past five seasons.

"We obviously have some guys to consider whether we sign them or not," Chiarelli said. "From the makeover perspective, certainly we're not going to do anything to makeover this team. You hear me talk about the parity in this league and our first-round loss in seven games this year can be another Stanley Cup Final next year, it's that close. You saw the number of teams in the West; you kind of see the new four teams in the West and you see some different teams in the East so you just have to be prepared."

Chiarelli has seven unrestricted free agents in forwards Brian Rolston, Chris Kelly, Gregory Campbell and Daniel Paille and defensemen Joe Corvo, Greg Zanon and Mike Mottau. The Bruins also have two restricted free agents with goalie Tuukka Rask and forward Benoit Pouliot. Chiarelli said he intends to sign Rask, and didn't rule out Pouliot. The GM said he remains in negotiations with Kelly, Paille and Campbell. Corvo told ESPNBoston.com that he is set on testing the free-agent market and doesn't expect to be back next season. Zanon and Mottau are still very much possibilities as depth defensemen, depending on how ready the Bruins believe their blue-line prospects like Dougie Hamilton, Torey Krug and Matt Bartkowski to be.

In addition to addressing his unsigned players, Chiarelli could look for help via trades or free agency. The Bruins could add some bodies up front for depth scoring after struggling to put the puck in the net against the Capitals.

"I'd like to maybe look at a forward to bolster our top nine, but that doesn't mean I'm going to not look at signing Pouliot," Chiarelli said. "It doesn't mean we're not going to consider [Jordan] Caron up there. I just want to look at the trade market and the free-agent market. And we got a couple of good, young players coming too. We got a good defenseman that I think will challenge for a spot like Dougie Hamilton. We got Torey Krug, Matt Bartkowski, and you've seen some guys that are going to challenge but on the major change front, I'm not looking at doing anything on that front. But I would like to add some pieces."

There are two things that Chiarelli must consider as he balances his salary cap while constructing the 2012-13 lineup: 1. the expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement on Sept. 15, and 2. the health of winger Nathan Horton, who suffered his second concussion Jan. 22 (the first was in last year's Stanley Cup finals Game 3). After originally being diagnosed with just a mild concussion, he was never able to recover enough to return to the lineup.

"From an operational standpoint, for my perspective you throw 10 percent on your cap for summer cap accounting," Chiarelli pointed out. "There's going to be a bump in the cap by all accounts because of the growth and revenues and I have to be careful, and I have to try and look in crystal ball-gaze a little bit where we think it will end up. So I have to be cautious as far as summer additions."

Leading into the trade deadline on Feb. 27, Chiarelli was still under the impression that Horton would return shortly. The GM is on record as saying he did search for depth scoring, but there was not as much urgency since he believed Horton was coming back. On Friday Chiarelli was asked if that approach would change in the offseason because of uncertainty.

"I approach it as he's going to be back and healthy, and in a month that may change, but based on the information given now that's my approach," said Chiarelli. "Based on my observation I'm making, that's my approach. Based on what Horton has told me, that's my approach. I consider him an active player for us and when we make our assessments and when we make our decisions that's how we approach it."

So while players, fans and media alike remain stunned at the Bruins' early exit from the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs, it appears the GM is once again remaining calm and keeping things in perspective. Chiarelli surely didn't want to be holding his end-of-season news conference on April 27. But if he didn't blow up a team that blew a 3-0 series lead to the Flyers in the 2010 Eastern Conference semifinals, don't expect him to blow up the core of a team that is only a year removed from a Stanley Cup.

BOSTON -- Prior to Game 1, Washington Capitals defenseman Dennis Wideman told ESPNBoston.com that he’d love to beat his former Boston Bruins team in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. Unfortunately for Wideman -- who was traded to Florida from Boston in June 2010 after a difficult season -- he feels he might have helped Boston beat Washington 1-0 in overtime to give the Bruins a 1-0 series lead.

Wideman pinched deep on a Capitals rush just prior to Chris Kelly’s winner 1:18 into the extra frame and was caught chasing Kelly as the Bruins center entered the zone and ripped a high shot past Capitals goalie Braden Holtby. Wideman tried to knock the puck loose from Kelly just before the shot.

“Usually, you get your stick in there and it tips the puck over the glass,” Wideman told CSNWashington.com Friday. “That was one where I got a piece, but not enough and it spun off a little funny.”

Wideman second-guessed himself, wishing he hadn't followed the play up ice before Kelly brought it back the other way.

“If I don’t go so deep, I have Kelly in front of me on that and I’m not chasing,” Wideman said. “But it’s one of those plays where if I don’t put my stick in there and he scores, I’m wondering why I didn’t defend the shot. It’s just one of those plays.”