The Bruins are in tenth place right now, just shy of that eight and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. This season though is far from lost though. The Bruins still have time to make a deal before the trade deadline on March 3rd. If Peter Chiarelli wants to make a playoff push then he must make a deal to solidify the Black & Gold.

There are rumors of the Bruins pursuing both Dion Phaneuf and Ilya Kovalchuk. Both players are high impact players, but Phaneuf is more of defensive defensemen and the Bruins cannot score. Phaneuf does have a blast from the point, but is that really what Boston needs?

All season long the Black & Gold have been having problems putting the puck between the pipes. Ilya Kovalchuk is one of the best snipers in the league, and is just the kind of player the Bruins could use to make a push for Lord Stanley’s cup.  The biggest problem with Kovalchuk is going to be the $. His cap hit is currently 6.4 million dollars, so the Bruins would need to get rid of some cap space to bring in Kovalchuk. The same would have to happen if the Bruins brought in Phaneuf.

The Bruins would probably look to trade Michael Ryder, but that is if anyone would even take him. Ryder has been dreadful this season and his stats show it. Ryder has only managed 20 points including 12 goals. The Bruins could also try and send Ryder down to Providence to clear his cap space. To do this though Ryder would then have to clear waivers though. The Penguins did this last season with Miroslav Satan, and then brought Satan back up for the playoffs because the cap does not matter in the playoffs.

Kovalchuk brings just what the Bruins need and that is a speedy sniper. Kovalchuk could be very expensive though to bring in, which is probably the biggest problem. What does Atlanta want from Boston in return? Can the Bruins get Kovalchuk to sign an extension before Free Agency?

It appears that Kovalchuk is determined to test out the Free Agency market. There are rumors coming out of Russia that he is seeking a 10 year, 10 million dollar deal. There is also a fear that Kovalchuk could jet to the KHL. The KHL has been taking some prominent names lately like Jamoir Jagr and Alexander Radulov.  It is still unclear if Kovalchuk would explore the KHL option, but it is something teams need to consider when trading for Kovalchuk.

The Bruins best bet is to wait until Marc Savard and Marco Sturm are both back in the line-up, so Peter Chiarelli can best asses his team. The Bruins need some scoring help even with Savvy and Sturm back, so there may be some other names like Teemu Selanne that could become avaivlable. Selanne is probably in his last season and is a much cheaper player than Kovalchuk. Selanne’s cap hit is 2.6 Mil. The cap hit would be pro rated if the Bruins acquired Selanne, and would be able to fit him in under the cap.

If the Bruins do make a trade it will not involve the Toronto 1st round pick. Chiarelli told Pierre LeBrun “I’m not trading Toronto’s pick [for this year],” Chiarelli said. I am not trading it. That pick is too valuable.” Lebrun also commented in an article that the Bruins are the front runners for Kovalchuk with the Kings. Lebrun said Chiarelli refused to talk about Kovalchuk though. Kovalchuk would be great for Boston the only question is can they afford him?

It looks like Savard will not be out until the Olympic break after all, which is good news for the Black & Gold. Savvy has been Boston’s top point producer since his arrival in 2006. Savard said that “I feel good and I am right on schedule.” He skated for the second time yesterday, and is inching towards getting back into uniform. Savvy’s injury originally had a prognosis of 3-4 weeks, so his return vs. Buffalo would right in that 3 week timetable.

Marco Sturm, Steve, Begin, and Byron Bitz will all miss tonights game vs. Columbus accordin to ESPN. The Bruins are still trying get healthy, and Savvy talked about how they were so healthy last year. The Ontario native also said “this could be a blessing in disguise, because we are getting everyone back at the end of the season.” The Bruins did not have many injury problems last year which helped propel them to that best record in the Eastern Conference last night.

Boston did not have many injury problems last year during the season, but when the playoffs came around they were very banged up. Several players including Phil Kessel and David Krejci needed surgery right after the season ended for example. Since so many players were hurt at the end of last year, being hurt early could be good in the end for Boston. That’s really only if they can get healthy and pull it together though before the season concludes.

Tuukka Rask was the first off the ice today in practice, which indicates that he will start tonight vs. Columbus. Rask is currently second in the NHL in GAA and SV%. Rask’s stats are also better than Tim Thomas’ so far this season.

Thomas continues to have an up and down year, so this start is important for Rask. The Finish native needs to show he deserves the starting job. Rask has the potential to be the starting goalie for the Bruins, but the biggest question really has to be is he ready? Rask is a rookie getting his first full season in the NHL this year. Remember when the Canadiens traded Cristobal Huet to let coveted prospect Carey Price take over the starting job? Price has since struggled much since, and he is battling Jaroslav Halak some nights for starts.

*Adam McQuaid was sent down yesterday after being called up for practice.

The Bruins lines in practice were these according to the Boston Globe:

Julien said that Wideman has been having problems with his “intensity and compete level. McQuaid was used as a spare defenseman, but one has to wonder if this could mean Wideman could be a healthy scratch soon.  Julien also went on to say “”If you want to play like a 5 or a 6 defenseman then maybe [that’s] what you’re going to get ice time-wise.” It looks like Wideman is definitely going to get a decrease in ice time which could be good for him. This does have the ability to take some of the pressure off, motivate, and give Wideman some confidence though.

Joe Haggerty of Comcast Sports New England believes that “the coaching staff has finally had it with what they’ve seen out of Dennis Wideman this season. The Three Stooges act with the linesman Monday might have been the final straw.” Wideman has been struggling all season, and it definitely shows in his stats. Wideman had 50 points and a +32 at the end of last season, and was one of the best puck moving defensemen in the league. Wideman has only 13 points this season and a -8. That -8 is the worst ranking on the B’s.

Wides started having problems breaking the puck out of the zone last season in the playoffs vs. Carolina and the problem has continued this season. This issue seems to have taken over to the rest of his game because his name is becoming quite ironic… Wideman can’t seem to hit the net this season and all he has hit lately is break Patrice Bergeron’s thumb. Wideman can’t hit the net and can’t break the puck out of the zone, so he is becoming useless on the backend.

In addition to Wideman having problems breaking the puck out Matt Hunwick is having a sophomore slump. Hunwick had a great season last season once being called up from Providence last season. The sophomore has 12 points through 45 games played so far this season, but last season in just 53 games he had 27 points. Hunwick was a fixture on the 2^nd Power Play unit last season but has not seen much time this season. It reflects as he only has 1 point on the PP this season so far.

Adam McQuaid has played well in his brief stint so far this season for the Bruins. McQuaid has showed the ability to drop the gloves and just fight with pure emotion.

Adam McQuaid vs Troy Bodie

The Black & Gold really seem to have two dire issues to deal with. They need a goal scorer and a puck moving defensemen. If Wideman can somehow get it going again there really is not a pressing need for a puck moving defensemen. They have Wideman, Morris, and Hunwick who all the ability to not only skate the puck up, but also make the pass to start the rush into the offensive zone. Wideman and Hunwick have been having that problem, but hopefully when the whole team is healthy they can get it going again.

The Bruins finally got pivot Patrice Bergeron back after a long two weeks without the him. and The Bruins are still without 1st line center Marc Savard. Savvy will be out until the Olympic break it appears now. It seems the Black and Gold just can’t seem to catch a break this season with injuries. The Quebec native  was not supposed to take any face-offs Monday versus the Senators because he was still feeling pain in his thumb. He did take a few though anyways Bergeron said “I wasn’t supposed to, but I did anyways.”

If Bergeron is too sore to take a face-off then is he really healthy enough to play? As much as the Bruins want Bergy back, rushing him back is not the solution for the Big and Bad. If he ends up hurting his thumb worse it would leave the Bruins season on the brink of destruction.  Bergeron told the Boston Herald that, “It’s sore. I know it’s there, but it’s not something that’s not going to get worse. It’s just a matter of playing through it and feeling better. We are going to work on some different stuff for a splint for the next game, and practicing with the team will help.”

Hopefully Bergeron is right that the injury cannot get any worse. If the injury got worse it would not only leave Bergeron off Team Canada, but also could also kill the Bruins playoff push. If the Bruins can’t get healthy soon they could easily be fighting for 8^th place in the Eastern Conference very soon.

Mark Stuart returned to the Bruins line-up Saturday, when the Bruins were finishing their west coast trip in LA versus UMass Alumni Jonathan Quick and the LA Kings. Quick stoned the Bruins in the shootout and grabbed the win. Despite grabbing a two goal the Black and Gold could not hold on. Michael Ryder scored 2 goals about 13 seconds apart to take a 3-1 lead in the second. The Bruins could not hold a 3rd period lead for the 2nd time on the road trip.

Mark Stuart was paired up with Johnny Boychuk for the past two games. It is an interesting D-pair with a guy like Boychuk who can hit over a 100mph with his slapper. Stuart and Boychuk are also very strong hitters which could make them hard to play against, which is something Peter Chiarelli has been trying to focus on here in Boston. What seemed to be the biggest problem for the pair though was breaking the puck out of their own end. Neither Stuart nor Boychuk are known as puck moving defensemen. As great as they might be to watch them knock the opponent over it is hard to try and watch them break the puck out.

The Bruins lost Marco Sturm, Byron Bitz, and Steve Begin during the West Coast road trip. Bitz and Begin who have been the Bruin 4^th line grinders for much of the season have undisclosed injuries. Both are questionable for Thursday’s match-up with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Marco Sturm suffered a leg injury versus his former team the San Jose Sharks is also questionable for Thursday.

Steve Mason is expected to be in goal for the Blue Jackets Thursday. After winning the Calder Trophy last season he seems to have been diagnosed with the Andrew Raycroft syndrome. Bruins fans remember his excellent rookie season where the Razor won the Calder Trophy, but then after was never able to repeat that kind of season. He lost the starting job in Boston to the likes of Tim Thomas and Hannu Toivonen. That Tim Thomas was not the same Tim Thomas who won the Vezina last season. Tim Thomas had yet to develop into an All-star goalie at that point. Mason was a Vezina finalist last season, as he was one of the top goalies in the game last season. This year he holds a Goals Against Average of 3.33 and a SV% of .889. Mason has fallen off so a wounded Bruins team should be able to take advantage of that, or at least Claude Julien hopes.

The Bruins have had a ton of excellent players though through this decade, so I have decided to make my Bruins Team of the Decade!

1^st Line:

Samsonov-Thornton-Murray

This line brings a very unique gift of speed with Sergei Samsonov. Samsonov had the unique ability during his tenure with the Bruins to skate circles around everyone. The speedy Russian has not had a very good career since the Lock-Out, but was one of the best during the early part of the decade. Joe Thornton has been one of the best players throughout the decade with the Bruins and Sharks. Jumbo Joe has been one of the best set up men throughout the decade. Glenn Murray’s career in Boston may have ended in a buy-out, but Muzz was one of the best sniper’s in the early part of the decade. He was one of the best snipers in the league for the early part of the decade.

2^nd line:

Knuble-Allison-Bergeron

Mike Knuble who was on that “Big” Line with Thornton and Murray during the 2003-04 campaign, was an important part of the Bruins during the early part of the decade. The rugged wing made his presence known on the ice, and “loved to dish it out” as the play by play guy on NHL 10 would say.  Jason Allison had some great seasons with Boston. He was only around for 2 seasons during this decade but he did have a 95 point season. Patrice Bergeron came onto the scene during the 2003-04 campaign. Bergeron finished in the top 5 voting for the Calder Trophy. Bergeron has become the Alternate Captain for the Bruins today. Bergeron is the best 2 way player on the Bruins and has arguably been their best players this year.

3^rd Line:

Rolston-Savard-Guerin

Brian Rolston was one of the Bruins best penalty killers during the early part of the decade. Rolston was acquired from Colorado for Ray Bourque. Rolston had several 20+ goal seasons for the Bruins. He played center during his time in Boston, but has since become a winger, which is why I have him on the wing here. Rolston also led the league in shorthanded goals a few times during his time in Boston.  Marc Savard was signed in the off-season before the 2006-07 season.  Savvy has been the Bruins top point producer since his signing. He is right up there in top set-up men in the league with Joe Thornton. The Bruins pivot has really improved his game under coach Claude Julien becoming a good 2 way player. Billy Guerin was not a Bruins very long, but while he was here he was very good.

4^th Line:

Lucic-Krejci-Recchi

-Stock

Well you probably see Stock and are like is he serious? I couldn’t leave him off the roster. He is the Bruins goon of the decade. I believe it was hockeyfights.com that rated his fight with Stephen Peat the best fight of the decade. Stock is an extra on this roster though. Bruins power forward Milan Lucic has become a fan favorite only 3 years into his NHL career. Lucic is a heavy hitter with a ton of upside. If he didn’t get hurt last season he would have easily had 20 goals. I put Krejci at center here. I was questioning whether to go with Michael Nylander or Krejci.  I went with Krejci though because of how impressive he was last season. I already had Rolston and Bergeron at wing so Krejci was the next choice. Finally, future Hall of Famer Mark Recchi grabs the right wing. He should probably be a little bit higher up, but he is finishing his career here. He wasn’t here during his prime, but makes my cut anyways because of his track record. This is why two of my defensemen make the cut.

Defensive Pairs

Bourque-Chara

Bourque only played 2 months for the Bruins during the decade, but I couldn’t possibly leave Raymond off this roster. Just imagine if Chara and Bourque could have played together during their primes. Both have rockets from the point and play well in both ends. The Bruins would have some power play with these two on the blue line.

Gonchar-Boynton

After picking Bourque and Chara it was kind of hard to decide the rest of the defense. I decided that there was no way Hal Gill was making this roster. Gonchar played a half a season for the Bruins after coming over during the trade deadline. Gonchar is one of the best defensemen of the decade, and is a force on the power play. Nick Boynton had a solid career with the Bruins, but is no superstar.

Leetch-Sweeney

Brian Leetch ended his career with the Bruins, so why not put Leetch on the roster. Leetch was a tremendous force on the power play throughout his NHL career. During his one season with the Bruins in 2005-06 he was pretty good, but not his best season. Finally Don Sweeney who played his college hockey at Harvard and most of his career with the Bruins is my 6^th defensemen. Sweeney was never really a wizard with the puck, but Sweeney was a good solid player for the Bruins.

Goalies

Thomas

Dafoe

In goal it’s a toss up of who would start for the Bruins, but I go with Tim Thomas because of the Vezina he won last season. Thomas went from a journeyman goalie, to the Vezina winner. Lord Byron is the back up as the English native back stopped the Bruins too several good seasons

Honorable mention:

Michael Nylander

Marco Sturm

Phil Kessel

Dennis Wideman

Anson Carter

Jiri Slegr

PJ Axelsson

Petr Tenkrat (kidding hahaha)

Heading into Boston now for the Bruins game. More Later. Krejci needs to step up today!!!

According to WEEI Savard will undergo an MRI tomorrow for his right knee. Coach Claude Julien stated that “it is a knee injury.” Julien then went on to comment that “we’ll know more once we get the MRI done [Friday].” The absence of Savard could definitely be felt on the ice as after the Bruins scored their first two goals, they were unable to get much more going offensively. The power play really couldn’t get anything even set up in the offensive end without the pivot. The Bruins were forced into using Mark Recchi as a center on the PP because Steve Begin and Vladimir Sobotka didn’t fit into Julien’s plans I guess.

With Bergeron out for at least another two weeks, and Savard for until who knows!!! David Krejci needs to step up quick, and start doing what he did last season. At the end of the 07-08 campagin Krejci really stepped up when Savard went down with a back injury. Krejci stepped up and played solid on the first line, and the Bruins need to see that kind of leadership from Krejci soon. The Bruins already needed to make a move to help booster their offense, but if Marc Savard goes down the Bruins are in shark infested water and bleeding.

The Bruins defense is also in trouble as they did not play a very good game. Andrew Ferrence and Mark Stuart are both now out of the line-up due to injuries. This has meant they have several AHL/7^th defensemen in the lineup in Matt Hunwick, Adam McQuaid, and Johnny Boychuk. Well the Bruins have had the injury bug all year and it is not going away. Boychuk has been solid, but Hunwick seems to be off this season, and McQuaid still needs time to develop.

This is the time when players need to dig deep and step up. It finally looks like Blake Wheeler is stepping up as he added another goal tonight. The Bruins power forward now has 7 points in his last 4 outings. Michael Ryder needs to do something as he has been nonexistent on the ice for the Bruins this season. Hunwick and Wideman need to start making smarter/better passes when trying to break out of the defensive end. Shawn Thornton needs to be Shawn Thornton. This means when the Bruins are down by a goal or two he needs to step up and drop the gloves. This team could use any boost it can get. There have also been a few instances where a Bruin has taken a cheap shot with Thornton on the ice, and he has done nothing. He is an enforcer, so he needs to start enforcing.

I will have more tomorrow with an update on Savard, or at the very least a twitter update. Make sure to follow me on twitter RMurrayBlog.

The Bruins fell behind in the second period when Flyers defensemen Danny Syvret beat Tim Thomas. Thomas admitted he was retaliating against Scott Hartnell because he had previously run Tim Thomas over.Thomas did not realize Syrvent had shot the puck which resulted in the goal. The Bruins netminder stood tall though for the remaining portion of the game holding the Flyers to only one goal. Tim Thomas was also named to team USA after the end of the Winter Classic.

Boston wouldn’t get on the board until about 2 minutes remaining in the 2rd period. When Mark Recchi tipped in a Derek Morris slap pass from the top of the faceoff circle. Then, in OT Marco Sturm was able to tip in a great feed from Patrice Bergeron. Sturm who will be representing Germany in the Olympics almost had a goal in the early part of the 3rd period as well. When he took a slapper from mid-ice that nicked off of Flyer’s goalie Michael Leighton’s glove and off of the outside of the post.

Patrice Bergeron had another fine game grabbing an assist on the game winner, being on the ice for both goals, and winning several key faceoffs. Bergeron continues to look like the Bergeron of old. The pivot is leading the Hub of Hockey with 31 points, on 11 goals and 20 assists.

Flyers goon Daniel Carcillo claims that the fight in the first period of the Classic with Shawn Thornton was planned. I really think Thornton though has too much class for that, and I have lack respect for the Flyer’s enforcer. Carcillo also showed the devil horns to the Fenway faithful once stepping into the sin bin.

Well, I knew ahead of time that a lot of the seats at Fenway weren’t going to have the best view, because of the dimensions of the ball park. The atmosphere was amazing, but it did take away from the actual viewing experience. I am of course glad I went because it was just truly amazing, but it is just too bad the viewing could not be better.

The Bruins are reportedly very close to signing Miroslav Satan. I will provide a link down the bottom of the page. This is a good signing, but it may mean that Vladimir Sobotka who has been playing very well may soon be the healthy scratch. The Czech is second on the Bruins in hits, and has seemed to get over his sophomore slump from last season.

My 3 Stars if the Game:

Marco Sturm
Mark Recchi
Tim Thomas

Honorable mention: Patrice Bergeron and Michael Leighton

Satan Link:

http://espn.go.com/boston/columns/bruins/blog/_/post/4789125/name/kalman

Happy New Year

Ty will have an entry tomorrow that will include pictures I believe. I am sending him some of mine, but most of mine are not too good unfortunately.

I am now going to go watch it again on TV so I can actually see most of the game.

Bergeron has obviously came along way since the concussion, or even his play last season which was sub-par. Bergy is by far the most complete player on the Bruins as he leads the team in many categories. He currently leads the team in several categories including Points, Game Winning Goals, Time on Ice (for a forward), Face off Percentage. Bergeron is also second on the team in many categories including Goals and Assists. Anytime there is a crucial defensive situation or important faceoff Bergeron is the guy looked at to do the job accordingly. Bergeron known for being a center with the Bruins will probably be moving to the RW for Team Canada. Bergeron has a lot of versatility which is one of the main reasons he made this Canadian Olympic roster.

Now for my team USA line up:

Goaltenders:

Miller: starter

Thomas: back-up

Quick: 3^rd goalie

Ryan Miller has to be the starter of Team USA as of right now because he has been arguably the best goalie in the NHL thus far through. Although if Tim Thomas can regain his Vezina form from last season, Thomas could be the tendy Team USA goes with in the Oympics. Quick could use the experience since he is young, and will probably be Team USA’s goalie of the future. It would benefit having him there over a Craig Anderson.

Forwards:

Parise-Stastny-Kessel

Kane-Pavelski-Ryan

Malone-Kesler-Brown

Gomez-Drury-Langenbrunner

-Byfuglien

This is a very young group of forwards excluding the fourth line, which I decided to go with as kind of like a veteran’s line. Veterans are important because they bring experience that will help guide the young guys like Phil Kessel who can lose their way. Team USA cannot afford to bench Kessel like Claude Julien did two years ago against Montreal to get him going. The first two lines are all young gifted players who are going to put up a lot of points in their NHL career. I have moved Patrick Kane to the LW because he is a left hand shot, and I feel that having him and Bobby Ryan together would be beneficial. Joe Pavelski is perfect to center Kane and Ryan because he is a great two way center and can balance the defensive end with this line. Ryan Malone, Ryan Kessler, and Dustin Brown, is my Power Forward line. They can play both ends of the ice effectively and be a pain to the opposing teams as all can lay down the body effectively.  I think if I was too make any changes to this line up I would probably switch Gomez and Pavelski.

Defense:

Rafalski-Suter

Komisarek-Martin

E.Johnson-Orpik

Here I went with a mix of younger guys and veterans. It is important to have your stay at home guys like Mike Komisarek and Brooks Orpik as well as puck movers like Ryan Suter and Paul Martin. You need a good transition game out of the defensive end, like the Bruins definitely learned during the Carolina series last season.

Anyone going to the Winter Classic? Maybe I will see you there.

Happy New Years

There seem to be two names on the trade block the Bruins could look at, and those are Ilya Kovalchuk and Ray Whitney. Both Kovalchuck and Whitney have primarily played Left Wing though as of late. Both though are right handed shots though so playing RW shouldn’t be too difficult. If there is confidence that either player could make a transition from the left to the right the Bruins should consider it. Kovalchuck is a top 10 player in the NHL, so he is not going to be cheap to get from Atlanta.

If the Bruins were to trade for Kovalchuk they would need  to dump some salary space in the trade as well as put in some of their key prospects. Atlanta though is contending though for a playoff spot which makes this very interesting. It seems that Kovalchuk is not going to sign in Atlanta, so they are being almost forced to deal him.  They are contending for a playoff spot though, and they might be interested in a player like Michael Ryder who makes 4M. Kovalchuck currently has a cap hit 6.4M. Kovalchuk is a UFA at the end of this season. If the Bruins want to make a move for him they might want to get permission from Atlanta to talk to him and his agent about a new deal. He should have a cap hit over 8M next season once his deal is signed.

If the Bruins want to make a move for Kovalchuck now is probably the best time. They are deep up the middle with Savard and Krejci recently receiving new deals. The Bruins also have Patrice Bergeron through the 2010/11 season, and he should be extended too. The Bruins have a few very good prospects at the center position which includes players like Zach Hamill, Vladimir Sobotka, and Joe Colborne. If the Bruins targeted any player with a talent level like Kovalchuk they need to start with their prospects up the middle. The Bruins are really all set at center for the future because both Bergeron and Krejci are in their early 20’s. Savard is also signed through the 2016/17 season, so they really don’t need to worry about building up the middle right now. The Bruins are also loaded with draft picks these next two seasons in the first and second rounds, so they have a lot of weapons to offer the Thrashers.  The only question is how much are the Thrashers going to demand for a player like Kovalchuk.  The Bruins have the prospects/picks to pull off this deal, so it really should be done. The only thing that should prevent this is the cap hit on Kovalchuck’s contract, or what Atlanta is demanding is too much. If Atlanta is demanding Rask, Krejci, or Bergeron the Bruins may pass. Those are really their only young guys I would imagine the Bruins not trading. Marc Savard had his best season playing with Kovalchuk in Atlanta is another thing to consider if the Bruins try to obtain Kovalchuk.

Hypothetical Trade scenario, The Bruins trade Ryder, Hamill, Lehtonen, and BOS 2010 1^st round pick for a signed Ilya Kovalchuck. Then you would probably see something like this in the lines:

Lucic-Savard-Kovalchuk

Recchi/Sobotka-Krecji-Wheeler

Sturm-Bergeron-Paille

Thornton/Sobotka-Sobotka/Begin-Bitz

Vladimir Sobotka deserves to be in this line up because he has been one of their most effective players all season. He plays bigger than he is, and is 2^nd on the team in hits. He is also very quick on the ice and is a strong 2-way player. So someone is going to have to sit for him to play whether that is Recchi, Thornton, or Begin it must be done. I would recommend Recchi. I think Sobotka has been much better than Recchi this season. Thornton is needed as the enforcer, so you really can’t sit him. Begin has been excellent this season, so I really don’t see the Bruins sitting him either. Maybe Atlanta would consider taking him if they are in a playoff rush. Recchi is not a bum by any means, Sobotka is just outplaying him.

Ray Whitney is one of the other options out there on the trade block, but he is not the player Kovalchuk is. Whitney is really more of a 25 goal guy compared to Kovalchuk who is a 45+ goal guy. If Whitney can be grabbed for a cheap price then the Bruins should obviously grab him, but that probably will not be the case.

Another option the Bruins have is to move Patrice Bergeron up to the 1^st line like to play with Marc Savard. This has not been done since the end of the Dave Lewis era, but Bergeron came up as a RW so why not give it a shot. Bergeron did score 31 goals during the 2005/06 campaign, so he can definitely put the puck in the net. This is definitely worth a look for a few games because the Bruins offense has been struggling recently.  If it doesn’t work out, then you can always make a trade for someone to play on Savard’s right. If Bergeron was moved up to the RW the lines would probably look something like this:

Lucic-Savard-Bergeron

Wheeler-Krejci-Ryder

Sturm-Sobotka-Paille

Thornton-Begin-Bitz/Recchi

A concern about Bergeron moving to the RW would be his faceoff ability. He is one of the best faceoff guys in the league. If Bergeron played the first line with Savard, Bergeron could take the majority of the faceoffs.  Then, you would see Savard and Bergeron shift back into position after the faceoff.

The Bruins are taking on the Atlanta Thrashers Wednesday night at the TD Garden in Boston. Start for tomorrow’s game is 7pm. This will give Peter Chiarelli and the rest of the Bruins front office a good chance to watch Kovalchuk, and determine if this is the guy they want.

Cheers

Tim Thomas has never been known to have the best technique, but his technique has come a long way since taking over as the start during the 05-06 campaign. Thomas has always been known for willing to out-compete his opponents day in and day out on the ice. What has happened to that goalie? Is he over confident since winning the Vezina trophy? If he is, I would hope he starts to humble up because if he keeps up his sub-par performance Rask may be the new starter very soon.

Tukka Rask has much better technique compared to Thomas. You can tell when you watch Rask that he is well trained with his technique. When he drops down into the butterfly he can quickly butterfly push over to make a save off of a rebound. Rask seems very confident in his butterfly, and being able to move across his crease from any position. Rask’s movements in net are very sound, which allows him to make many saves without having to do much because he is already in position. I hate to say it but he reminds me a lot like Andrew Raycroft in his rookie season. Raycroft had great technique and was able to read the play similarly to Rask. Rask though is much quicker in net though compared to Raycroft and even Thomas. You really need to watch Rask closely, and watch just how fast he moves.

Thomas has always been best I would say when he has had to compete with another goalie. Now that Tukka Rask may be breathing down hard on Thomas for that starting spot his performance will come back to the Vezina level it was at a season ago. Tim Thomas also may be losing his chance to play for team USA in Vancouver too unless he can regain his form from a season ago. Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabers is out performing him by a vast margin. Jonathan Quick and Craig Anderson have also jumped into the picture so far this season, so unless he gets it together he may not even make team USA.

This problem the Bruins have is defiantly a blessing though. Having two good goalies like Rask and Thomas competing for the starting job is a problem many teams would like to have. Thomas has not been terrible, but not Vezina standards and Rask has been better.

Recommendation:

Play the hot hand. Thomas has lost his last three starts, so give Tukka a few starts. Rask has earned them. Although Thomas has 6 Million reasons to be starting.

Cheers

Side note: apologies for not posting in a while. I have my last final tomorrow. These past 2 weeks have been hectic.

With Savard now signed Peter Chiarelli can build around Marc Savard, Tim Thomas, and Zdeno Chara. Chara has one more season left on his deal after this season. With the Bruins up against the cap, expect Chara to sign a similar frontloaded deal like Savard. Savard is arguably the 2^nd most important player next to Chara on the Bruin roster. If Thomas did go down, like he did this past week, the Bruins have a capable back-up in Tukka Rask. Rask played 5 games straight going 4-0-1 in that stretch. Rask has made it known so far this season that he is the future, and that future is looking very bright. Rask has great composure, (except his famous milk crate act at the dunk last season) and he has great technique. He is very quick in the butterfly, and is able to move around his net very efficiently.

When Marc Savard went down with a foot injury in October the Bruins struggled to stay around .500. The Bruins also had many problems scoring goals, and even more problems on the Power Play. Without Savard the Bruins had one of the worst Power Plays in the league. With Savard out David Krejci struggled to put up points. Krejci also missed training camp because of a hip-surgery that he had in the off-season. Since Savard has come back though Krejci is starting to put up points again and appears to be finding his game. Marc Savard is a leader for the Bruins, and is a vital part of their team. He gives other players confidence in their game and takes the pressure off of players like Krejci, and all of a sudden Krejci is lighting it up. Having Savard in the line-up, takes a lot of pressure off of not only Krejci but also the rest of the team.

There are questions though, because it is unclear still who is going to play with Savard on the first line. Savard has played with the likes of Milan Lucic, Byron Bitz, Marco Sturm and Blake Wheeler so far this season. When Lucic is healthy he should be to the left of Savard, but who is going to be on his right? Wheeler has been playing the LW with Bitz on Savard’s right the past few games, but the Bruins would prefer to have Wheeler with Krejci and Ryder you would think. That line was very effective last season as they were among the league leaders in +/-.  The Bruins have to figure out if they want to stay with Bitz on his right or make a move. Should the Bruins get a pure goal scorer for Savard to work with like an Ilya Kovalchuk? Reuniting Kovalchuck and Savard sounds great, but to bring in Kovalchuk the Bruins are going to need to clear some cap space. This would probably mean that Ryder, Sturm, or even Patrice Bergeron could be moved. And to get Kovalchuk will Atlanta demand David Krejci or Rask?

Hockeybuzz.com was reporting that Jaromir Jagr may be interested in coming back to the NHL after playing in the KHL for a few seasons. Should the Bruins go after Jagr? If the Bruins can get him to sign a 1 year contract for the remainder of the season then it might be worth looking into. Jagr is a pure sniper that the Bruins desperately need, with the departure of Phil Kessel. Jagr is that 40+ goal guy the Bruins could use. Just imagine a line of Lucic-Savard-Jagr come playoff time. As long as Jagr hasn’t lost

much of his game since leaving for the KHL, it would make the Bruins a front runner favorite for the Stanley Cup. Signing Jagr would be ideal for a cup run because the Bruins would not have to give up prospects/picks to get him like they would Kovalchuk.

The Bruins are coming off a great win against the St. Louis Blues in a 4-2 win. Patrice Bergeron had a spectacular game notching 4 assists. Patrice Bergeron has been Boston’s best offensive player so far this season. He leads the team with 18 points so far this season. Bergeron has stepped up huge this season for the Bruins especially in the absent of Marc Savard. Bergeron is going to need to be at his best against Wild goalie Backstrom along with the rest of the Bruins team. These last 3 games have been much better and maybe it is a sign that this team is coming around after a slow start.

Tim Thomas has still not played on this road trip. He has been out with a sore hand and should dress and not play once again. Tukka Rask is expected to start a 4th consecutive game. The Bruins will also play former Bruin Chuck Kobasew for the 1st time since he was traded earlier this season.

Keys for the Game:

1: Play physical. The Bruins play their best hockey when they play physical. This doesn’t mean dropping the gloves 4 times a game. This just means they need to take the body, and be physical in their own end.

2. Keep the power play going. The Bruins were really struggling on the PP before last nights game where they scored 3 PP goals.