Anderson

BOSTON — Would the Boston Bruins rather face a goaltender that just shut them out three nights ago and has been as hot as any puck-stopper in the league, or a goaltender that’s 2-1-0 career against them with one shutout and a 1.64 goals-against average all-time?

Well, they don’t really have a say in the choice, but they’re going to face Craig Anderson tonight instead of Saturday night’s hero Tomas Vokoun because Vokoun, who skated this morning with the team at TD Banknorth Garden, is  not 100 percent. Panthers head coach Pete DeBoer announced his decision this morning.

It’ll be Anderson’s first start since he beat Toronto Feb. 3. (more…)

Ryder

BOSTON — The inconsistent Boston Bruins’ offense, which sandwiched a three- and five-goal game around a shutout loss over the last three contests, should get a major boost tonight, as winger Michael Ryder is scheduled to return to  the line-up for the first time since Feb. 5.

On that night, Ryder suffered a facial fracture and underwent surgery a couple days later. He’s been skating with the team for more than a week to stay in shape, and now he’s been cleared by the doctors. The only difference between Ryder now and Ryder before the injury is a full, clear shield he must wear to keep his face protected.

“It’s a little different. You feel like you’re closed in and water gets on it pretty easy,” said Ryder after the club’s morning skate at TD Banknorth Garden in preparation for its game with the Florida Panthers tonight. “So it’s going to be an adjustment breathing – something’s over your face the whole time. But I think it shouldn’t take that long.” (more…)

BOSTON — The Boston Bruins, losers of six of their last seven outings, are back at the TD Banknorth  Garden and reacquainting themselves with the Boston ice as I write this after a week and a half on the road.

Two players not on the ice are forward Vladimir Sobotka and defenseman Matt Hunwick, who have both been assigned to Providence (AHL). Hunwick is expected to return to Boston after the P-Bruins’ game at Manchester tonight.

Winger Michael Ryder, who should return to the line-up tonight for the first time since Feb. 5, is wearing a full, clear shield to protect his face just about two weeks since facial surgery.

The lines this morning a little more recognizable now that the Bruins are nearly at full health:

Lucic-Savard-Kessel
Wheeler-Krejci-Ryder
Axelsson-Bergeron-Kobasew
Thornton-Yelle-Bitz

Martins Karsums is the spare.

All six defensemen and both goaltenders are also on the ice.

UPDATE: Tim Thomas was the first goaltender off the ice, so do with  that what you will.

The last thing the Boston Bruins need right now is to face a goaltender that’s playing like he’s from another dimension.

But right now, Florida Panthers netminder Tomas Vokoun is doing just that — as the Bruins found out Saturday in Sunrise during a 2-0 loss. Vokoun made 41 saves in that win, which came during a week that earned him the NHL Second Star honor. Vokoun also made 36 saves in a shutout of New Jersey, as he stopped 115 of 118 shots for the week. He enters tonight’s game at TD Banknorth Garden for a rematch with the Bruins with a .927 save percentage and 2.41 goals-against average for the season. Of course, the Bruins could catch a break because Vokoun missed practice Monday with an illness.

The Bruins are in the midst of their worst slump of the season, with losses in six of their last seven games. So breaking out against Vokoun — assuming they don’t have the germs on their side — is going to be difficult, but they can do it with a lot of heart, hard work and determination … and maybe some elusive finish. They showed a lot of that against Tampa Bay Sunday, but still came up short against the lowly Lightning. Plus, the Tampa Bay defense doesn’t quiet possess the same size and mobility as that of the Panthers.

Florida is just a really tough match-up for the Bruins right now. But Boston can neutralize some of that with a stronger forecheck and more efficient special teams. (more…)

Marchand in action.

At 5-foot-9, 187 pounds, Providence Bruins forward Brad Marchand has always had to stick up for himself.

In his first pro season after a successful four-season career in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), Marchand has found that the edge he played with before making the leap to the American Hockey League has translated just fine.

“I think that’s one part of my game that I’m really going to have to keep going strong if I want to get an opportunity to play in the NHL,” Marchand told TheBruinsBlog.net over the weekend. “I think that’s probably what I’ll start off doing. That’s a big part of my game. It gets me into the game and gets my emotions going. And that’s what helps me play well. I’ve just been trying to keep it going, but staying within boundaries. I’ve been stepping over them and I’ve got to get back in them.”

Marchand started to toe the line a little better this weekend with just four penalty minutes during the P-Bruins’ three wins. But less extracurricular activity didn’t mean less production, as he posted 1-4-5 offensive totals and a plus-3 rating. A nominee for the AHL player of the week award, Marchand now has 3-7-10 totals in February and 8-18-26 totals since suffering through a three-point (all assists) December. (more…)

Chiarelli

Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli was part of a series of NHL conference calls today to talk about the March 4 trade deadline.

Along the way, he revealed something that had nothing to do with wheeling and dealing. When asked if he received good news about winger Michael Ryder, Chiarelli responded: “My guess is that – and it’s a guess right now, but it’s an educated guess – is that he’ll be in the line-up for tomorrow.”

Ryder has been out since he was high sticked Feb. 5 and then had facial surgery Feb. 9. He’s been skating with the team for more than a week.

Chiarelli also fielding the expected questions about his approach to the trade deadline. With the conference-leading Bruins enduring their worst stretch of the season with losses in six of their last seven games, one might think the urgency to make a deal has intensified. But Chiarelli is taking a calm approach.

“Well, it hasn’t changed our approach (to deal),” he said. “We’re at some point going to struggle, and we were prepared for it. Part of it is the young guys hitting a bit of a wall. They look like they’re coming out of it a bit. It’s part of a long year.

“Our approach and strategy hasn’t changed with respect to the deadline. It just goes … the players of interest to us are still of interest to us, and we’re still pursuing those players.” (more…)

McCabe

The Florida Panthers are scheduled to depart for Boston this evening after they practice, and they probably won’t need to fuel their charter with gas — that’s how ecstatic they are after taking down the Eastern Conference-leading Bruins Saturday night in Sunrise, Fla.

Florida defenseman Bryan McCabe declared the victory proved the Panthers “can compete with anybody,” as Steve Gorten of the Sun-Sentinel wrote today.

The Panthers’ date with the Bruins tomorrow night at TD Banknorth Garden will be the opener of a five-game road trip. Including the win over Boston, Florida won three out of five games on their most recent homestand, so they’ll be looking to make that success translate on the road. George Richards of the Miami Herald has more on the Panthers’ preparations for the lengthy road trip.

Richards in his On Frozen Pond blog also has a cute anecdote involving Bruins defenseman Mark Stuart and a rubber rat.

Schneider

Since acquiring defenseman Mathieu Schneider from Atlanta a week ago, the Montreal Canadiens’ power play has succeeded at a 7-for-12 clip, including two goals by the veteran blueliner.

Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette has the story of how Schneider has been the perfect addition by Montreal general manager Bob Gainey, who desperately needed to revive a moribund man-advantage group. In addition to Schneider’s addition, the Habs have benefited from a new “shoot-the-puck” mentality.

Elsewhere around the division:

•Defenseman Chris Campoli feels like a free man after his trade from Long Island to Ottawa.

•Allen Panzeri of the Ottawa Citizen reports that Senators GM Bryan Murray is ready to make some deals before the March 4 trade deadline.

•Toronto is ready to deal  as well, with GM Brian Burke already having set the prices for his available players.

•The Sabres are bracing themselves for a long stretch of games without star goaltender Ryan Miller, who’s out with an ankle injury.

Kobasew

When the Boston Bruins endure a 1-2-0 week, including one shutout loss and a defeat at the hands of a team that’s far out of the playoff race, it’s hard to honor an individual’s outstanding performance.

But among the rubble, winger Chuck Kobasew managed to have a respectable week. In the win over Carolina, he potted a goal, posted an even rating and even drew a couple Hurricanes penalties. In the loss to Tampa Bay, he added an assist and a plus-1 rating. For his efforts, Kobasew is the Bruin of the Week.

Other nominees this week were Patrice Bergeron (1-1-2, plus-1) and Shane Hnidy (1-0-1, game-winning goal vs. Car., minus-1).

Vaclav Prospal’s goal with just 1:33 remaining in regulation lifted the lowly Tampa Bay Lightning over the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Bruins, 4-3, tonight at St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida.

You can read the complete recap at Yahoo!

The Bruins finished their disappointing road trip with a 1-3-1 record and have now lost six of their last seven overall. Despite the loss, there were some positives to take out of this one:

•Andrew Ference matched his goal total for all of last season (58 games) with his first lamp-lighter of the season in just his 29th game of the year. Ference  must like this time of year because his lone goal last season came on March 15.

•The Phil Kessel Watch is officially over, as he scored his first goal since early January to get the Bruins out to an early lead. Kessel even earned back the power-play minutes he was denied in the Bruins’ previous two games.

•Mark Stuart beat the snot out of Tampa Bay winger  Gary Roberts.

Of course, there were negatives too:

•Ference and David Krejci took bad penalties (a delay of game and a needless interference) in the final four minutes leading to Tampa Bay’s game-winning goal.

•For the second straight night the Bruins exceeded 40 shots on net (43 vs. the Lightning) and outshot their opponent by a wide margin but came up short. Their lack of finish is eerily reminiscent to last season and if it doesn’t improve this club won’t earn the No. 1 seed that just a couple weeks ago seemed there’s to lose.

The Buffalo Sabres down the New York Rangers, 4-2, last night, but it came at a cost.

Early in the third period, New York’s Scott Gomez and Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller were in a collision that sent Miller to the locker room with a high ankle sprain. Miller is out indefinitely and Buffalo head coach Lindy Ruff was fuming mad after the game, as John Vogl of the Buffalo News reports.

You be the judge:

Elsewhere around the division:

•Mats Sundin couldn’t have written the script any better for his return to Toronto than how it played out.

•The two-game sabbatical worked to recharge Alexei Kovalev, who scored once and assisted twice in a Montreal win over Ottawa.

A return home after a five-game road trip (which included one brief stop home last weekend) is just hours away for the Boston Bruins.

But as much as they’ll want to, the black-and-gold-wearing players will have to keep their eyes from wandering into the near future and focus on the present — a match-up with the lowly Tampa Bay Lightning at St. Pete Times Forum tonight.

Like weekend getaways that dot a businessman’s summer work schedule, this is the rare contest against a non-playoff team for the Bruins, who might not play another game against a non-contender for a couple weeks. So it’ll be important for the Bruins to establish themselves early and not give the Lightning hope of recording what would be their best win of the season if they could take down the premier team in the NHL. (more…)

Radek Dvorak scored two goals and Tomas Vokoun made 41 saves as the Florida Panthers defeated the Boston Bruins, 2-0, tonight at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla.

You can read the complete recap at Yahoo!

The Bruins have now lost five of their last six and are just 1-4-0 on their current road trip with one game remaining — at Tampa Bay Sunday — before they return home.

Also:

•The Bruins have now been shut out twice in the last four games. They were also blanked at New Jersey last Friday.

•Dvorak’s first goal was shorthanded — the sixth shorthanded goal against Boston this season.

•The Bruins outshot Florida, 41-29, led by eight by Patrice Bergeron. But Bergeron still hasn’t scored a non-empty-net goal since November. Blake Wheeler fired seven shots on net, but Marc Savard, David Krejci and Stephane Yelle all  failed to register a shot on net.

Kovalev

After not joining the Montreal Canadiens for their two-game road trip to Washington and Pittsburgh (a shootout and regulation loss, respectively), Habs star winger Alex Kovalev rejoined the team for practice Friday and he’s scheduled to play tonight against Ottawa.

With the two-game unofficial suspension over, legendary Montreal columnist Red Fisher says in the Montreal Gazette it’s time to turn the page. He also points out that whatever happens — a recharged Kovalev leading the Habs to the playoffs or a trade to another team — life goes on.

MK: I agree. Habs fans have to take a step back and realize that Gainey has to do what’s best for the team. They have to just hope he gets value if he decides to deal Kovalev, or that the two-game vacation didn’t completely wreck the Habs’ room. But almost every great player, including Kovalev a couple times gets traded and that’s just the way it goes.

Elsewhere around the division:

•Bob Gainey is not pleased with the reports that three of his players have been carousing with an accused mobster.

•Former Toronto captain Mats Sundin is ready for his return to Air Canada Centre as a member of the Vancouver Canucks.

•And Steve Buffery of Sun Media says it would be dumb for Maple Leafs fans to boo Sundin.

•With the Sabres getting healthy on the blue line, veteran Teppo Numminen is going to be a healty scratch tonight against the New York Rangers.