Hunwick

WILMINGTON, Mass. — While his Boston Bruins teammates this morning practiced yet again in preparation for their second-round playoff series with a still-to-be-determined opponent, defenseman Matt Hunwick watched the action from the corner of the Ristuccia Arena rink through the glass wearing a Bruins-colored winter jacket.

It was Hunwick’s second day back at the rink but the first time he watched his club go through drills and the first time he drove himself since he underwent emergency surgery to have his spleen removed April 18. Earlier that day, Hunwick had left the rink via ambulance in what was a scary situation.

Hunwick was discharged from the hospital Tuesday and, although he’s lost 14 pounds, he looks and feels fit.

“Tuesday I didn’t feel great. Wednesday was sort of up and down,” he said as his teammates battled on the ice. “Each day’s been getting better and yesterday was probably my best day. I had no times where I felt ill or weak. So I’m looking forward to this coming week, where I can hopefully be able to do some things.” (more…)

Hunwick

WILMINGTON, Mass. — Before making their way here to Ristuccia Arena this morning for a team meeting in the aftermath of their Game 2 victory over Montreal in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, several Boston Bruins players made their way to Mass. General Hospital to visit with teammate Matt Hunwick.

The rookie defenseman was rushed to the hospital yesterday and had to undergo a splenectomy after feeling severe abdominal pain. The surgery was completed without a hitch and he spent last night in the hospital.

“It’s tough seeing a friend and a teammate in that position. But you’ve just got to hope for the best. I’m glad they caught it and it was successful surgery,” said fellow defenseman Mark Stuart.

“I think (his spirits are) good, considering the situation. He looked pretty good. It was pretty soon after, even this morning, obviously he was tired.” (more…)

The spleen.

BOSTON — Let’s cut right to the good news. Boston Bruins team physician Dr. Peter Asnis confirmed that after having a splenectomy at approximately 1 p.m. today, defenseman Matt Hunwick is resting comfortably in his room at Mass. General Hospital.

Asnis said the procedure went “very uneventfully.” As for the other major thing you’re worried about as you read this, Hunwick is out indefinitely based on his recovery time.

“He is out and his return date will be determined based on how he does,” said Asnis. “There’s no answer. It is possible, depending on his recovery, that he could be back. But that’s something to be determined.”

Here’s a quick time line of how things went down for the valuable Bruins backliner, according to Asnis. In retrospect, Hunwick probably suffered the injury on a check during the second period Thursday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with Montreal. After the game, however, Hunwick did not report anything unusual. He practiced Friday and after practice complained of abdominal and shoulder pain. He went to the hospital and after blood work and a CAT he was stable, so he was sent home under close observation. At that point he’d already been ruled out of Game 2.

Today, when Hunwick left Ristuccia Arena via ambulance, he again felt severe abdominal pain. Upon being reimaged, the decision was made to operate. The procedure was performed at Mass. General by Dr. David Berger.

Hunwick

WILMINGTON, Mass. — At about 11 a.m. the Boston Bruins’ dressing room was cleared of all reporters so that paramedics could remove Bruins defenseman Matt Hunwick via stretcher for transport to a nearby hospital.

According to head coach Claude Julien: “It’s related to his spleen. And that’s all I can tell you right now. It’s something with his spleen. He obviously didn’t feel very good, so our trainers did what was right and called an ambulance and hopefully we can get some good news here as we move on.”

Two ambulances, two fire trucks and two police vehicles were on the scene. Hunwick looks extremely pale as he was lifted into the emergency vehicle. Bruins trainer Donnie Del Negro accompanied the ambulance to the hospital.

“It’s our job to make sure our team’s focused,” said Julien when asked about the hockey ramifications of this serious off-ice situation. “We’re going to be OK. We’re certainly not going to use this as an excuse. As I said before, when the game starts, everything will be under control. It’ll just be us moving on and knowing that Matty’s going to be fine and be back with us as soon as he can.”

The Bruins are not offering up any additional information at this time. They won’t even reveal the name of the hospital.

Back in 2001, Colorado star center Peter Forsberg was feeling stomach pains. He wound up having emergency surgery to remove his spleen and then missed the rest of the Avs’ playoff run. Last spring, New York Rangers forward Sean Avery suffered a lacerated spleen.

Again, I’ll will provide an update as soon as there is one.

What an eye gouge really looks like.

WILMINGTON, Mass — If they had done a video review of the post-game scuffle between Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Hunwick and Montreal backliner Mike Komisarek last night — the one that resulted in Hunwick requiring a few sutures to close a gash about his right eye — they would’ve had to deem the replay inconclusive.

You can see it for yourself on YouTube, but whether Komisarek eye gouged Hunwick, whether he did it with his glove on or off, there are only two people who know for sure. The one on the receiving end, however, still couldn’t draw a definite conclusion.

“I couldn’t tell to be honest with you,” said Hunwick after today’s Bruins practice at Ristuccia Arena. “It’s one of those things where you’re in a battle and you don’t know exactly what’s going on. I know he was face-washing me, I was face-washing him, so it’s one of those things where in the heat of the moment you can’t really tell and I’m not here to make any accusations, that’s for sure.”

When pressed on why he couldn’t tell if a finger had gouged his eye — after all, he’d be the more likely to know based on actual feel — Hunwick responded: “I don’t know if you’ve ever had your face washed and been in that situation where I’m worried about kind of giving it back to him just as I’m getting it, and not really thinking that much about the result of what’s going on. It was one of those things where I really didn’t even notice until after the incident happened.”

After the Canadiens practice at TD Banknorth Garden, Komisarek responded to the eye-gouging accusation.

“That’s a bit of a ridiculous statement. Its the playoffs. There are facewashes every second shift,” said Komisarek, who admitted his left glove was off but that he only face-washed with the gloved right hand. “I don’t know if the kid has soft skin. I’m not Larry, Moe and Curly. I’m not trying to poke anyone’s eye out.” (more…)

Wheeler

Boston Bruins rookie winger Blake Wheeler recalls the 2007 WCHA Final Five title game as the biggest game he’s played up until now. That year, the Golden Gophers battled North Dakota and prevailed with Wheeler winning tournament MVP honors.

Playing the Gophers’ hated rival in front of a rocking Xcel Energy Center crowd in St. Paul might’ve been great, but it will pale in comparison to what Wheeler is going to experience when the Bruins and Montreal Canadiens tangle in a best-of-seven series starting Thursday.

“I think the difference is that you can possibly play the same team seven times. So you could see the same guy across from you seven times in two weeks and that can get kind of old,” Wheeler recently told TheBruinsBlog.net. “You’ve got worry about yourself, worry about what you can control and just go out there and do everything to the best of your ability. You can’t look down for a minute out there because that’s when you’re going to get scored on or make a mistake.” (more…)

A healthy scratch 13 times this season, Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Hunwick has learned how to stay ready even when he hasn’t been called on to skate in a game for sometimes weeks at a time.

However, the rookie might not have to worry about such special preparation tactics for a while.

“Every time we’ve put him in, he’s given us a good spark and done a pretty good job — whether it’s at forward or on defense,” Bruins head coach Claude Julien said before Hunwick registered an assist in the Bruins’ win over New Jersey Sunday. “So I think he deserves to be in the lineup right now, and as long as he deserves to be there, he’s going to stay there.”

Sometimes it can be tough to statistically gauge a player’s value to his team. And during this highly successful Bruins’ season, a lot of players can point to the club’s record with them in the lineup as a mark of pride. But the 23-year-old Hunwick really has made a splash in his limited opportunty. In games Hunwick registers a point, the Bruins are 12-1-2. And the 46-17-10 Bruins are just a mediocre 13-10-3 when they don’t have Hunwick in uniform. (more…)

Hunwick

In a short week as far as the number of games the Boston Bruins played, rookie Matt Hunwick still found a way to provide a spark.

Back on defense after a couple of games at forward, and back in the lineup after five straight healthy scratches, Hunwick totaled one goal and one assist in addition to a plus-2 rating during the Bruins’ 1-0-1 week. For his efforts, Hunwick earns my Bruin of the Week honor.

The former University of Michigan star was inserted into the lineup Thursday to provide better puck movement and  offensive production to the Bruins’ back line. He wasted little time getting in the goals column just 14:41 into the Bruins’ 3-2 overtime loss to Los Angeles.

Then in the Bruins huge win over New Jersey Sunday, Hunwick moved up to the top power-play unit and helped that group not only score twice but also keep the heat on the Devils throughout every man-advantage. Hunwick assisted on Marc Savard’s game-turning goal.

Other candidates this week were winger Mark Recchi (1-2-3, plus-2), defenseman Zdeno Chara (0 points, even rating, great physical play against Devils) and center Patrice Bergeron (0-2-2, plus-1, six hits and 19-for-30 on faceoffs).

Hunwick

BOSTON — Almost like a bottlerocket with a lit fuse, Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Hunwick exploded onto the scene tonight after a five-game hiatus as a healthy scratch.

Hunwick scored the Bruins’ first goal with 5:09 left in the first period to start the club on their way to a 2-0 lead it later squandered before falling, 3-2, in overtime to Los Angeles at TD Banknorth Garden.

But for Hunwick it was an impressive way to send a message that he should maybe be in the lineup on a more consistent basis for a team that’s struggled to get offense from its back end. Hunwick cashed in from in front of the net off a feed from winger Michael Ryder, who’s usually the player on the receiving end of such productive feeds.

“I knew I had a forward covering. He was either in the high slot or maybe even a little bit farther back. So I knew that I could jump down,” recalled Hunwick after the game. “And I think originally, I was going to go to the back door. But then I saw that there was some space in the slot area and I kind of went there and almost lingered for a second and ‘Rydes’ was able to find me.” (more…)

Hunwick

BOSTON — There’s no telling if Matt Hunwick will get another chance to skate  on the left wing of the Boston Bruins’  top line ever again. There’s no telling if he’ll ever even get another shot at playing forward.

All we know is that the career defenseman did both those things today and was a rousing success in the Bruins’ 4-3 overtime loss to Washington at TD Banknorth Garden.

Hunwick, who admitted that when he came to the rink today he didn’t expect to end up in the slot the injured Milan Lucic vacated in the line-up, finished with one goal and one assist in his second game of the season at forward. While his previous game up front (Jan. 27) featured him on the fourth line, this time he was in a prime position next to center Marc Savard and winger Phil Kessel.

“It was one of those things where coach told me just to go out and use my speed and just try to play my game. That’s something I try to do, just keep it simple,” Hunwick said. “And obviously Savvy’s a great passer, so I just tried to use my speed to get in on the forecheck and do my best as far as breaking the puck out.” (more…)

Hunwick

BOSTON — A healthy scratch for six straight games, Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Hunwick joined the club’s Providence farm team for an AHL tilt in Manchester Tuesday to get in a workout that’s better than just riding the stationary bike and bag skating after practice.

In the P-Bruins’ 3-2 shootout loss, Hunwick said he logged a lot of ice time, including pretty much every other shift in the closing minutes of regulation and overtime.

“Just getting the timing and the feel back … I think for the most part I felt pretty good. Hopefully it’ll give me a chance to pick up where I left off here,” said Hunwick after the Bruins’ morning skate today at TD Banknorth Garden,  where he figures to again by the odd-man out in the Bruins’ defense corps.

Although the P-Bruins settled for just one point in Manchester, Hunwick had a hand in the club rallying against one of its divisional rivals.

“(Vladimir Sobotka) scored with a minute left and I was on the ice. It was a lot of fun to be in that situation where the goalie’s pulled and you have to play with that desperation. And lucky for us we scored that goal and got the one point,” Hunwick said.

Hunwick

WILMINGTON, Mass. — Rookie defenseman Matt Hunwick had been scheduled to skate today at Ristuccia Arena with Boston Bruins teammates Petteri Nokelainen and Manny Fernandez, but the blueliner instead remained sidelined with flu-like symptoms.

Hunwick did not play Saturday against New York, nor did he travel to Montreal for Sunday’s game. The Bruins are scheduled to have a full-squad practice tomorrow and Hunwick could be back.

Should Hunwick be ready to play by Wednesday night, the Bruins will again have a tough decision. Last Thursday, Shane Hnidy was a healthy scratch when the Bruins opted to not dress seven defenseman as they had in the previous game.

Hunwick

There’s no denying that Boston Bruins rookie Matt Hunwick personifies the “anything for the team” attitude most athletes preach but only a few practice.

When Bruins head coach Claude Julien told Hunwick Tuesday he’d be skating at forward against Washington, the natural defenseman didn’t blink.

“Any role that they put me in is an opportunity to help contribute to the success of the team,” he said today after practice at Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington, Mass. “I’m glad to do so. So I think it’s just another opportunity to go out and I think it’s fun to play another position and get a different perspective on the game.” (more…)

BOSTON — In his first extended stint in the NHL, Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Hunwick has registered a lot of career firsts.

Today in the third period of the Bruins’  5-1 win over Carolina at TD Banknorth Garden, he broke the seal with his inaugural fight in the NHL. It all started when he leveled Carolina forward Justin Williams at the red line. In an ensuing scrum, Williams made sure to find Hunwick, who decked the Hurricanes veteran with a right hook. Here’s a look at the hit and the fight:

After the game,  Hunwick was proud of his accomplishment. (more…)

Hunwick

Have you noticed that the Boston Bruins haven’t been hesitating to send rookie defenseman Matt Hunwick onto the ice against some of their opponents’ toughest lines? Well, your eyes are not deceiving you.

Head coach Claude Julien said recently that the while Hunwick’s been earning the staff’s faith with his solid play, that in turn is boosting Hunwick’s self esteem. And that’s helped the Bruins survive without Andrew Ference and Aaron Ward.

“He’s responded well. And I think what’s happened there is, not only his confidence but our confidence in him being able to do the job has grown as well,” Julien said. “He’s a young player and you always have to be careful how you utilize him and the situations you put him in. But so far he’s answered those situations in a very positive manner. And I think the more we see of that, the more we’re putting him in those positions. Top players on other teams usually have speed and skill and he’s got pretty good mobility. So they’re going to need to be pretty fast to get around him.”