Ward

WILMINGTON, Mass. — Boston Bruins defenseman Aaron Ward didn’t join his teammates on their pre-Christmas road trip to St. Louis and New Jersey so he could skate on his own and speed his recovery from an ankle injury.

Today he went through practice with the full squad at Ristuccia Arena and said after that he will travel for the Bruins’ upcoming three-game jaunt to Carolina, Atlanta and Pittsburgh.

“My target was the day I came back in Atlanta, so we’re revisiting the scene of the crime. Hopefully I play at some point in this road trip,” he explained.

Ward was originally injured Nov. 29 against Detroit. After he missed four games he returned for the game in Atlanta Dec. 12. Two shifts in, he left with a reaggravation of the injury. He started skating again a few days later and today he double checked that he wouldn’t have a repeat of what went down in Atlanta the last time.

“We just tested it. We did what I did last time when I hurt it. And it’s fine,” he said.

Head coach Claude Julien said Ward will take the pregame skate with the team tomorrow in Raleigh and then decisions will be made.

WILMINGTON, Mass. — After the two-day, collective bargaining agreement-mandated break for Christmas Eve and Day, the Boston Bruins are back on the ice this morning for practice at Ristuccia Arena.

There are 13 forwards on the ice, including Petteri Nokelainen, who is wearing a red no-contact jersey as he continues on the road to a return from an upper-body injury. In addition to both goaltenders, there are seven defenseman, including Aaron Ward. Ward is in the usual black uniform despite the fact that he too is recovering from an injury (ankle).

I’ll have more as the day unfolds.

Wideman

No. 8: When he was acquired by the Boston Bruins at the trade deadline in 2007, defenseman Dennis Wideman became Public Enemy No. 1.

Not only had the Bruins dealt away popular forward Brad Boyes to acquire Wideman, but the blueliner’s struggles in his own end and with the puck on the breakout made a Bruins squad that was sinking toward the bottom of the league look even worse.

Well, what a difference a year made. By the time the 2007-08 season came to a close, Wideman had earned his spot as the club’s No. 2 defenseman behind Zdeno Chara. And when it came time to re-up with the 25-year-old restricted free agent, Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli did what he had to do — signing Wideman to a four-year deal worth a reported $15.75 million. The commitment Boston made to Wideman, and the Ontario native’s development as a top-notch puck-mover, were grand enough to earn a spot on the list of Top 10 Bruins stories of ’08. (more…)

Thomas

No. 9: He’s always been rejected throughout this hockey career.

Before he emerged as the Boston Bruins’ go-to puck-stopper a couple seasons ago, Tim Thomas had to play in numerous leagues on a number of continents in various countries to keep his professional career going.

Although he’d proved many critics wrong ever since his return to the NHL in 2006, Thomas still couldn’t avoid the snubs. Off to a great start to the 2007-08 season, Thomas was leading the NHL in save percentage and sat ninth in goals-against average when the Eastern Conference All-Star reserves (Thomas had had no chance of starting because he was left off the ballot) were announced. But he wasn’t among those selected and expected to not be heading to the 2008 NHL All-Star Game in Atlanta.

Then just a week and a half later, he was added as a last-minute injury replacement. Thomas proudly ignored the previous insults and went to the game to represent the Bruins at the midseason classic. Thomas’ All-Star selection was important enough to earn its spot among the Bruins’ top 10 moments of calendar year 2008. (more…)

Kobasew

It’s hard to gauge Chuck Kobasew’s value to the Boston Bruins.

You can look at his five goals and 10 assists this season and get a solid idea that he’s a productive second- or third-line winger who’s received a respectable amount of first-unit power-play time.

His plus-8 rating tells you that he’s been reliable throughout the season, even if he’s been a minus-3 since the calendar flipped to December.

But the ingredient he brings to the Eastern Conference-leading Bruins isn’t a number-related element. It’s something you have to see with your own eyes. (more…)

Thomas

Well, that was a brief slump for Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas.

The veteran puck-stopper, who lasted just two periods and allowed five goals in an 8-5 win in his last start Dec. 18, returned to form after just that one off game and shut out the New Jersey Devils, 2-0, tonight with 25 saves.

The shutout was his 10th of his NHL career and his first against New Jersey. Thomas is now 11-1-1 in his last 13 starts.

•Phil Kessel’s point-scoring streak ended at 18 games. As Versus told us incessantly tonight, that tied the record by a U.S.born player set by Eddie Olczyk in 1989-90 with Toronto.

•But Milan Lucic is now on a streak of his own. His goal gave him an eight-game point streak, during which he’s posted 4-4-8 totals.

•Merry Christmas to all readers of thebruinsblog.net. While I’ll be resting up a bit, I’ll still be posting plenty of Bruins stories, including a look at the top 10 Bruins stories of 2008.

Wheeler

When July 1 rolled around, there were a number of ways Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli could’ve gone into the free-agent pool and a potpourri of unrestricted free agents he could’ve pursued.

But in the week leading up to the opening of the free-agent market, Chiarelli had already secured a talented, large player with the ability to play both wing and center, play both ends of the rink, and score in any number of ways. Although Blake Wheeler didn’t have the NHL pedigree of fellow unrestricted free agents Marian Hossa, Michael Ryder, Andrew Brunette, Sean Avery, Wade Redden or Brian Campbell, the Bruins’ scouts obviously saw the potential.

Wheeler, a former first-round pick of Phoenix, had become a UFA after his junior season at the University of Minnesota by using a glitch in the collective bargaining agreement. By the end of training camp, the Bruins’ front office personnel and coaching staff had witnessed the maturity, skill and strength Wheeler possessed … and the rest, as they say, is history. (more…)

The Boston Bruins might have written the book on busting through to the playoffs despite a rash of injuries to key people — including star center Patrice Bergeron — last season, but this year the New Jersey Devils are rewriting that tome and making the tale even less believable.

No one could have predicted the success the Devils have had since future Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur went out of the line-up with an elbow injury after the Devils’ Nov. 1 win. But heading into tonight’s home date with the Bruins, New Jersey is still sitting sixth in the Eastern Conference, just one point out of fifth. Since the loss of Brodeur, New Jersey has compiled a 13-7-1 record, mostly with former Boston College standout Scott Clemmensen (11-1-1 in his last 13 outings) filling in between the pipes. (more…)

The New Jersey Devils are pretty hot and should present a stiff challenge to the Boston Bruins, who will visit the Prudential Center Tuesday night.

Sunday the Devils prevailed in a shootout, 3-2, over Philadelphia, as Rich Chere of The Star-Ledger reports. Chere also reports on Johnny Oduya getting ticked off enough to attempt to drop the gloves.

The Bergen Record reports that former Bruins forward Brian Rolston, a New Jersey free agent signee last summer, is starting to feel like his old self. And Mark Everson of the New York Post lauds goaltender Scott Clemmensen, who is 11-1-1 in his last 13 starts.

Krejci

With offensive superstars like Marc Savard and Phil Kessel ahead of him in the Boston Bruins’ line-up, it can be difficult for center David Krejci to get some attention.

Well, if he keeps having weeks like last week, he’ll always be in the same sentence as his more famous cohorts. In three games during the week that ended Dec. 21, Krejci posted 4-3-7 totals and a plus-3 rating. For his efforts, he is the Bruins of the Week. (more…)

Ryder

Michael Ryder’s power-play goal 9:34 into the second period broke a 3-3 tie and put the Boston Bruins ahead to stay en route to a 6-3 win at Scottrade Center. Here’s the game story from Yahoo.

Ryder is now officially on fire. The veteran winger now has seven goals (three game-winners) in the Bruins’ last eight games.

•Meanwhile, rookie winger Blake Wheeler won the battle of the Calder Trophy candidates by scoring two goals in the game’s opening4:59 and finishing the night at plus-1. (more…)

Bergeron

Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli released the following statement at 3 p.m. today about the status of center Patrice Bergeron, who left Saturday’s game after a collision with Carolina’s Dennis Seidenberg.

“After first being treated at the TD Banknorth Garden yesterday, Patrice was diagnosed as having sustained a concussion, and was admitted to Mass General Hospital under the care of Dr. Peter Asnis.

Since being admitted to MGH Patrice has undergone extensive testing, and all of the results have come back normal. When examined this morning, his condition had improved greatly over last night, and he was released from the hospital. There is no timetable for his return to the ice.”

Wideman

It’s two months shy of the two-year anniversary of the trade-deadline-day deal Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli made to acquire defenseman Dennis Wideman from St. Louis for forward Brad Boyes.

Tonight, for the first since that trade, Wideman will get the chance to skate against his former team in his old home arena, the Scottrade Center, when the Bruins square off with the Blues.

“I think it’ll be fun. It’ll be a little bit exciting there,” Wideman told thebruinsblog.net before the Bruins left for St. Louis. “I still have some people there I keep in contact with. It’ll be good to get back there. But it’ll be nice going in there.” (more…)

After a ridiculously fast start on the power play, during which St. Louis led the NHL in power-play efficiency for much of the early weeks of the 2008-09 season, the Blues power play has settled into seventh in the league heading into tonight’s visit by the Boston Bruins to Scottrade Center. That’s still pretty potent for a team near the bottom of the overall NHL standings.

So more than ever it’ll be important for the Bruins to stay out of the penalty box tonight. They started out on that track poorly yesterday against Carolina but then rectified the situation. Still without Andrew Ference and Aaron Ward on defense, and probably now short Patrice Bergeron up front, the ranks of the Bruins’ proficient penalty-killers has been diminished. (more…)

St. Pierre

BOSTON — Originally summoned from Providence (AHL) today to be an extra forward for the Boston Bruins’ upcoming road trip to St. Louis and New Jersey, center Martin St. Pierre now might find himself in the starting line-up when the Bruins visit the Blues Sunday.

An injury to Patrice Bergeron could keep the Bruins alternate captain on the sidelines and open a spot for St. Pierre,  who was leading Providence in scoring with 35 points before making the jaunt up I-95. St. Pierre has 21 NHL games under his belt — not to mention the experience he’s gained during numerous NHL training camps — so he shouldn’t be too nervous if he’s called upon to pull on a black and gold sweater for the first time in the regular season.

“Being up and down the last few years with the Blackhawks organization, obviously it was a fresh start getting traded here this past summer. But I had a good camp, I thought, and obviously they have a lot of great players here and everybody’s playing well,” he said after the Bruins’ 4-2 win over Carolina.  “But I’d say this is my chance. And as far as being more comfortable, more experienced, the older guys tell you that when you’re trying to get your feet wet, but it’s actually true – I feel confident and I can’t be nervous and just go day by day.”

Bruins head coach Claude Julien had a feeling even during training camp that St. Pierre would come in handy during the regular season.

“I think we knew what we were getting when we traded for him and that was a depth player, a playmaking centerman, and who has got good skill,” he said. “He is highly skilled. We kept him around as long as we could in training camp and gave him a chance to play with us and give him a chance to play in our system. We knew at some point we would be getting another look at him in the regular season.”