BOSTON — Don’t you find it ironic that on the night the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Bruins could’ve clinched a playoff berth with a mere two points, they turned in another performance that makes you think their inevitable appearance in the postseason will last about as long as their third-period lead against the Los Angeles Kings survived.

The Bruins’ 3-2 overtime loss to LA was like the “Three’s Company”  episode with the misunderstanding in it, Jay Leno’s Michael Jackson jokes and Bruce Springsteen songs about going to the Jersey shore — played out. Sure you might chuckle at them, or even revel in the nostalgia of it all, but you don’t want to make a habit out of listening to or watching them.

Unfortunately for Boston, the Bruins are making a habit of playing their NHL games as though they’re meaningless. Sometimes you can’t tell if this team is trying to win the Eastern Conference’s top seed or go on an early vacation this spring. The last 60-minute effort might’ve actually come while ‘W’ was  in office. (more…)

Fernandez

Remember last spring when the Detroit Red Wings thought they were going to ride the goaltending of future Hall of Famer Dominik Hasek to the Stanley Cup?

Here’s one a little more recent: Remember when the Boston Bruins were a two-goaltender team so fearsome they took down those defending champion Red Wings, plus pretty much every other would-be contender that stood in their way. That was just three months ago.

Well, the ’08 Red Wings were forced by an injury to turn to Chris Osgood after just four postseason games. Having played in 43 regular-season games to Hasek’s 41, Osgood was sharp and ready to go when it came time to carry the Wings to the promised land. Last season’s Red Wings should be a cautionary tale for a Bruins club that has suddenly turned into a goaltending dictatorship rather than a bi-netminder system. (more…)

BOSTON — The Boston Bruins added better than 500 career NHL goals to their line-up when they added Mark Recchi in a trade Wednesday.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to add to register his first tally in black and gold tonight in a 2-1 loss to Phoenix at TD Banknorth Garden. And unfortunately none of the Bruins’ supposed star scorers were able to light the lamp either.

The evening started with two guys that scored five of the Bruins’ last 17 goals in the press box as healthy scratches. With Byron Bitz and Matt Hunwick not in action, it was imperative that the Bruins’ top snipers pick up the slack. But instead some lengthy droughts got even drier.

Blake Wheeler? Six games without a goal. David Krejci? One goal in his last 12. Marc Savard? Goal-less in his last 10. Former first-unit power-play performer P.J. Axelsson? I won’t even both looking it up, but I’m pretty sure W was  still in office. (more…)

“Do not mistake activity for achievement.” — John Wooden, legendary UCLA basketball coach

John Wooden

BOSTON — There aren’t too many things John Wooden, the basketball Hall of Famer and icon, is wrong about. And in general, the above quote is dead-on. But in the case of the Boston Bruins and the deals they made leading up to today’s 3 p.m trade deadline, activity won them the day — and the achievement might come some time in June.

Winger Mark Recchi and defenseman Steve Montador are both solid complementary additions for their experience, versatility and skill. But when compared to additions the Bruins’ stiffest competition in the Eastern Conference made (or didn’t make), Recchi and Montador’s arrivals multiply in enormity.

Remember, the Bruins sit atop the East with 93  points — six points better than New Jersey. You know what the Devils did today at the deadline? Nada. Now they added Niclas Havelid as a third-pair defenseman Monday, and some would argue that the return of Martin Brodeur to protect their pipes after a lengthy injury absence was like a deadline trade. But the Devils, who have played the Bruins tough, didn’t do much to put themselves over the top. (more…)

BOSTON — Another home loss to a playoff-caliber team tonight — 4-2 to Philadelphia — left the Boston Bruins wondering if they’ve got a case of Jekyll-Hyde-itis.

The personality that helped the current squad reach the top of the Eastern Conference for the better part of the last four months has suddenly deserted the team and left a different character — one that more resembles last season’s club, which at this time a year ago was fighting tooth and nail for a playoff berth.

“There’s emotion and identity just missing right now. And as a team, you’ve got to get that. But individually you’ve got to really step up the excitement to play hockey. … We just feel like a faceless team right now,”  said defenseman Andrew Ference, who wears an ‘A’ but should someday wear a ‘C.’ “We’re just kind of going out there and playing. The system is good enough on some nights to get us through that. But you’re not going to consistently do well if you just kind of play that style. That’s not what got us to the position that we’re at.”

A number of other players echoed those sentiments. And that, despite the fact that the listless loss came on the heels of the disappointing overtime defeat to Washington Saturday, is actually positive  news. (more…)

Lucic should leave the fighting to others.

So far this season the Boston Bruins are 5-1-1 with Milan Lucic out of the line-up. They were an equally solid 4-2-2 without Marc Savard dressed last season. But the Bruins cannot afford to test the limits of those trends for a lengthy portion of their schedule.

Starting tomorrow against the Washington Capitals, those two thirds of the Bruins’ top line could be out for a bit of time — pending medical clearance for their upper-body injuries suffered Thursday night in the win over Anaheim. While the Bruins, who handle injury information the way the Bush Administration protected “state secrets,” wouldn’t confirm the nature of the injuries beyond the obligatory “upper-body” designation, it’s widely believed Lucic might have been nicked up in his one-sided scuffle with Mike Brown.

Regardless of whether the two star Bruins are out due to fight-related injuries, this is still a good time to point out that the Bruins hold a nine-point lead for the conference’s top seed and there are only five weeks left in the regular season. At this point, health is more important than macho victories. The Bruins are going to face a lot of teams down the stretch that are desperate just to make the playoffs, and some will be trying to make a statement to a Boston team that could be their first-round playoff opponent. That could be some over-the-line physical play, some glove-dropping and some liberties taken against the Bruins’ best players.

And I’m here to say, the Bruins have to limit which players are allowed to respond and which are not. While injuries during fights are just as common as fights that occur during the hockey action, a fight provides another avenue for another injury to happen. (more…)

BOSTON — It’s beginning to feel a lot like December around the TD Banknorth Garden.

No, no one’s hung mistletoe in the halls or decorated a tree or employed anthem-singer Rene Rancourt to belt out some carols from the bench. It’s just that the Boston Bruins are back to playing the brand of hockey that made them the toast of the NHL by the time the holiday season ended.

The Bruins are rocking bodies, bashing heads,defending their home turf and, more importantly, scoring goals in bushels. The way the club is playing right now harkens back to a simpler time, a period of  old time hockey … a time that was just two months ago. With their 6-0 rout of the Anaheim Ducks tonight at the Garden, the Bruins have now won their first two games on their current homestand by a combined score of 12-1. (more…)

Bergeron

I could admittedly be accused of nit-picking — what with the Boston Bruins sitting atop the NHL with 88 points and ranking fifth in the league in power-play efficiency at 22.8 percent as I write this.

But I think one change to the Bruins’ alignment could go a long way toward their continued domination of the other 29 teams at the game’s highest level and make their offense better resemble the four-goals-a-night production machine of the first few months of the season.

It’s all about getting Patrice Bergeron off the point on the power play. It’s no coincidence that the Bruins’ man-advantage started to slump when the veteran center returned from his concussion and reclaimed his spot to the left of Zdeno Chara. And it’s also not a coincidence that Bergeron started to get his own motor running last week during the two games in New Jersey and Nashville, where he was cast as a forward with the Bruins a man up.

Among Bruins capable of playing the point, Bergeron probably ranks last in terms of his ability to one-time the puck off a cross-ice pass or get those low hard shots through the defense. And when he gets caught and has to skate backward, he can resemble a fish out of water.

But this isn’t about what Bergeron’s deficiencies are at the point. This is all about what his strengths are up front and how he can be more of a help to the Bruins’ cause. (more…)

BOSTON — The Boston Bruins had been collecting points like Pacman working his way through a maze for two weeks before the San Jose Sharks came to town tonight.

The Sharks’ impressive 5-2 win over the Bruins in a battle of the Eastern and Western Conference’s top teams ended the Bruins’ string of points at nine straight. But this loss might’ve been the best remedy for what’s been ailing the Bruins.

You see, the last two games before San Jose’s visit, Boston earned points (including two in Ottawa) despite blowing two-goal leads. And 60-minute  efforts have been few and far between, even in some of the games the Bruins didn’t squander leads in during their recent two-week stretch against some of the top teams in the NHL.

So think of this Sharks game, one that featured the Bruins twice leading and taking a one-goal lead into the third, as an intervention. The Bruins were getting addicted to points that weren’t hard-earned. And now they can get back on the wagon. They should be sobered up and back to the hockey that they played while building up a double-digit lead in the conference by the time they take the ice in Newark Friday night. (more…)

Rask

BOSTON — Friday after his off-ice workout and treatments, ailing Boston Bruins goaltender Manny Fernandez explained that there’s no rush for him to return because the team and fellow netminder Tim Thomas have played so well in his absence.

Well, now he knows there’s one more reason he can take his sweet time. It turns out Bruins super-prospect Tuukka Rask is the real deal. Allow me to overreact to Rask’s 35-save shutout over the New York Rangers today at TD Banknorth Garden and declare: “Rask is ready.”

After all, I’m not the only one convinced that the Bruins now go three goaltenders deep.

“Everyone in this room definitely had confidence in him. We’ve seen enough of Tuukka to know how good of a goalie he is,” rugged winger Shawn Thornton said after the Bruins’ 1-0 victory. “So there was no talk, obviously, before the game of let’s make it easy on him. We’ve got tons of confidence in anyone who’s in net, so he did a hell of a job tonight – just like he did last year, same thing.”

Center Marc Savard, who scored the game’s lone goal, echoed Thornton’s thoughts.

“We’re confident with whoever’s in there and tonight it was Tuukka,” he said. “Give the kid credit. He’s been waiting for his opportunity and he took advantage of it tonight. He’s an NHL goaltender, and we all know that. He’s going to get his time and right now he’s doing the job for us. (more…)

St. Louis

The Boston Bruins should definitely be looking toward Tampa Bay in an effort to make a trade.

And prying away a Lightning forward should definitely be their top priority.

But it’s not superstar center Vinny Lecavalier Boston should be targeting. No, the man the Bruins should covet usually skates off to Lecavalier’s right and is a much better fit for the Black and Gold.

The Boston Bruins should do what it takes to trade for Martin St. Louis.

Everything about St. Louis makes him more appealing for Boston, especially in contrast to Lecavalier, who’s signed for too much money and too many years, requires an acquiring team to deplete its talent stable, and plays a position that the Bruins have plenty of capable NHL stars and up-and-coming prospects to fill.

Before I get to fitting St. Louis into the Bruins’ payroll and what it would take to save him from the lowly Lightning, let’s look at why he’d be an ideal Bruin. (more…)

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…)

Chara

It’s hard to believe that it was just two years ago that Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara was forbidden to fight by then-head coach Dave Lewis.

As the jumbo-sized defenseman proved tonight in the Bruins’ 4-2 win over Atlanta at the TD Banknorth Garden – a victor that completed a home-and-home sweep of the pitiful Thrashers – beyond his imposing presence down low, his rocket slap shot and his munching of minutes, Chara can also intimidate and pulverize opponents with the best of them.

The stage was set when Thrashers rookie Boris Valabik, trying to do anything to rouse his team, which was trailing 2-1 late in the second period, took some physical liberties with Bruins leading goal-scorer Phil Kessel – who’s upper lip was opened by the roughhousing.

Chara just couldn’t stand to see that happen, and when the whistle finally blew the 6-foot-9, 255-pound Beast of the East made the 6-7, 235-pound youngster pick on someone almost his own size. While the diminutive Kessel and his black-and-gold-wearing brethren watched, Chara used his fists to make sure Valabik knew that he wouldn’t get away with anything – not in the Garden, not anywhere. (more…)