Friday's Bruins...

[the mugs]

It's been awhile since I've been around here. Just swamped at work & home :shrug:

Saw a little of the Sens / BJ's last night. B's PP is no where near Ottawa's but the BJ's PK was dreadful as the Sens scored 5 PP goals. Throw in the travel after the game and a rested B's team, it could be a good spot for the Bruins tonight depending on the juice. Then again, I've heard it's not juice if it wins

BOSTON BRUINS vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
Friday, November 14, 2003
Nationwide Arena; Columbus OH


Tonight?s Game
The Bruins visit the Blue Jackets tonight in the only game between these teams this season. The Bruins are 8-2-3-2 thus far this season with a 6-1-1-1 road record. The Blue Jackets are 5-7-1-1 thus far this season with a 5-2-0-0 home record. The Bruins are playing their first game of the season vs. a Central Division opponent and are 6-0-1-0 vs. Western Conference foes. The Blue Jackets are 0-0-1-0 vs. Northeast Division opponents and are 2-2-1-0 vs. Eastern Conference foes.

Lifetime Series
The Bruins are 2-1-0-1 lifetime vs. Columbus with an 18-10 scoring advantage in those four games. On the road, the Bruins are 1-0-0-1 lifetime vs. the Blue Jackets with a 10-3 scoring edge in those two contests. The Bruins have won the last two games between these teams with their last loss to the Blue Jackets 5-1 setback in Boston on Nov. 10, 2001. The Bruins won their last game in Columbus with an 8-0 victory on Feb. 4, 2002.

Recent Bruins Games
The Bruins are unbeaten in their last three games at 2-0-1-0 and have taken points out of each of their last seven games at 4-0-1-2 with a 5-2 win at New Jersey on Oct. 25, a 2-0 win in Montreal on Oct. 28, a 1-0 overtime loss to Montreal on Oct. 30, a 3-2 overtime loss in Pittsburgh on Nov. 1, a 5-5 tie with San Jose on Nov. 6, a 4-1 victory over Dallas on Nov. 8 and a 4-3 win vs. Edmonton on Nov. 11. They have taken points out of 12 of their last 13 games at 8-1-2-2 and have taken points out of 13 of their 15 games overall this season at 8-2-3-2.

The Bruins are unbeaten in their last three home games at 2-0-1-0 and have taken points out of five of their six games on home ice this season at 2-1-2-1.

The Bruins had their six-game road win streak and seven-game road unbeaten streak (6-0-1-0) stopped with a 3-2 overtime loss in Pittsburgh on Nov. 1. They have taken points out of each of their last eight road games at 6-0-1-1.

Recent Blue Jackets Games
The Blue Jackets are unbeaten in their last three games at 2-0-1-0 with a 4-2 win vs. Atlanta on Nov. 7, a 4-3 victory over Calgary on Nov. 9 and a 1-1 tie in Montreal on Nov. 11. That follows a seven-game losing streak at 0-6-0-1 from Oct. 18-Nov. 1.

Upcoming Bruins Games
The Bruins next return home to host Vancouver on Nov. 15 and will then face the Thrashers in Atlanta on Nov. 19.

Upcoming Blue Jackets Games
The Blue Jackets will host Phoenix on Nov. 16 before facing a home-and-home series with the Red Wings, in Detroit on Nov. 19 and in Columbus on Nov. 20.

Bruins Injuries
None reported.

Bruins Recent Transactions
Oct. 23: Sergei Zinovjev recalled from Providence/AHL; Martin Samuelsson and Milan Jurcina assigned to Providence/AHL.
Oct. 30: P. J. Stock loaned to Philadelphia/AHL from Providence/AHL.
Oct. 31: Ted Donato assigned to Providence/AHL.
Nov. 4: Zdenek Kutlak recalled from Providence/AHL.

Bruins Facts

The Bruins have 13 sets of back-to-back games this season. They are 1-1-0-0 in the first game of these sets and are 1-0-1-0 in game two of consecutive-night contests.

The Bruins will tonight complete the seventh of their 29 season series. They are 1-0-0-0 vs. Anaheim; 1-0-0 vs. Colorado; 2-0-0-0 vs. Dallas; 1-0-0-0 vs. Edmonton; 1-0-0-0 vs. Los Angeles and 0-0-1-0 vs. San Jose

 

[the mugs]

Boston Globe 11.14.03

Boston Globe 11.14.03

Bruins keep net worth in mind

Prior to flying out of Bedford's Hanscom Field late yesterday afternoon, the Bruins went through their routine on-ice workout in preparation for facing the Blue Jackets tonight in Columbus.

"A pretty quiet day," said coach Mike Sullivan, his club resting comfortably in first place in the Eastern Conference with an 8-2-3-2 record and 21 points. "We worked on special teams -- some different things on the power play -- and the transition game."

What's to work on when you're in first place, right? The only hint of a deviation from the norm came when Sullivan was asked about his approach to goaltending this weekend. Never one to name his starter the day before a game, Sullivan also wouldn't commit to splitting the next two games between Felix Potvin and Andrew Raycroft.

"That's something I haven't decided yet," said Sullivan, sounding a bit off guard when quizzed on the goalies. "Normally, with two games in two nights [including tomorrow at home vs. Vancouver], we would split it up, but . . . I just can't say yet. And [tonight's] game in Columbus could have some bearing on that."

It could be that Sullivan is reaching, or at least contemplating, the point where he is ready to feed rookie Raycroft a bigger portion of the goaltending pie.

Some five weeks into the season, the 23-year-old Raycroft has gone an impressive 5-2-1 and posted eye-popping goals-against (1.88) and save-percentage (.936) numbers. Potvin has been a more mundane 3-2-2, .908, 2.48 -- not bad, but also not so good that it would steer Sullivan from at least the temptation to see what Raycroft might do if given, say, 12 of the next 15 starts. . . .

=====

Attendance on Causeway Street has been somewhat disappointing in the early going, but the report from the box office is that tomorrow night's match with the front-running Canucks is close to a sellout...

Canucks boss Brian Burke, now considered one of the game's top GMs, has yet to sign a contract extension past this season . . .

Boston's top trio of Mike Knuble, Joe Thornton, and Glen Murray finished with 252 points last season. Now with 43 points in the first 15 games, they're on course for 235 points, roughly a 7 percent drop-off . . .

The Blue Jackets games offer a clash-of-the-titans possibility between Bruins pugilist Sandy McCarthy and Jody Shelley (6 feet 4 inches, 225 pounds to McCarthy's 6-3, 222). Shelley, at age 27, is four years younger than McCarthy, and he rang up 249 penalty minutes last year to McCarthy's meager 81 . . .

The Bruins will play on back-to-back nights five more times before the end of the calendar year. They have only four back-to-back matchups once the calendar flips to '04 . . .

Note to AARP: Thornton, who hinted earlier this week at retirement, made it through the workout and is expected to be front and center tonight . . .

The Blue Jackets played last night in Ottawa, which could give the Bruins an edge tonight in the fresh legs department. . . .

The Bruins were a perfect 5 for 5 in killing penalties Tuesday night vs. Edmonton, but still rate a troublesome 78.5 percent in man-short situations. That's not a number that causes much concern when a club is riding high in first place, but it's the kind of glaring soft spot that could lead to a skid . . .

McCarthy flashed a couple of dazzling skating and stickhandling moves Tuesday that could lead him to a shift or two on the power play if the man-advantage begins to struggle . . .

Following Vancouver's visit, the stop here by the Capitals Thursday will be the only game on Causeway Street until the Predators are here for the noon matinee the day after Thanksgiving.

 

[Frogy]

Nice to see you around
GL2U

 

[the mugs]

Globe 11.13.03

Globe 11.13.03

Fourth-liners doing a first-rate job

WILMINGTON -- Ask an NHL coach his philosophy on the fourth line's role and you'll get varying answers. Some like to use the trio, normally a group of grinders, on a semi-regular basis, depending on the score. Others use them for penalty-killing or for spot duty to spell other players.

Bruins coach Mike Sullivan believes in the value of four lines. It took him some time to find a combination that worked, but center Michal Grosek, left wing Rob Zamuner, and right wing Sandy McCarthy have emerged as an effective blend of toughness, grit, and the occasional scoring touch.

McCarthy scored the winning goal Tuesday night against Edmonton, making a nice move to come out from behind the net and flip the puck past Ty Conklin.

"I think Sandy is really a guy who probably gets undervalued for what he brings to the table," said Sullivan. "He's a pretty smart player. He's just a workhorse out there. He's a big body and he looks to use his physical stature as much as he can. He creates some scoring chances when he gets the puck down low. I was happy for him that he got rewarded."

McCarthy said any points they generate is gravy.

"When we get out there, we really try to get the momentum in our favor and I think we've been playing real hard and real solid all season, so it's nice to get rewarded," he said. "I think if you look over the years, teams that win have four lines that produce. I think it's important for everybody to get their hands dirty. We're all pretty good hockey players. I think all of us have played 500 or 600 games. We've proven we can play in this league."

McCarthy and Zamuner's relationship goes back to their days in Tampa. Zamuner said because of the way the franchise was struggling, everyone played with everybody at some point.

"It wasn't a fun time," said Zamuner. "I think we were probably on the ice for a couple of goals against, too."

Zamuner missed the first 10 games with a hamstring injury and Grosek found himself odd man out of the lineup for three games prior to being put with McCarthy and Zamuner. For Zamuner, who was in the lineup for the last five contests, he was just hoping to find a spot in the mix.

"It's been kind of bad luck with my injuries," he said. "At the beginning of camp, it looked like I was playing with [Brian Rolston and P.J. Axelsson] and then [Patrice Bergeron] stepped in and played great. As you get to the later stages of your career, you realize that if you're on a good team, you're going to play maybe less minutes than you would somewhere else.

"If you're happy with not playing more, then I think you're in trouble. I think we are all like that, it comes in different ways. That's our competitive edge. If you don't have it, you're in trouble. It's something where you're happy helping the team out but you always want to play more. It's hard for Sully to keep everyone happy. It's virtually impossible. The other night [against Dallas], we didn't play that much and he addressed it with us. Sometimes it's going to happen."

Some fourth-liners fret about making a mistake during a shift because they're worried they won't get out for another one. Sullivan seems committed to using them, and that confidence has translated to less tense feelings.

"We all want to do well," said McCarthy. "We all want to make sure we make the right decisions on the ice. If we don't, we may not get back out there and we want to play so we want to make sure we're doing the right things."

But McCarthy said he doesn't feel the same kind of anxiety with Sullivan that he has with some other coaches because of that confidence.

"It makes you go harder," said McCarthy, "because you respect what he's doing for you."

Grosek's time with the Bruins has been a bit of a roller-coaster ride.

"We have a good fourth line," said Grosek. "We understand each other and I think it shows in a game. There aren't that many fourth lines like that. I think he's an honest coach. Last year, [under Robbie Ftorek] it didn't matter how you played. It was the same junk. Here, you get rewarded. You get more ice time and everybody is looking for that."

Sullivan, whose team just finished unbeaten (2-0-1-0) in a three-game homestand, said it's been a matter of experimentation and he's doing his best to keep everyone happy and playing as much as possible.

"We think we have a fourth line that is arguably one of the best fourth lines in the league," said the coach. "We have pretty good players on that line and we want to give them a chance to make contributions. We have some energy guys, we have some toughness. They're an important piece of the puzzle and we need those guys. I want them to know they might not log as many minutes as some of the other guys but they're a vital part of our team. [What they bring] can't be measured in the amount of minutes they play." . . .

Despite Joe Thornton's comments to Canadian TV network TSN on Monday that his back was killing him, Sullivan said he isn't worried about his star center's health. Thornton hasn't missed a practice or a game, but said he was ailing a bit. "As far as I'm aware, he's a pretty healthy kid," said Sullivan. "I don't know where that came up. I think Joe is getting inundated with questions surrounding the officiating. We've tried to speak to Joe and emphasize his job is to play hockey. That's something that's out of his control and we don't want him to exert any energy whatsoever on whether or not he's getting a call out there."

 

[the mugs]

Herald 11.14.03

Herald 11.14.03

Strong, silent type: Axelsson leads B's quietly

WILMINGTON - For anyone who's watched the Bruins during the first five weeks of the season, it should be apparent that when the B's play with high energy and intelligence, when they skate hard on every shift, they're a very tough team to beat.

When they play, in other words, like P.J. Axelsson.

With so much media spotlight focused on teammates such as Joe Thornton, Sergei Samsonov and teenage prodigy Patrice Bergeron [news], the spindly Axelsson is hardly the biggest name on the Boston roster. But he is one of the true catalysts for the B's, who face the Blue Jackets in Columbus tonight.

``Axelsson has kind of been forgotten,'' said B's general manager Mike O'Connell as he watched practice yesterday. ``The game against Dallas (last Saturday) was probably (Axelsson's) best game of the year. And really the last 3-4 games he's played that same high-energy game. It makes a huge difference for our team.''

The 28-year-old Swede is a player whose worth cannot be measured strictly with numbers. His offensive production - two goals and three assists in 15 games - is rather small, ranking him just ninth on the team scoring list.

But there's no other forward in the league with five points who's as valuable.

``Axie has been playing great,'' said linemate Brian Rolston. ``When he's going, it makes our line better. He's so smart. You play with a lot of guys. Some guys really have the smarts. Some don't. They may be good athletically, but they just don't have the hockey smarts. Axie is a smart player.''

Playing on a line with penalty kill partner Rolston, and recently Travis Green, Axelsson has helped the Bruins collect 11 of a possible 14 points, with a 4-0-1-2 record in the last seven games. For Axelsson, the most recent wins are more indicative of the B's play than some of the victories they managed early in the season.

``We won some games, but I think our goalies stole a couple of games for us,'' he said. ``It wasn't really us playing that good. Lately we have been playing good. Finally. It took a little time. But now everyone is buying into what we have to do, and the results are coming from that.''

For the Axelsson-Rolston-Green threesome, results come from skating.

``I think we're skating better than we were earlier,'' said Axelsson, who at 184 pounds is the heaviest he's been in his seven-year career. ``That helps our game. All three of us are good skaters and we have to skate to do something out there. That's the key for us.''

B's coach Mike Sullivan, another guy whose NHL career was based largely on hard work and intelligence, regards Axelsson as a guy who can impact a game with and without the puck.

``He might be underappreciated by people who aren't close to the team,'' said Sullivan. ``But the players in here, the coaches, and people who are close to this team understand how valuable he is, how important he is to the team's success.

``He can play in a lot of situations. He understands the game so well. He's one of the best forecheckers there is. He closes on people so quickly. He's got an uncanny ability to get his stick on pucks. He creates a lot of havoc.''

With 18 shorthanded goals between them the last two seasons, Axelsson and Rolston are among the finest PK pairs in the game. In that regard, too, their recent play has helped the B's improve on an area that was not so good earlier.

``I just think over the last three or four games Rolston and Axelsson have played extremely well,'' said O'Connell. ``It makes a difference for our team when that line is going and playing the way they can.''

 

[the mugs]

Herald 11.14

Herald 11.14

No break in blue line: From top to bottom, B's defense solid

WILMINGTON - The term ``depth chart'' does not really apply where the Bruins' defensive corps is concerned. The B's blueliners don't fit readily into the slots commonly used to rank D-men and the sorts of roles they play.

All six have filled every role and done their jobs equally well. It's impossible to single out one player as the team's best defenseman. Nor can you name one who hasn't played well.

The average ice time given players reflects the parity of their performances: Nick Boynton, 23:07; Dan McGillis, 21:12; Sean O'Donnell, 20:27; Ian Moran, 19:16; Jeff Jillson [news], 18:32; Hal Gill, 16:54.

``I look at our defense corps, and I don't think there's a significant dropoff between No. 1 and No. 6 or 7,'' said coach Mike Sullivan. ``We feel our defensemen probably don't get the credit they deserve. That may have something to do with the marquee names we have up front. But we feel our defense corps really has been solid. It's a group that plays a simple game but very effective.''

=====

Great drawBruins video coordinator Brant Berglund passed along the insight yesterday that the Bruins have won more than 59 percent of their faceoffs over the last five games. For a club that last year had only one regular center who won more than half his draws (Jozef Stumpel, 54.7 percent), there has been quite an upgrade this fall. In Tuesday's 4-3 win against Edmonton, the B's won 50 and lost 16.

``In the offensive zone, it's a potential scoring chance for you; in the defensive one, it's a potential scoring chance against,'' said Sullivan. ``Faceoffs are a big deal. We certainly try to have an awareness of their importance.''

Last year, B's centers Joe Thornton (49.5 percent), Brian Rolston (47.6), Stock (44.5) and Marty McGinnis (42.6) won less than half their faceoffs.

 

[the mugs]

RECENT TRENDS

RECENT TRENDS

? BOS is 10-5 ATS in their last 15 overall.
? The Bruins are 3-0 on two days rest this year.
? BOS is 2nd overall ATS this year at 10-5-0.
? CLB is 5-2 ATS in their last seven home games.
? The BJ's are 3-7 ATS in their last ten games.
? Over is 4-1 in CLB's last five games this season.

 

[the mugs]

Recent Meetings

Recent Meetings

Date Home Away Line ATS
1/18/2003 Bos. 7 Clmb. 2 -0.5,-140/5.5 Bos./O (02-03)

2/4/2002 Clmb. 0 Bos. 8 0,160/5 Bos./O (01-02)
11/10/2001 Bos. 1 Clmb. 5 0,-320/5 Clmb./O

12/8/2000 Clmb. 3 Bos. 2 0,140/5.5 Clmb./U (00-01)

 

[ND2002HORNS]

Thanks for posting! GL

HORNS

 

[ddubs]

Good stuff, as always, mugsy. GO B's!

Are you making that hockey road trip to Phx with the fellas??

 

[the mugs]

dubbah -

I'm thinking Phoenix in February is never a bad thing. Throw in pucks, HORNS & the rest of the crew here and it could be a good weekend. Hopefully, you can get down to meet up with us. I know you mentioned your schedule comes out monthly so I will wait until January to hear from you

FDC - get my e-mail addy from MJ or from anyone that has it.

GO B's

 

[the mugs]

Don't have my records available right now but I got my arse handed to me in October. Down 15 units this year. This is my first wager in about 3 weeks so fade away if you feel differently.

B's -1/2 (-115) @ Columbus

BJ's 3rd in 4 nights and had to cross the border last night. Probably have Denis in between the pipes and the BJ's play well at home but B's have played well on the road and were sitting in Ohio last night just waiting for the Sens to whack around the BJ's. Generally, I stay away from B's games but I like this situation too much.