Friday's Bruins...

[the mugs]

I don't know what to make of this team, especially the "D". Their passing over the last couple nights has been awful. On PP's the D to D passes have been on the back hand, outlet passes have been in skates. It's been bad. Don't trust 'em right now.

I'm pretty busy today at work so I will get as much out as I can...

BOSTON BRUINS at FLORIDA PANTHERS

Friday, February 14, 2003
Office Depot Center; Sunrise FL
7:30 PM (ET) - Gametime
7:00 PM (ET) - Boston Globe Pre-Game Report
NESN

Tonight?s Game
The Bruins visit the Panthers tonight in the third of four games between these clubs this season and the second of two games of this season's series at the Office Depot Center. The Bruins are 27-21-5-2 overall and are 10-12-2-1 on the road thus far this season. The Panthers are 16-21-11-8 overall with a 7-12-6-4 record on home ice thus far this season. The Bruins are 6-5-2-0 vs. Southeast Division opponents this season and they are 19-17-4-0 overall vs. Eastern Conference foes. The Panthers are 3-4-2-1 this season vs. Northeast Division opponents and they are 12-13-7-6 overall vs. Eastern Conference foes.

Lifetime Series
The Bruins are 16-16-4-1 lifetime vs. the Panthers with Florida holding a 102-101 scoring edge in those 37 games. On the road, the Bruins are 9-8-0-1 lifetime vs. Florida with each team scoring 50 goals in those 18 contests. The Bruins are 0-1-1-0 vs. Florida in this season's series thus far with a 3-3 tie in Boston on Dec. 21 and a 3-0 loss in Florida on Jan. 15.

Recent Bruins Games
The Bruins have lost their last two games with a 5-2 setback to Pittsburgh on Feb. 8 and a 3-1 loss in Montreal on Feb. 11 in the first game of their current seven-game road trip. They have taken points out of seven of their last ten games at 5-3-1-1 with their last win a 6-3 victory over Montreal on Feb. 6. They are 6-6-1-1 in their last 14 games.

Recent Panthers Games
The Panthers are winless in their last two games at 0-1-1-0 with a 4-4 tie with Tampa Bay on Feb. 8 and a 3-1 loss to the NY Rangers on Feb. 12. They are 1-3-2-0 in their last six games with their lone win in that span a 6-0 victory in Pittsburgh on Feb. 6, and are 4-10-2-1 in their last 17 contests.

Upcoming Bruins Games
The Bruins play game two of their current seven-game road trip tonight, continuing the trip in Tampa Bay (Feb. 15, 7:30 p.m.), Nashville (Feb. 17, 8:00 p.m.), Carolina (Feb. 19, 7:00 p.m.), New Jersey (Feb. 21, 7:30 p.m.) and NY Islanders (Feb. 23, 1:00 p.m.). All of the road games will be telecast on NESN with all games also broadcast on WBZ Radio.

Upcoming Panthers Games
The Panthers play game three of their current four-game home stand tonight, concluding the stand hosting Washington on Feb. 15. They will then face a three-game road trip to Montreal, Ottawa and Philadelphia.

Bruins Injuries
Richard Brennan: Right ankle bruise suffered Jan. 28 vs. Nashville; out indefinitely.
Sean O'Donnell: Right knee sprain suffered Feb. 4 vs. Colorado; out indefinitely.
Sergei Samsonov: Dec. 24 right wrist surgery; out indefinitely.
Rob Zamuner: Right foot fracture suffered Jan. 7 in Toronto; day-to-day.

Bruins February Transactions
Feb. 5: Kris Vernarsky and Shaone Morrisonn recalled from Providence/AHL.
Feb. 10: Shaone Morrisonn returned to Providence/AHL.
Feb. 10: Zdenek Kutlak recalled from Providence/AHL.

 

[the mugs]

UPDATED: February 11, 2003

Lines stay the same

The Bruins lines are scheduled to remain the same as they were yesterday in practice.

Those lines are as follows:

White: Joe Thornton, Glen Murray, Mike Knuble
Gold: Jozef Stumpel, Kris Vernarsky, Marty McInnis
Red: Brian Rolston, Martin Lapointe, P.J. Axelsson
Teal: P.J. Stock, Krzysztof Oliwa, Michal Grosek

 

[the mugs]

Boston Injuries
Sean O'Donnell D Knee Mid Mar
Rich Brennan D Ankle Late Feb
Rob Zamuner LW Foot Late Feb
Sergei Samsonov F Wrist Mid Mar

Florida Injuries
Branislav Mezei D Foot Out indefinitely
Paul Laus D Wrist Out indefinitely

 

[the mugs]

B's / Panthers past history

B's / Panthers past history

Recent Meetings
Date Home Away Line ATS
1/15/2003 Fla. 3 Bos. 0 0.5,-125/5 Fla./U (02-03)
12/21/2002 Bos. 3 Fla. 3 -0.5,-220/5.5 Fla./O

3/23/2002 Fla. 1 Bos. 3 0,240/5.5 Bos./U (01-02)
2/9/2002 Bos. 4 Fla. 1 -1.5,-105/5.5 Bos./U
1/26/2002 Bos. 4 Fla. 2 -1.5,-110/5.5 Bos./O
12/28/2001 Fla. 1 Bos. 7 0,135/5 Bos./O

2/16/2001 Fla. 2 Bos. 1 0,105/5.5 Fla./U (00-01)
1/22/2001 Bos. 2 Fla. 3 0,-240/5.5 Fla./U
12/29/2000 Fla. 3 Bos. 0 0,115/5.5 Fla./U
10/9/2000 Bos. 4 Fla. 2 0,130/6 Bos./P

 

[the mugs]

Trends...

Trends...

Recent Trends
Boston is 2-10 ATS in their last 12 away.
The under is 4-2-1 in BOS's last seven overall.
The under is 6-3 in the past nine meetings.
Florida is 4-9 ATS in their last 13 at home.
The over is 3-1 in Florida's last four overall.
FLO is 27th in PK at 80.07%.

 

[the mugs]

Boston Globe 2-14-03

Boston Globe 2-14-03

Another big assist

Thornton takes over at practice

SUNRISE, Fla. -- When the Bruins took the ice for practice yesterday morning at the Office Depot Center, there were a few people missing. Given the fatigue and injuries that have affected the team at various points this season, that wouldn't be news. But in this instance, the missing links were coaches.

Assistant coach Wayne Cashman was forced to the sidelines by recent knee surgery, but coach Robbie Ftorek and assistant Jim Hughes elected to stay away from practice, handing the reins to 23-year-old captain Joe Thornton.

During a four-on-four, pond-style game, Thornton was aided on the bench by defenseman Bryan Berard and veteran right wing Martin Lapointe.

''We have a couple of potential good coaches in here, which is nice to see,'' said Thornton. ''I'm definitely not one of them, though.''

Eventually, everyone got their two cents in, especially when resident jokester P.J. Stock refused to come off the ice at the end of the shift.

''He's an ice hog, isn't he?'' kidded Thornton. ''I've got to tell Coach about that. He had the one shift where we were going to pull him off, but he ended up staying out there. He said the four-on-four opened it up for him. He crashes the net hard, that's what he's here for.''

Yesterday's skate was more fun than meaningful workout, but the message was clear: The players must retain their focus. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the beach beckoned, but no one strayed from the task at hand.

''Hey, we're here to play hockey,'' said Thornton. ''We sweated, but mentally it's like a day off because we just had some fun out there. We just got a little bead on to just get ready for [tonight].''

When you've lost four of your last five games (one in overtime) and are locked in a tight race for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, there's little time to get caught up in the atmosphere of the outdoors, except maybe to rub it in to those shivering up north.

''I talked to my buddies back home and it's freezing,'' said Thornton, referring to his native St. Thomas, Ontario. ''They just had a blizzard. I said, `Hey man, it's nice weather down here.' But it's not tough to get into a hockey mood, that's for sure. I enjoy playing down here and get out of the cold once in a while. I couldn't play down here for all 82 games, but maybe for a week it's nice. I like the snow. I like the winter season to get into the feel of hockey. But [the warm weather] just feels good on your bones. All those aches and pains you feel in the cold weather, it's all gone.''

Ftorek said he weighed how to handle the workload with two days between games.

''We were going to maybe not even skate,'' said Ftorek, referring to yesterday when the team spent an afternoon at the home of owner Jeremy Jacobs. ''But we just thought it would be a good idea. We had a practice [Wednesday] and worked on some things like the power play. We had a pretty good little skate. We have two games back to back [with Florida tonight and Tampa Bay tomorrow]. If we were home, we probably would've had one of the two days off anyhow. Some of the guys wanted to skate, so we just thought it would be a good idea.''

Ftorek wasn't concerned his players would disappear to South Beach or some other party location because they know what's on the line. However, it never hurts to be cautious.

''You just have to watch yourselves,'' he said. ''You have to be cognizant that you've got games coming up, but the guys know what they can do and what they can't do. I've never really had a problem with some time off during the course of a trip.''

Because of the two-games-in-two-nights schedule, Thornton said it was important to keep shifts short.

''We've been pretty good on back-to-back nights,'' he said. ''[Ftorek] plays us a lot but we do quicker shifts. We use our energy a lot, but more effectively. We'll have short, hard shifts. If we can stay out of the [penalty] box, we'll be a little bit fresher for Tampa.''

=====

Hello again

Rob Zamuner might meet the team in Tampa to get in some skating with his teammates. Zamuner, who suffered a broken right foot Jan. 7 during a game at Toronto, had been working out with conditioning coach John Whitesides and is closing in on a return. Defenseman Rich Brennan will be sidelined a while longer because of a bruised right ankle suffered Jan. 28 against Nashville. Ftorek said the bruise is in the worst place. ''It's right between the two bones,'' Ftorek said. ''It's just brutal and it doesn't get better, except for time. I said to him, `If it's not right, you can't be on the ice because you're just aggravating it.' '' . . . After facing the Lightning tomorrow, the Bruins will head to Nashville, Carolina, and New Jersey before wrapping up the seven-game trip against the Islanders.

 

[the mugs]

Globe 2-13

Globe 2-13

Bruins must take advantage

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. -- Over their last four games, the Bruins have converted only 1 of 18 power-play opportunities. If the team is going to be successful on this critical seven-game road trip -- which resumes tomorrow night against the Florida Panthers -- coaches and players agree they have to put up better numbers.

''We've got to be better getting into the zone and making some decisions coming through the neutral zone,'' said coach Robbie Ftorek, who ran his club through an hourlong skate yesterday at the Panthers' practice rink known as Incredible Ice. ''Then once we get in the zone, making [a pass] right away and not hesitating. If you hesitate, then sticks will get on them and it could be because we're not making the crisp pass, but it might be because we're just hesitating for half a second because we want it to be perfect. It's not necessarily the perfect play, it's the quick play that's going to get it done.''

Bryan Berard, one of the quarterbacks during the man-advantage, said he takes some of the responsibility for the Bruins' minislump. He said he agreed with assistant coach Wayne Cashman's assertion that their passing at the start of the power play was short-circuiting their chances.

''The most important pass, and Cash has been talking about it, is coming out of the zone,'' said Berard. ''Our power play struggles when our breakout struggles. When we get in the zone, we seem to move the puck around real well and get our chances when we get it in. It seems like we get frustrated a little too easily when the breakouts aren't going well. That's probably the defense's fault. I take a lot of blame for that. That first pass has to be good enough to get into the [offensive] zone with no problem.''

Berard said he's probably also guilty, as are all the point men, of trying to force the puck into the zone, which has led to turnovers and forced them to chase the puck rather than control it. By doing that, they lose precious seconds off the power play.

''The problem is, if you go up once and it doesn't work, then I know I start to get frustrated and try to squeeze something or make a pass that's really not there instead of just dumping it in or regrouping and trying again,'' said Berard. ''That's one thing we really have to do, myself, [Brian Rolston and Jonathan Girard], we've just got to settle things down and if something isn't there, then just back up and regroup and start over again instead of getting ourselves frustrated.''

Lately, Boston has been falling behind and has tried to generate some offense during the power play in order to get back into the contest. But in the last two outings -- losses to Pittsburgh and Montreal -- the Bruins were fruitless in eight tries.

''It depends on the game, but if you're down a goal, and you're trying to score and you really want to do something to give the team some jump or even to score a goal, you might try a play that's really not there instead of regrouping and trying to create something else,'' said Berard. ''That is human nature, especially myself. I find myself getting frustrated a little bit too much.''

Despite missing on four chances against the Canadiens, Berard said it wasn't for lack of scoring opportunities. ''I thought we had some real good chances but the chances we had we just didn't get the puck up on [goalie Mathieu Garon],'' said Berard. ''I thought he made some big saves down low. We were shooting the puck a little too low. I know [Rolston] had a great chance in the third on a one-timer. We've just got to keep plugging. I think the most important thing is our breakout. When our breakout is working good, we seem to score goals.''

One area in which Berard believes the Bruins have improved is creating traffic.

''I think at the beginning of the year, that was a concern, but I think Marty Lapointe and Mike Knuble are both doing a great job,'' Berard said. ''Every time I look up, one of them is in front. As a defenseman, we really have to do a good job of getting our shots through. Sometimes I'm thinking score too much instead of getting it down there so they can make something happen. If we can chip in a goal or two goals on the power play every night, if we get our chances, we're going to win some games. We've got a talented group on the power play. We just have to make plays.''

=====

The weather has been perfect here but the Bruins have had no time to lounge around. They didn't get into their hotel rooms until 4:30 a.m. yesterday after arriving from Montreal. They practiced in the afternoon before getting back from the rink around 5 p.m. This morning, they are scheduled to skate at 9 at the Office Depot Center and then are planning to bus to the palatial estate of owner Jeremy Jacobs. ''That was thrown in,'' Ftorek said. ''It's a good chance for the guys to meet Mr. Jacobs, whom a lot of them don't know and to get to know him just a touch. I think it's a terrific thing to know whom you're playing for. We need a break. We have a lot of guys playing a lot of minutes.''

 

[the mugs]

Boston Herald 2-14-03

Boston Herald 2-14-03

Florida not just playground for B's

SUNRISE, Fla. - The Bruins didn't exactly get a day off in sunny South Florida yesterday, but they got the next best thing.

When their 9 a.m. practice began at the Office Depot Center, there were no coaches to be found near the ice. No Robbie Ftorek. No Jim Hughes. No Wayne Cashman.

And without any eyes watching over them, the B's did what hockey players of any age do in that situation - they had fun.

P.J. Stock got as much ice time as he wanted. Krzysztof Oliwa was seen raising his arms triumphantly more than once (``Three top shelf goals,'' he later declared proudly). And, by the end, gloves and sticks were strewn all over the ice as Stock, Bryan Berard and Jozef Stumpel staged a mock melee after Stock accidentally plowed over Zdenek Kutlak.

``It's just a fun day,'' Joe Thornton said. ``We practiced hard (Wednesday), practiced our penalty kill and power play, and today was just more of a relaxing day and we can get focused for (tonight's game against the Floria Panthers).''

As captain, Thornton was the de facto coach on the ice, but he doesn't think that that will be his next occupation.

``We have a couple of good professional coaches here, which is nice to see. I'm definitely not one of them, though,'' Thornton said.

While he didn't give them the whole day off, Ftorek said he thought the time was right for something a little less structured.

``We had a good practice (Wednesday), we worked on the power play and we had a pretty good little skate and we've got back-to-back games (tonight and tomorrow, in Tampa),'' Ftorek said. ``If we were home, we probably would have had one of the two days off anyway. But some of the guys wanted to skate, so we thought this would be a good idea.''

The Bruins, who spent the rest of the day at owner Jeremy Jacobs' estate for a cookout, are one game into perhaps the most crucial stretch of the season, a seven-game road trip that could solidify their playoff standing or, quite frankly, break them.

They're in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, but only two points ahead of the seventh-place New York Islanders and just four points ahead of the ninth-place Tampa Bay Lightning, their opponent tomorrow night.

But if the players are going to let their minds wonder from the task at hand, there's no better place to let that happen than here. Their hotel in Fort Lauderdale is just a mile from the beach, pleasure boats are docked in the canal just off the hotel grounds and the overcoats and sweaters temporarily have been stowed away, replaced by shorts and T-shirts.

The thought of work does not naturally pop into one's mind here. But the B's indeed are in Florida to do some very important work.

``You just have to watch yourselves,'' Ftorek said. ``You just have to be cognizant that you've got games coming up. But the guys know what they can and can't do.''

And the players said getting up for tonight's game shouldn't be a problem.

``It's cold back in Boston and it's nice to be down here for a few days in the warm weather, but we've got to win some games and make the playoffs,'' defenseman Nick Boynton said. ``Everyone knows what the deal is.''