Saturday's Bruins...

[the mugs]

This one could be sloppy tonight boys. This will be Calgary's 4th game in 6 days and it's the Bruins 3rd in 4 days. Also, it's a back to back night for the Bruins as they played in Atlanta last night. Calgary could get the jump on Boston early as they were in their hotels last night. Both teams could be tired by the third period tonight.

Here we go...

CALGARY FLAMES at
BOSTON BRUINS
Saturday, March 9, 2002
FleetCenter; Boston, Massachusetts
7:00 pm (ET) - Gametime
UPN-38
Tonight's Game
The Bruins host the Flames tonight in the only meeting of these teams this season and the Flames' only visit of the season to the FleetCenter. The Bruins are 33-20-5-7 overall this season with a 19-8-1-4 record on home ice. The Flames are 27-25-9-3 overall this season with an 11-14-5-1 record on the road. The Bruins are 3-3-0-0 vs. Northwest Division opponents thus far this season and are 8-6-3-2 overall vs. Western Conference foes. The Flames are 3-3-1-0 vs. Northeast Division opponents thus far this season and are 7-9-1-0 overall vs. Eastern Conference foes.

Lifetime Series
The Bruins are 48-29-9-1 lifetime vs. the Flames franchise (includes Atlanta) with a 306-278 scoring edge in those 87 games. On home ice, the Bruins are 26-12-6-1 lifetime vs. the Calgary franchise with a 157-124 scoring advantage in those 45 contests. The Bruins are winless in their last three games vs. Calgary at 0-2-0-1 with their last win over the Flames a 5-1 victory in Boston on Jan. 4, 1999.

Recent Bruins Games
The Bruins snapped a four-game losing and five-game winless (0-4-1-0) streak with a 3-0 win at Atlanta on Mar. 8. That followed a 3-3 tie at the NY Islanders on Feb. 26, a 6-2 loss to Carolina on Feb. 28, a 4-3 setback in Buffalo on Mar. 1, a 4-1 loss to Philadelphia on Mar. 4 and a 5-3 loss in Montreal on Mar. 6. The Bruins are 7-5-2-0 in their last 14 games and have taken points out of 16 of their last 24 games at 11-8-2-3.

The Bruins are 6-3-1-1 in their last 11 home games and are 14-6-1-2 in their last 23 home contests. They are 4-3-1-0 in their last eight road games and are 9-6-1-2 in their last 18 road contests.

Recent Flames Games
The Flames have lost just once in the six games since the Olympic break at 4-1-1 with a 2-2 tie in Colorado on Feb. 26, 3-2 win over St. Louis on Feb. 28, 5-2 win over Nashville on Mar. 2, 5-3 victory at NY Rangers on Mar. 4, 3-2 loss in Washington on Mar. 6 and 4-2 victory at Philadelphia on Mar. 7. They are 5-4-1-1 in their last 11 games overall.

Upcoming Bruins Games
The Bruins next travel to New York to face the Rangers on Mar. 13 (8:00 p.m.; ESPN & WBZ Radio). They will then return home to host Toronto on Mar. 14 (7:00 p.m.; NESN & WBZ Radio) and Detroit on Mar. 16 (3:00 p.m.; ABC & WBZ Radio).

Upcoming Flames Games
The Flames continue their current nine-game road trip (2-1-0-0 thus far) at Carolina on Mar. 11, Florida on Mar. 13, Tampa Bay on Mar. 14, Columbus on Mar. 16 and Minnesota on Mar. 18. They will next play at home hosting San Jose on Mar. 21.

Bruins Injuries
Mike Knuble: Sore back; day-to-day.
Martin Lapointe: Aggravated hamstring injury; day-to-day.
Kyle McLaren: Dec. 28 surgery to repair a torn right wrist ligament; out indefinitely.
Joe Thornton: Shoulder injury; day-to-day.
Total Man-Games Lost: 138

Bruins Recent Transactions
Mar. 1: Joe Thornton suspended by NHL for three games.
Mar. 5: Marty McInnis acquired from Anaheim for 2002 third round draft pick.
Mar. 5: Andy Hilbert returned to Providence/AHL.

Flames Injuries
Ron Niedermayer C Knee Day to Day
Dave Lowry LW Shoulder Out Indefinitely
Scott Nichol C knee Day to Day
Brad Werenka D Concussion Out Indefinitely

 

[Centre Ice]

Was waiting for you

Both tired teams and Dafoe hasn't been sharp lately and I wonder if they'll rest him tonight.

And Saturdays are usually more in the higher scoring days.

 

[the mugs]

CI...It's good to know I'm wanted. Found an article about DaFoe and his play of late...

Recent Trends
The Flames have won the last three meetings ATS.
Calgary is 3-8 ATS after win when away.
CAL is 27th in PP at 81.5%.
The over is 4-1 in the last five meetings.
The under is 4-1 in Boston's last five at home.
BOS is 1-4 ATS in their last five overall.

Tonight's game is the only time the two teams have met since last year. Past season's games usually don't amount to much but Calgary has owned the Bruins since early '99 and Calgary is 6-3-1 in the last ten against each other. That's why I put this in.

Recent Meetings
Date Home Away Line ATS
10/20/2000 Cal. 3 Bos. 2 0,-145/6 Cal./U
1/24/2000 Bos. 3 Cal. 4 0,-150/5.5 Cal./O
2/12/1999 Cal. 4 Bos. 3 -0.5,120/5 Cal./O
1/4/1999 Bos. 5 Cal. 1 -0.5,-170/5.5 Bos./O
3/12/1998 Bos. 2 Cal. 5 -0.5,-145/5.5 Cal./O
10/18/1997 Cal. 0 Bos. 3 -0.5,-120/5.5 Bos./U
2/11/1997 Cal. 5 Bos. 1 -0.5,-115/6.5 Cal./U
12/7/1996 Bos. 1 Cal. 1 -0.5,-125/6 Cal./U
2/24/1996 Cal. 1 Bos. 2 -0.5,-110/6 Bos./U
12/16/1995 Bos. 6 Cal. 3 -0.5,-170/6.5 Bos./O

 

[the mugs]

Thornton, Lapointe & McLaren

Thornton, Lapointe & McLaren

Thornton expects MRI on injured shoulder

ATLANTA - When Joe Thornton was down on the ice after hurting his left shoulder during practice Thursday, P.J. Stock nudged him several times with his skate. Then Sean O'Donnell speared him. They thought Thornton was faking and they were playing along. But as it turned out, Thornton wasn't.

''I was like, `What are you guys doing here, come on!''' Thornton said yesterday. ''They thought I was fooling around.''

So instead of last night's game against Atlanta being his first back after a three-game suspension, he will have to wait until at least Wednesday before he can rejoin the lineup.

Thornton is expecting to have an MRI today when he gets back to Boston and he will miss tonight's contest against Calgary at the FleetCenter. Thornton said the injury was a freak accident.

''I was just shooting pucks and I was turning and I kind of fell and hit the boards,'' he said. ''I was down and I was thinking, `This doesn't feel kind of right,' so I went over to see [trainer Don Del Negro]. Obviously, you want to play every game. I've been healthy all year and then something like this happens ... it's very strange. I just have to get better and come back even stronger now. Donnie seems pretty optimistic. I kind of had the same thing in my other shoulder a couple of years ago and hopefully I can still play with it.''

Thornton said his shoulder was still sore after a night of rest.

''I just can't move it behind me,'' he said. ''It's tight. I'm taking some anti-inflammatories so we'll see what happens there.''

The Bruins lost all three games of Thornton's suspension and are 0-4-1 in their last five.

''It's a blow,'' said goalie Byron Dafoe. ''It's one of those times in the season where you have to face the adversity. We're not winning games at the moment and we've got some key injuries. I think you have to look at it as an opportunity to step up a level and pull our team through this.

''It will obviously only get better when the guys get back. We hate to keep talking about it but we're fine, we'll get it going, better sooner than later. We want to get the monkey off our back and let everyone just breathe a little easier around here. It's getting a little tense at the moment. We've got to deal with it and get through it.''

Thornton wasn't the only one missing. Martin Lapointe, who played a strong game in Montreal in just his second game back after a month-long absence because of a hamstring strain, aggravated the muscle and is out until at least Wednesday.

''The last 31/2 minutes [against the Canadiens], I was in on the forecheck and I hit a guy into the boards and I wanted to give him a little extra push and that's when I felt it,'' said Lapointe. ''It's just stupid stuff like that. I kept playing the last minute but I had no jump.''

Wrist watch

It isn't set in stone but Kyle McLaren, who has been out since Dec. 22 because of wrist surgery, may make his return Wednesday against the Rangers in New York. McLaren will see the doctor Monday and is expecting to be cleared to play. McLaren said he expects his minutes to be reduced dramatically at first, but won't change his aggressive style. ''I can't change it,'' he said... The Bruins face the Rangers Wednesday, host Toronto the next night, and play the powerhouse Red Wings at home next Saturday ...

 

[the mugs]

DaFoe

DaFoe

Dafoe steps it up

Unhappy with his performance in Montreal, Bruins goalie Byron Dafoe was extra motivated last night - and stopped all 21 shots he faced for his fourth shutout.

``I tried to get myself charged up a little more than normal and be extra sharp,'' said Dafoe. ``Sometimes you have to kick yourself in the butt to get yourself going. I had a lot of help defensively and we had some timely goals, which we hadn't been getting. One win, that's all this is - but it's a big win to get us going in the right direction.'' . . .

Thrashers wingers Ilya Kovalchuk and Dany Heatley, who are far ahead of the pack in the rookie scoring race, will almost certainly be the top two finishers for the Calder Trophy. On P.J. Axelsson's shorthanded goal, Heatley gave the puck away to Brian Rolston, then coasted back - giving Axelsson room to easily knock in Rolston's rebound. . . .

Forward Rob Zamuner, who returned to action after missing two games with a hip strain, remembered Bryan Fogarty - the former NHLer whose immense talent was wrecked by addictions to alcohol and drugs. Fogarty died earlier in the week in South Carolina at 32.

Zamuner and Fogarty, who had a brief tryout with the Bruins a few years ago, spent time in training camp together with Tampa Bay.

``He was just a quiet, soft-spoken guy,'' said Zamuner. ``You'd hear his reputation and all, but we didn't see any of that. He was just a real nice person. It's really sad.''

 

[ND2002HORNS]

mugs,

Do you like the over in tonights game? I am leaning that way.

GL & thanks for all your hard work!

HORNS

 

[the mugs]

Hey man...That's my initial lean to the game tonight. The B's "D" hasn't been so hot since coming back from the O-break. Both teams should be tired as Calg is playing it's 4th/6 days and Bos is playing 3rd/4 night (plus b2b with travel)

Lately, every B's game I have bet on, the opposite has happened so I'm a little gunshy tonight. If you're on it, maybe I can tag along with you?

Jim