Thursday's Bruins...

[the mugs]

In a mega slump...In the red for the first time this year. Passing on today.

ATLANTA THRASHERS at
BOSTON BRUINS
Thursday, December 5, 2002
FleetCenter; Boston, Massachusetts
7:00 pm (ET) - Gametime
6:30 pm (ET) - Boston Globe Pre-Game Report
NESN
Tonight's Game
The Bruins host the Thrashers tonight in the second of four games between these clubs this season and the second of two games of this season's series at the FleetCenter. The Bruins are 16-4-3-1 overall and are 9-2-1-0 on home ice thus far this season. The Thrashers are 7-14-1-1 overall with a 2-8-1-0 record on the road thus far this season. The Bruins are 3-0-0-0 vs. Southeast Division opponents this season and are 11-1-2-0 overall vs. Eastern Conference foes. The Thrashers are 1-2-1-0 this season vs. Northeast Division opponents and they are 5-10-1-1 overall vs. Eastern Conference foes.

Lifetime Series
The Bruins are 7-4-1-1 lifetime vs. the Thrashers with the Thrashers holding a 45-43 scoring advantage in those 13 games. On home ice, the Bruins are 3-2-1-1 lifetime vs. Atlanta with the Thrashers having a 29-25 scoring edge in those seven games. The Bruins have won their last two games vs. Atlanta with their last loss to the Thrashers a 3-2 overtime setback in Boston on Dec. 18, 2001.

Recent Bruins Games
The Bruins had their five-game win streak snapped with a 4-0 loss to St. Louis on Dec. 3. That followed a 3-1 victory over Carolina on Nov. 21, a 4-1 victory over Buffalo on Nov. 23, a 7-2 win over Calgary on Nov. 26, a 4-2 win over Montreal on Nov. 29 and a 3-2 win in Pittsburgh on Nov. 30. They are 10-2-1-1 in their last 14 games and have taken points out of 20 of their last 23 games at 16-3-3-1, including an eight-game unbeaten streak at 6-0-2-0 from Oct. 14-30.

The Bruins have not lost consecutive games this year and have gone winless in consecutive games just once this season (0-1-1-0, Nov. 16-19).

Recent Thrashers Games
The Thrashers have won their last two games with a 7-4 victory over the NY Rangers on Nov. 28 and a 5-4 win over Washington on Dec. 1. They are 3-5-0-0 in their last eight games.

Upcoming Bruins Games
The Bruins conclude their current three-game home stand hosting Tampa Bay on Dec. 7 (1:00 p.m.; NESN & WBZ Radio). They will then face the Rangers in New York on Dec. 8 (1:00 p.m.; NESN & WBZ Radio).

Upcoming Thrashers Games
The Thrashers next travel to Washington to face the Capitals on Dec. 6. They will then return home to host Edmonton on Dec. 8.

Bruins Injuries
Sergei Samsonov: Groin strain; day-to-day.

Bruins Recent Transactions
Nov. 21: Jarno Kultanen and Matt Herr assigned to Providence/AHL.
Nov. 21: Andy Hilbert and Lee Goren recalled from Providence/AHL.
Nov. 23: Shaone Morrisonn returned to Providence/AHL.
Nov. 24: Andy Hilbert and Lee Goren returned to Providence/AHL.
Nov. 26: Andy Hilbert and Lee Goren recalled from Providence/AHL; returned to Providence/AHL after the game.

 

[the mugs]

Injury Report...

Injury Report...

Atlanta Injuries
Marc Savard C Groin Out 2-4 weeks
Richard Smehlik D Groin I-R
Lubos Bartecko LW Wrist Early Jan
Uwe Krupp D Back I-R

Boston Injuries
Joe Thornton C Ribs Doubt Thurs
Sergei Samsonov LW Wrist Ques Thurs
Marty McInnis C Shoulder day-to-day
Kyle McLaren D Holdout Out indefinitely

 

[the mugs]

Recent Meetings

Recent Meetings

Date Home Away Line ATS
10/26/2002 Bos. 4 Atl. 3 -1.5,110/6 Atl./O (02-03)

3/8/2002 Atl. 0 Bos. 3 0,220/6 Bos./U (01-02)
12/18/2001 Bos. 2 Atl. 3 -1.5,-120/6 Atl./U
12/4/2001 Atl. 2 Bos. 3 0,220/5.5 Bos./U
10/6/2001 Bos. 4 Atl. 3 0,-250/5.5 Bos./O

3/10/2001 Bos. 5 Atl. 7 0,-280/6 Atl./O (00-01)
2/9/2001 Atl. 5 Bos. 1 0,200/5.5 Atl./O
12/4/2000 Atl. 5 Bos. 4 0,-110/5.5 Atl./O
11/4/2000 Bos. 3 Atl. 8 0,-280/6 Atl./O

1/19/2000 Atl. 3 Bos. 4 0,160/5.5 Bos./O (99-00)

 

[the mugs]

Trends...

Trends...

Recent Trends
The under is 3-1 in the past four meetings.
ATL is 1-3 ATS in their last four away.
ATL is 1-6 ATS versus teams with a winning record.
The Bruins are 10-2 ATS in their last 12 overall.
The under is 4-2 in Boston's last six at home.
BOS is second in offense with 3.41 goals/gm for.

 

[the mugs]

Boston Globe 12/5/02

Boston Globe 12/5/02

Dafoe has one goal: Ex-Bruin eyes win in return to Hub

The reunion that mattered most to Byron Dafoe upon his return to Boston late yesterday afternoon was to rush directly from the airport to his home north of the city to get a few hours of quality time with his wife and two young children.

Dafoe will reintroduce himself to his old team tonight at the FleetCenter, when his Atlanta Thrashers meet a Bruins team that's eager to return to a winning track.

One of the most media-savvy athletes you'll ever see - likely heading for a post-hockey career in television or radio - Dafoe has been careful with his words in recent days as he looked to this match against the team he gave five years of first-rate goaltending.

Anyone anticipating rancorous remarks from Dafoe, who left town as an unrestricted free agent and had to settle for a cut-rate deal with the Thrashers ($1.25 million this season), will probably be disappointed.

``Deep down, would I like to beat the Bruins in Boston? Of course I would,'' said Dafoe. ``You always want to beat your old team. But that doesn't mean I'm mad at anyone. I've put everything behind me. I had a good five years and really enjoyed my time in Boston.

``I was sad to leave Boston and my friends on the team, but I never had an offer (from the Bruins) so it really wasn't my option to stay. I think the fans know that.''

Dafoe signed with the Thrashers two weeks ago and had five practices before jumping back into action. He'll make his fourth start tonight, taking the ice with a 2-1-0 record - a loss to Montreal, then wins over the Rangers and Capitals - 3.67 goals-against average and .866 save percentage. Those numbers, of course, suggest the 31-year-old is not yet in top form.

``I probably would like to have had a few more games before I had to face them,'' he said. ``But I feel that inch by inch I'm getting closer to the top of my game. It's nice to go into Boston with at least a couple of victories.''cw0

The Bruins are certainly looking forward to seeing their ex-mate - as long as they don't have to watch him skate off with his third win.

``I think Byron was very well-liked here,'' said winger Mike Knuble. ``He always worked hard, he battled his way back from his injuries. I think guys respected that. I think he was respected by the guys in the room, and well-liked by everyone.''

Knuble figures the Thrashers instantly became a much more dangerous opponent when they picked up Dafoe.

``Byron is going to win a certain number of games for them during the year - he did it for us,'' said Knuble. ``The games where your team maybe doesn't have it up front and you need your goaltender to win the game for you, he's got to stop 50 shots for a 2-1 win, that sort of thing. Byron has that capability.''

Dafoe would love to leave town with his third win, and B's coach Robbie Ftorek sees the Tharshers as a dangerous foe.

``I was looking at a tape of their game against Washington (a 5-4 win Sunday) and between periods there was an evaluation of San Jose, Atlanta and Ottawa,'' said Ftorek. ``They were looking at who the draft picks were, how they did after the first five years and then now. And Atlanta's got a real good group of players, equal to or maybe better than the group the other teams have at this juncture. I'm sure they're going to be able to move ahead at a pretty good pace.

``Byron looks good, he looks in good form,'' the coach added. ``He's probably not as 100 percent as he wants to be, but he looks good. I'm sure his timing is a little bit off. But if you didn't know him, I don't think you'd notice he wasn't as good as he can be. And every day he gets out there, he's going to be doing better and better.''

 

[the mugs]

Globe 12/5 Doubtful Thornton & Samsonov

Globe 12/5 Doubtful Thornton & Samsonov

Thornton another sore subject

Bumps and bruises continue to mount

The aches and pains piled a little higher yesterday on Causeway Street, sending Bruins captain Joe Thornton to the trainer's room after he barely suited up for the club's brief late-morning workout at the Vault.


All the while maintaining his standard-issue pleasant demeanor, a smiling Jumbo Joe categorized his malaise as ''everything ... ribs ... so we iced a couple of things.''

Thornton's prognosis for this evening, when Byron Dafoe and the Thrashers come to town? If it's up to Thornton, he'll play. However, it's up to the coach, and Robbie Ftorek didn't sound eager to put his prized center, now on the books to make a minimum $5.5 million next season, back on the front line.

''He says he's fine,'' said Ftorek. ''But I would think he is [questionable].''

Ditto for Sergei Samsonov, the Magical Muscovite, who sat out Tuesday night because of a groin pull. Samsonov skipped yesterday's workout, underwent one round of physical therapy, and planned to be back in the dressing room last night for another round of treatment.

Would that leave Samsonov a no-go for tonight?

''Correct,'' said Ftorek.

Not so fast, said Samsonov, who this season has battled through a sprained ankle, food poisoning, and a troublesome wrist injury that may require surgery after the season.

''The way I see it, we'll see how it goes,'' said Samsonov, who still wears a soft brace on his injured wrist, even when away from the rink. ''It didn't make any sense to skate [yesterday], but I'll take the warmups [tonight] and see from there.''

Thornton was in full gear for the start of practice, but returned to the dressing room before Ftorek had a first look at his newly-aligned forward trios. With both Samsonov and Thornton down, top right winger Glen Murray skated with Mike Knuble on his opposite wing and pint-sized pugilist P.J. Stock in the middle.

''[Thornton] got hit last night, so he's a little sore,'' said Ftorek, remaining his usual non-specific self when enumerating and detailing injuries. ''He's a little stiff and sore, but he wanted to work up a little sweat.''

His bumps and bruises weren't so much the result of a hit, said Thornton, as they were simply a byproduct of a busy couple of weeks on the ice. Chalk it up to occupational hazards.

''Nothing out of the ordinary,'' he said.

The Bruins obviously hope that's the case, given that Thornton finally has evolved into an impact center here in his sixth NHL season. He has 33 points in 24 games, triggering a gush of hyperbole that has some suggesting he is now the game's No. 1 player. He is not there yet, but he has elbowed his way among the likes of Mike Modano, Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic, and even Mario Lemieux(who had 14 more points than Thornton as of yesterday). Very nice company for a 23-year-old. He certainly is the best young player in today's game. Almost a third of the way through the season, he is on target to collect 113 points - about a 60 percent boost over the career-high 71 he collected two seasons ago under Mike Keenan's tutelage.

All's quiet

Ex-Bruins netminder Dafoe declined an interview request left Tuesday with the Thrashers' public relations office. A club spokesperson said Dafoe was passing papers on a house yesterday, prior to the club's flight here, and requested that all his interviews with the Boston media be held today at the arena ... Two other former Bruins, Shawn McEachern and Jeff Odgers, should be in the Atlanta lineup tonight. McEachern has been skating with Slava Kozlov(21 points/23 games) and Mark Hartigan. The nail-tough Odgers fills out a Tony Hrkac - Per Svartvadet trio ... Why it's hard to score: No fewer than 22 of the NHL's 30 teams as of yesterday were working with goaltending crews with collective save percentages of 90 percent or better. Boston's .922 was tied for second with Dallas, trailing only Minnesota (.925) ... Pittsburgh, leading the league with a 32 percent success rate on the man-advantage, already has 39 power-play goals. The Bruins had only 39 PPGs all of last season ... The Bruins, their power play ranked 12th overall (17.7 percent), already have scored 20 times on the advantage ... Martin Lapointe is the only Bruin with a negative plus-minus. In six games, he has one point (goal) and a minus-6. Best of the bunch: Knuble's plus-18 ... Ex-Bruins assistant coach Cap Raeder, one of Ftorek's former Needham High teammates, was victorious in his NHL head coaching debut Tuesday night when the Sharks edged the Coyotes. Two Bay Staters coached in the NHL the same night. ''It's not what he really wants to be doing,'' offered Ftorek. ''But I'm sure he's giving it 110 percent, like he does everything.'' The Sharks named Ron Wilson as their new head coach yesterday after firing Darryl Sutter over the weekend. Raeder now can go back to his scouting duties for the Sharks ... If you're coming to FleetStreet for Saturday's 1 o'clock matinee vs. the hard-charging Bolts, bring a new, unwrapped gift and leave it with the Toys For Tots.

Thrashers thumbnails

When, where: Tonight, 7 at the FleetCenter.

TV/radio: NESN, WBZ (1030).

Records: Boston is 16-4-3-1 for 36 points, first in the Northeast Division; Atlanta is 7-14-1-1 for 16 points, fifth in the Southeast Division.

Goals: Ilya Kovalchuk 12, Shawn McEachern 9, Patrik Stefan 8.

Assists: Dany Heatley 18, Slava Kozlov 16, McEachern 8.

Goaltenders: Pasi Nurminen (5-5-1, 3.41 GAA), Byron Dafoe (2-1-0, 3.69).

Head to head

This is the second meeting of the season. The Bruins won, 4-3, Oct. 26 at the FleetCenter.

Miscellany

The Thrashers have won their last two games, including a 5-4 triumph over Washington Sunday ... Atlanta started the season 0-9-1 ... Former Bruin McEachern had two assists in the Oct. 26 meeting. Center Tony Hrkac had a goal and an assist ... Atlanta is 11th in the league in scoring at 2.83 goals per game, but last in the NHL, allowing 3.83 goals per game.

 

[Frogy]

Mugs any news from Sergei Samsonov and thornton?

Will wait for news from you before going on the over

TX

 

[the mugs]

Frogy,

All newspapers seem to think Joe & Sergei will be sitting tonight. If I hear otherwise, I will post.

Good luck tonight

 

[Frogy]

Mugs make some phone calls..........i want samsonov and thornton on the ice at 19:30.

 

[the mugs]

Frogy...The phone lines have been busy :shrug:

Seriously, I want them healthy and skating tonight too! I need to get some connections like HORNS has...

Mugs

 

[no all]

I heard thonton say he is fine and that he will play tonight:shrug:

 

[ice_4963]

mugs -1.5 is a tough one with dafoe coming back to the garden (fleece center) i think he will have a good game bruins still win but i dont think they cover especiall if joe and sergi dont play.