Tuesday's Bruins...

[the mugs]

OK, I'm hoping to get back in the swing here...I can't say I've followed too much so far this season but I'm hoping I've turned a corner and can contribute more.

Here we go...

BOSTON BRUINS vs. COLORADO AVALANCHE
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
Pepsi Center; Denver CO

Tonight?s Game
The Bruins visit the Avalanche tonight in the only game between these teams this season. The Bruins are 3-1-2-0 thus far this season with a 3-1-1-0 road record. The Avalanche are 2-2-0-0 thus far this season with a 1-1-0-0 home record. The Bruins are playing their first game of the season vs. a Northwest Division opponent tonight and are 3-0-0-0 vs. Western Conference opponents. The Avalanche are playing their first game of the season tonight against both a Northeast Division opponent and Eastern Conference foe.

Lifetime Series
The Bruins are 66-45-15-1 lifetime vs. the Colorado franchise (includes Quebec) with a 507-425 scoring advantage in those 127 games. On the road, the Bruins are 35-24-6-0 lifetime vs. the Avalanche franchise with a 267-233 scoring edge in those 65 contests. The Bruins split last season?s series with the Avalanche, winning a 2-1 decision in Colorado on Oct. 14, 2002 and dropping a 3-2 overtime game to the Avalanche in Boston on Feb. 4, 2003.

Recent Bruins Games
The Bruins are unbeaten in their last four games at 3-0-1-0 and have taken points out of five of their first six games of the season at 3-1-2-0 with a 3-3 tie vs. New Jersey on Oct. 8, a 5-1 loss in Tampa Bay on Oct. 10, a 1-1 tie in Florida on Oct. 11, a 2-0 win in Dallas on Oct. 15, a 4-3 win in Los Angeles on Oct. 18 and a 4-3 overtime win in Anaheim on Oct. 19.

Recent Avalanche Games
The Avalanche are 2-2-0-0 in their first four games of this season with a 5-0 win over Chicago on Oct. 10, a 2-1 loss to St. Louis on Oct. 12, a 5-2 win over Minnesota on Oct. 16 and a 5-3 loss to Edmonton on Oct. 18.

Upcoming Bruins Games
The Bruins conclude their current six-game road trip tonight (3-1-1-0 thus far). They will next return home to host Carolina on Oct. 23 (7:30 p.m.). Both games are broadcast on both NESN and WBZ Radio.

Upcoming Avalanche Games
The Avalanche open a two-game home stand tonight, concluding by hosting Edmonton on Oct. 23. They will then face the Predators in Nashville on Oct. 25.

Bruins Injuries
Rob Zamuner: Hamstring strain; out indefinitely.

Bruins October Transactions
Oct. 3: Travis Green acquired from Columbus for 2004 sixth round draft pick; Andy Hilbert and Zdenek Kutlak assigned to Providence/AHL.
Oct. 5: Steve Shields traded to Florida for future considerations.
Oct. 6: Patrice Bergeron signed to a three-year contract; Sergei Zinovjev assigned to Providence/AHL.
Oct. 14: Ivan Huml and P. J. Stock assigned to 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 are tonight completing the third of their 29 season series. They are 1-0-0-0 vs. Anaheim and are 1-0-0-0 vs. Los Angeles.

 

[the mugs]

Bergeron fitting right in

Patrice Bergeron is easily the surprise of the Bruins' young season, having made the team out of training camp as an 18-year-old. The best part is that he just keeps getting better.

Bergeron has 1-3=4 totals in the past two games and 1-4=5 totals on the season, putting him near the top of the scoring list for rookies. Lately, he has been featured on a line with Brian Rolston and P.J. Axelsson, and his play has impressed both of his veteran linemates.

"He's very mature and he's very poised on the ice," said Rolston. "He doesn't throw the puck away. He's very calm out there. It's something that you just don't see in an 18-year-old very often. He's very calm with the puck, very patient with the puck.

"He's great for our line. I told Axelsson, we finally have somebody that can pass on our line. It's a good thing. I just want to shoot the puck whenever I get it. We're excited to have him on our line."

Rolston has been impressed with Bergeron's ability to play on special teams at the NHL-level.

"He's playing penalty kill, he's playing power play," said Rolston. "I'm sure the organization and Sully have a lot of confidence in him, because they wouldn't use him in situations like that if they didn't. I think that is just going to make him a better player."

=====

Jillson making his presence felt

Jeff Jillson has played extremely well thus far this season. Aside from his offensive production (2-1=3 in six games), Jillson has been steady on defense and a presence on the ice, which hasn't escaped the notice of coach Mike Sullivan.

"Everyday he gets more comfortable out there," said Sullivan. "I think he came into camp in the right mindset, because he was in great shape and was in control of all the things he could be in control of in order to give himself the chance to succeed. Now we want to encourage him to play hard, compete, battle, and use his instincts and we want to help him in the areas that we can.

"He's a guy who sees the ice very well. He makes the first pass as good as most defenseman in the league. He's a big kid that can be a physical presence. He's got a big shot on the power play and he brings a lot of things to the table."

Sullivan said that Jillson answered questions about whether he belonged in the NHL by getting himself into great shape before training camp.

"The question was, 'Was it the right time for him to make the jump?'" said Sullivan. "Once again it goes back to trying to put the player in the position to succeed. I think he really helped himself this summer by the way he trained. I think he was in better shape than he's ever been. I think he's picked up a step foot speed-wise, probably due to his conditioning. He's been one of our better defenseman so far."

 

[the mugs]

Injuries - Covers.com

Injuries - Covers.com

Boston Injuries
Jonathan Girard D Hip out for season
Rob Zamuner F Hamstring Out indefinitely

Colorado Injuries
Peter Worrell LW Knee Out indefinitely

(EDIT - Added Sports Network info)

NHL Injuries from The Sports Network

BOSTON BRUINS - Defenseman Jonathan Girard (hip/pelvis) and left wing Rob Zamuner (hamstring) are sidelined indefinitely.

COLORADO AVALANCHE - Right wings Peter Worrell (knee) and Marek Svatos (shoulder) are sidelined indefinitely.

 

[the mugs]

Boston Globe 10.20.03

Boston Globe 10.20.03

Hollywood ending in LA

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Coach Mike Sullivan is only 35, but after Saturday's white-knuckle, 4-3 comeback victory over the Kings in Los Angeles, the Bruins coach joked that if this keeps up, he'll feel like he's 80 by the end of his first season.

The Bruins were two teams in the contest. The first -- the Mr. Hyde version -- gave up three goals on seven power plays in the first period and was two men short on three occasions. The second -- the Dr. Jekyll version -- scored four unanswered goals, three of them in the third period. The tying strike was by 18-year-old rookie Patrice Bergeron with 2:32 left in regulation. Just 44 seconds later, Mike Knuble, who was reunited with Joe Thornton and Glen Murray on the top line, banged home the winner.

"This is one of those character-building-type games," said Sullivan, whose club beat the winless Anaheim Mighty Ducks, 4-3, last night at the Pond. "I think there are a lot of positives we can pull out of this.

"We've shown what we're capable of when we shoot ourselves in the foot in the first period and . . . for the last two periods, we showed what we can do when we play together as a group and we play with energy and emotion and we channel the emotion in the right direction. There's no question that to come back from a three-goal deficit the way we did and to come out with a victory is a huge character-builder for us."

It was by far the best performance the Bruins have gotten from Thornton and Murray. Although they produced only one goal, they were a force most of the night once the team stopped taking foolish penalties.

"I thought Joe and Glen really skated, and when they do, they're difficult to stop," said Sullivan. "And Mike is obviously a guy who complements them, and we knew that. This was something early in the season where we're trying to find combinations that are going to benefit the whole. Those two guys are key guys if we're going to be successful."

A goal by enforcer Sandy McCarthy at 13:19 of the second gave Boston a huge lift.

"He brings so much to our team," said Sullivan. "I think his intensity level in practices and in games, he just leaves it all out there. He got a big goal for us. He sacrifices his body all the time finishing checks. He's one of those guys who does so many things, it's difficult to measure for the average fan or in the statistical category. But he's just a big part of our team."

Then there was the kid -- Bergeron -- who not only had his first NHL goal but added a pair of assists.

"He's a guy who has consistently played very, very well," Sullivan said. "We put him in some critical situations at critical moments in the game and the coaching staff just has that comfort level with him that we feel like he's got a real good head for the game and an understanding and he's got a certain maturity level that's beyond his years."

Bergeron was beside himself with glee after the game.

"When I saw the puck, it wasn't a big hole, but I just wanted to put it in," he said. "It's hard to explain the feeling that I have. I'm happy. Your first one in the NHL, it's big, it's huge. When you're a kid, it's always a dream. It was great timing."

=====

Knuble leaps at chance

Knuble's goal was one of being in the right place at the right time. Murray took the initial shot and Kings goalie Roman Cechmanek stopped it by putting his stick on the ice. But the puck caromed off the stick and went out to the goalie's right, where Knuble was waiting. "I got enough on it to sweep it between his legs," said Knuble, who potted his first of the year in the most dramatic fashion. He admitted his ears were still ringing from Sullivan's comments after the brutal first period. "Sully laid into us pretty good after the first and rightfully so," said Knuble. "He's basically had it up to his ears with our undisciplined play. He just had to get some things off his chest. We could tell. When we stopped taking penalties and the game started going five on five, we definitely carried the play. Sandy's goal, that was a big goal from a guy who's not expected to get goals. That gives everybody a shot. Not that he can't score goals, but when you get it from your third or fourth line, it's a big shot because it gets everybody going." And by moving back up to the top line, it got Knuble going as well. "My goal was to show I belonged there," said Knuble, who had a career-high 30 goals last year. "All three of us work well together. We kind of jumped right in and, personally, it felt like we didn't miss a step. It was fun."

=====

Hanging in

Felix Potvin, who hasn't seen the team's best hockey in front of him on nights he's been in goal, faced 15 shots in the first period, then just three shots in the final 40 minutes, none in the final 20. He said he just tried to keep the team in it until things settled down. "Instead of putting our heads down, we turned it around and came back pretty hard," he said. "You work through stuff like that, adversity. It's a huge character win for us. Once we scored that first goal, you could see we had some life back. After the first goal, we knew we had a chance to win. I feel good in there; you can't hang your head down if you give up three goals. Sometimes it's hard at 3-0, but you've got to keep going and work your way out of it and that's what we did." . . . The Bruins wrap up the six-game swing tomorrow night when they face the Avalanche in Colorado. Their next home game is Thursday vs. the Carolina Hurricanes.

 

[the mugs]

Nick Boynton (Globe 10.21)

Nick Boynton (Globe 10.21)

Defenseman Nick Boynton took 17 minutes in penalties against the Ducks and is now the team leader with 28 for the season. He took an instigator penalty after Anaheim defenseman Ruslan Salei drilled Joe Thornton into the end boards. Boynton took issue with it and charged Salei, turning what would've been a Boston power play into matching minor penalties, matching fighting majors, and a misconduct for Boynton. He knows he has to rein himself in at times. "Definitely," he said. "If I could do it again, I probably wouldn't do the same thing. I wouldn't have charged in there but I thought Joe was hurt and that makes the difference. I play pretty emotionally but I have to use it to do other things a little better rather than hurt the team." Boynton is impressed by his team's resilience. No matter what seems to happen early in a game, they are there in the end. "We got down a couple of penalties there at the start [against the Ducks] and they got up, but I didn't think we were playing bad at all," he said. "In LA, we had a horrible first period but I thought we played a pretty good full game. We battled back. I think that's a big thing because, last year anyways, we really seemed to struggle trying to get back into games. It's encouraging and really good for a team this early in the season to learn how to win and to learn how to finish the game like that."

 

[the mugs]

Recent Meetings

Recent Meetings

Most of these games don't mean chit for tonight as they go back almost 6 years...

Recent Meetings
Date Home Away Line ATS
2/4/2003 Bos. 2 Colo. 3 -0.5,115/5 Colo./P (02-03)
10/14/2002 Colo. 1 Bos. 2 -0.5,-170/5 Bos./U

2/11/2002 Colo. 5 Bos. 2 0,-170/5 Colo./O (01-02)

3/24/2001 Bos. 2 Colo. 4 0,130/5.5 Colo./O (00-01)
2/21/2001 Colo. 8 Bos. 2 0,-250/5.5 Colo./O

10/13/1999 Colo. 2 Bos. 1 0,-155/5 Colo./U (99-00)
10/11/1999 Bos. 3 Colo. 3 0,-125/5 P/O

2/2/1999 Bos. 2 Colo. 3 0.5,-120/5 Colo./P (98-99)
10/14/1998 Colo. 0 Bos. 3 -0.5,-130/5.5 Bos./U

3/30/1998 Bos. 4 Colo. 1 N,N/N -/- (97-98)

 

[the mugs]

BOSTON BRUINS (3-1-2-0) AT COLORADO AVALANCHE (2-2-0-0), 9 p.m. ---------------------------------------------------------------

(Sports Network) - The Boston Bruins put a three-game winning streak on the line tonight when they visit the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center.

Since starting the season 0-1-2, the Bruins have posted victories over Dallas, Los Angeles and Anaheim, including Sunday's 4-3 overtime triumph versus the Ducks. Sergei Samsonov scored with 52 seconds remaining in overtime to lift the Bruins, who played the fifth portion of a six-game road trip.

Boston forced overtime when Mike Knuble tallied his second goal of the game with 4:25 left in regulation to cap a three-score rally. Brian Rolston found the net as well, and Andrew Raycroft finished with 26 saves.

Raycroft, 2-0-1 with a 1.44 goals-against average thus far, is making a serious pitch for playing time against veteran Felix Potvin, who was signed as a free agent shortly before the season.

The Bruins head home after tonight and will host Carolina on Thursday.

Colorado, meanwhile, has rotated wins and losses to this point, including Saturday's 6-3 setback in Edmonton. Rob Blake had a goal and an assist, and Paul Kariya and Alex Tanguay also scored for the Avs, who yielded a pair of shorthanded tallies.

Goaltender Philippe Suave allowed five goals on 24 shots in a forgettable NHL debut. David Aebischer, who has surrendered just four goals on 80 shots this season, is expected to be back between the pipes tonight.

Kariya's goal was his third of the season, which ties him with 2003 Maurice Richard Trophy winner Milan Hejduk for the club lead. His five points knot him with Blake and captain Joe Sakic for second on the team behind Forsberg (7).

The Avalanche, perhaps still trying to develop chemistry within their star- studded dressing room, will host Edmonton on Thursday.

Boston and Colorado split two games last season and the Avs are 6-1-1 in the last eight meetings.

 

[ND2002HORNS]

Thanks mugs and GL with your plays tonight!

HORNS

 

[homerh]

good luck on your plays

 

[the mugs]

Colorado Avalanche: Avalanche rookie Marek Svatos will have surgery next week on his left shoulder and could miss the rest of the regular season.

The forward partially dislocated his shoulder in Colorado's second game of the season. The same shoulder required season-ending surgery in January when Svatos was in the American Hockey League.

Svatos led Colorado in scoring during the preseason but did not have a point in two regular-season games.

 

[Vicc Inzagio]

---= - - =---

---= - - =---

good luck mugs !!


vicc