Tuesday's Bruins...

[the mugs]

Players become road warriors

Tuesday, January 8, 2002

Perhaps the most impressive statistic among the many positives the Bruins will take into Pittsburgh tonight is their recent road record.

The B's, who are 9-3-0-1 in their last 13 home games, are 7-2-0-1 in their last 10 road games. That's the impetus the B's have used to climb near the top of the NHL's Eastern Conference.

``I'm not sure,'' Bruins coach Robbie Ftorek said with a smile yesterday when asked why his team is suddenly so tough on the road. ``I know one thing, every game they're going after two points. It's 20 guys playing for 60 minutes.

``Whether it's black hats or white hats, it shouldn't really matter. It's a good group of guys with a lot of skill and a lot of leadership and caring about one another. The guys like one another and that goes a long way.''

*****

Gill best cover

B's defenseman Hal Gill will be spared the task of focusing on the Penguins' Mario Lemieux tonight with Lemieux remaining sidelined while recovering from a hip injury.

Gill put the blanket on Washington's Jaromir Jagr, Lemieux' former teammate, in the B's 7-4 win on Saturday. Doing a shadow job, Gill held Jagr to no shots and a minus-3 while going plus-5.

``To tell you the truth, sometimes it's easier,'' Gill said of his occasional shadowing assignments. ``You've got one guy to worry about. You know what he can do. It's more of a physical thing. That's your one job. You don't have to worry about offense.

``Some games you get that assignment to be the guy who shuts their best players down. He's definitely someone you have to watch, but they have a lot of other talented players who can do the job as well.''

*****

No word for Joe

Despite moving up as the second-leading scorer in the NHL after Saturday's 3-1-4 outburst, B's center Joe Thornton said yesterday he has heard nothing from the Canadian Olympic team since he was told last month he wasn't on the roster but to be ready in case someone got hurt. . . .

 

[the mugs]

No Mario tonight...

No Mario tonight...

Lemieux delays comeback until Saturday

CANONSBURG, Pa. (AP) This time, Mario Lemieux isn't in a rush to get back into the Pittsburgh Penguins' lineup.

Lemieux, who was planning to return from a seven-week layoff Tuesday night against Boston, now isn't expected back until a Saturday home game against St. Louis.

Not only will he miss the Bruins' game, he will sit out Thursday's game at Buffalo.

Lemieux said Monday there is no problem with the surgically repaired hip that has sidelined him for the last 22 games, but that he isn't where he wants to be in his conditioning.

''It's always tough to sit out, especially when you're that close, but I want to make sure I'm 100 percent by the time I get back,'' Lemieux said Monday. ''I feel my conditioning is not quite there yet, and you've got to be careful with it.''

If Lemieux is being cautious, it is for a reason. He admittedly came back too soon after missing only five games following his Oct. 29 hip operation and quickly began having pain again. He quit playing Nov. 14 after three games and hasn't played since.

''My hip's doing great,'' Lemieux said. ''It's just a matter of doing a few more drills, practicing with the team a lot more and getting my skating in.''

The Penguins' owner-captain got in a strenuous skating session Sunday with fitness trainer and former teammate Jay Caufield, and plans another such workout Thursday. He will practice with the team Wednesday and Friday.

Penguins coach Rick Kehoe was disappointed upon hearing the news, but said he understands Lemieux's thinking.

''I was hoping he would play, but he's not ready yet and when he's ready, he'll let us know and he'll be there,'' Kehoe said.

It's obvious why Kehoe is so eager for Lemieux to return. With Lemieux missing 31 of 42 games, the Penguins (15-19-5-2) are in last place in the Atlantic Division at the season's midpoint.

A 2-8-2 slide in their last 12 games has put them in real danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since the 1989-90 season. Coincidentally or not, that was the last season until now they played without the traded Jaromir Jagr.

The offense that traditionally is the Penguins' greatest strength is largely to blame for their disappointing season. With 89 goals in 42 games, they are on pace for the worst offensive season in club history.

 

[infinii]

thanks mugs, always look forward to your coverage of your Bruins.

just one request though. aside from the comments from local papers, etc that you give us. how about some of your own opinions on how they are playing? reading a game summary is a bit different from actually watching the game and some of us don't have satellite dishes.

thnx bro

 

[the mugs]

BOSTON BRUINS at
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
Tuesday, January 8, 2002
Mellon Arena; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
7:30 pm (ET) - Gametime
7:00 pm (ET) - Bruins Digest
NESN
Tonight's Game
The Bruins visit the Penguins tonight in the third of four games between these teams this season and the second of two games of this season's series at Mellon Arena. The Bruins are 23-12-3-4 overall this season with a 9-7-3-1 record on the road. The Penguins are 15-20-5-2 overall this season with a 10-9-2-0 record on home ice. The Bruins are 5-2-0-2 vs. Atlantic Division opponents thus far this season and are 19-7-0-4 overall vs. Eastern Conference foes. The Penguins are 6-5-0-0 vs. Northeast Division opponents thus far this season and are 14-12-5-1 overall vs. Eastern Conference foes.

Lifetime Series
The Bruins are 82-45-21-0 lifetime vs. the Penguins with a 594-470 scoring advantage in those 148 games. On the road, the Bruins are 29-31-15-0 lifetime vs. Pittsburgh with a 268-262 scoring edge in those 75 games. These teams have split this season's series thus far with the Penguins earning a 4-1 victory in Boston on Dec. 6 and the Bruins taking the rematch by a 4-2 score in Pittsburgh on Dec. 12.

Recent Bruins Games
The Bruins have won seven of their last nine games, including their longest win streak of the season with a five-game win streak from Dec. 20-29. They have a 5-0 win over Montreal on Dec. 20, a 4-2 win at NY Islanders on Dec. 22, a 3-2 victory over Ottawa on Dec. 26, a 7-1 win in Florida on Dec. 28, a 5-4 overtime win at Tampa Bay on Dec. 29, a 2-1 loss in Dallas on Dec. 31, a 6-3 win in Carolina on Jan. 2, a 2-1 loss to Toronto on Jan. 3 and a 7-4 win over Washington on Jan. 5.

The Bruins are 9-4-0-1 in their last 14 games, have taken points out of 14 of their last 19 games at 12-5-0-2 and they are 16-7-0-2 in their last 25 games overall.

The Bruins are 9-3-0-1 in their last 13 home games and are 7-2-0-1 in their last ten road games.

Recent Penguins Games
The Penguins are 1-4-1-0 in their last six games with a 4-1 win over the NY Rangers on Jan. 5. That followed a 4-4 tie in Washington on Dec. 22, 4-0 loss in New Jersey on Dec. 26, 5-2 loss to Ottawa on Dec. 29, 4-2 loss at NY Islanders on Jan. 3, 4-1 win over the NY Rangers on Jan. 5 and a 2-0 loss in Chicago on Jan. 6. They are 2-8-2-0 in their last 12 games overall.

Upcoming Bruins Games
The Bruins next return home to host Los Angeles on Jan. 10 (7:00 p.m.; NESN & WBZ Radio) and the NY Islanders on Jan. 12 (7:00 p.m.; UPN38 & WBZ Radio). They will then face the Capitals in Washington on Jan. 14 (7:00 p.m.; NESN & WBZ Radio).

Upcoming Penguins Games
The Penguins next travel to Buffalo to face the Sabres on Jan. 10 before returning home to host St. Louis on Jan. 12.

Bruins Injuries
Kyle McLaren: Dec. 28 surgery to repair a torn right wrist ligament; out indefinitely.
Total Man-Games Lost: 94

Bruins Recent Transactions
Dec. 27: Recalled Jonathan Girard from Providence/AHL.

Penguins Injuries
Mario Lemieux: Hip injury.
Ian Moran: Broken foot; out indefinitely.
Martin Straka: Broken leg; out indefinitely.

 

[the mugs]

From the Penguin side...

From the Penguin side...

SCOUTING REPORT
Matchup: Penguins vs. Boston Bruins, 7:38 p.m. today, Mellon Arena.

Probable goaltenders: Johan Hedberg for Penguins, Byron Dafoe for Bruins.

Penguins: Will be trying to win back-to-back home games for first time since winning three in row Nov. 27-Dec. 8. ... C Robert Lang, LW Jan Hrdina have scored seven of their 10 goals at Mellon Arena. ... Have not allowed power-play goal in consecutive games for first time since Nov. 1-7, when they didn't give up man-advantage goal for four games in row.

Bruins: Have gone 9-7-3-1 on road, including 4-2 victory at Mellon Arena Dec. 12. ... Are 19-6-2-1 when scoring first. ... Already have tied franchise record for overtime victories, six.

Hidden stat: Boston has been outshot just four times in 42 games.


NOTEBOOK
C Mario Lemieux (hip), D Ian Moran (foot) and RW Aleksey Morozov (shoulder) participated in the Penguins' 30-minute workout at Southpointe yesterday, but only Moran is scheduled to be in the lineup when they face Boston tonight at Mellon Arena. He has not played since his foot was broken by an Ilya Kovalchuk shot in the Penguins' 6-3 victory Dec. 8 against Atlanta, and his value is underscored by the 2-8-2 record they compiled while he has been out. Moran, though, got no pleasure from seeing the Penguins struggle without him. "No matter what, you don't want to see the team go into a slide, the way things have gone the last couple of weeks," he said. Moran added that equipment manager Steve Latin will fashion a pad -- "just a piece of plastic with some foam under it" -- to protect the injured part of his foot. "That's really about all you can do," Moran said. "You don't want it to be heavy or bulky."

Lemieux, who had targeted tonight's game for his return to the lineup before pushing back his comeback until at least Saturday, acknowledged with a smile that "I might" have some input on linemates, but said the topic hasn't been discussed yet. "I have to sit down with [Coach Rick Kehoe] once I'm close to coming back," he said. "And we'll see who's a good fit."

Kehoe said he will consider dressing seven defensemen against the Bruins and that he plans to go back to the pairings that were in place before Moran was hurt. That means Moran will be reunited with Darius Kasparaitis -- those two invariably played against the other team's top line -- and Josef Melichar should be back alongside Michal Rozsival. It's not clear how the other three -- Andrew Ference, Janne Laukkanen and Hans Jonsson -- will be used if all are in the lineup.

C Wayne Primeau, whose left knee was hurt in the Penguins' 2-0 loss Sunday in Chicago, was to have an MRI examination of his injury last night, and the Penguins should have results today. Preliminary indications were that Primeau's injury was not terribly serious, although the team's medical staff cautioned that the MRI could show problems that hadn't been detected earlier.

Regardless of the test results, Kehoe said he does not expect Primeau to play tonight.

That's unfortunate for the Penguins, because Primeau had scored in consecutive games before facing the Blackhawks and was centering an effective third line with Dan LaCouture and Tom Kostopoulos. "Get things going, get a little chemistry between the three of them, then that happens," Kehoe said. "Plus, [Primeau] has been playing well." Kehoe said he has not decided who will work in Primeau's spot tonight but that it's possible LW Toby Petersen, who moved there Sunday, will get the job again. Petersen and Kostopoulos were linemates on the Penguins' minor-league team in Wilkes-Barre last season.

Boston RW Bill Guerin ranks among NHL leaders in goals (23) and shots (210) and enters tonight's game on quite a roll, with eight goals in his past seven games. "He's a goal-scorer," Kehoe said. "He's always been. Wherever he's been, he's put the puck in the net. " How long Guerin will remain in Boston is hard to say -- he's scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent after this season -- but before the Bruins decide he's too expensive to keep, they might want to note that they are 13-0-1-3 when he scores a goal.

The Penguins have given up a league-high eight short-handed goals this season, and it's hardly out of the question that that total will rise tonight, because Boston has scored 10, tied for second most in the league. "Their penalty-killing has good speed, and if you give them an opportunity, they'll take advantage of it," Kehoe said. "That's what they've done all year. It's something we're aware of." The Penguins might want to pay particular attention to speedy forward Brian Rolston, who has scored six times this season while killing penalties. Rolston's total is one shy of the single-season franchise record held by four players, including former Penguins Gregg Sheppard and Derek Sanderson.

Bruins C Joe Thornton was the NHL's No. 2 scorer going into last night's games, with 17 goals and 29 assists in 42 games. He has been particularly hot lately, ringing up five goals and 11 assists in his past 10 games. "If he's not the best young player in the game, I don't know who is,"' Guerin told the Boston Globe. At the very least, Thornton has developed into the impact player the Bruins believed they were getting when they spent the first choice in the 1997 draft in him. "Young guys coming in, it takes them a couple of years to learn the league," Kehoe said. "The things they used to do in junior, it takes them awhile to do it in the National Hockey League. Now, he's at the point where the things they projected him doing coming out of junior, he's doing. He's big and can skate and shoot the puck, everything you're looking for in a centerman." Thornton's big season wasn't enough to land him a spot on the Canadian Olympic team, although he is high on the short list of candidates to replace any team members who are injured before the Games begin.

 

[rebel]

Thanks mugs i m also a bruins fan when i was a kid used to collect cam neely cards LOL

What i like most is they never quit always try true grit

Bruins big -0,5 +100