Wednesday's Bruins...

[the mugs]

I know it's kind of late but I found a good one...

BOSTON - It won't be Thursday night's game against the New York Islanders and it most likely won't be Saturday's matinee against the New York Rangers, but sooner than later, Joe Thornton will be back on the ice with his playoff bound Bruins teammates.

Thornton skated with the team at Wednesday's practice and said that the shoulder injury that has kept him out of game action for the past five weeks is reacting fine. The Bruins' center is waiting for the go ahead as to when he can play from head coach Robbie Ftorek.

"It's up to the trainers and Robbie right now," he said. "Today was obviously a good day, shooting some slap shots and getting some more muscle on my shots, so hopefully it looks pretty close now."

Ftorek ruled out a return Thursday night and all but assured Thornton would not take the ice against the Rangers. On Wednesday, Thornton took faceoffs at practice, but has yet to participate in any contact drills, something Ftorek said that he would start doing that at practice starting Thursday and continuing through the weekend.

"Obviously I know I'm going to get hit and I've just got to be ready for it and brace myself a little bit more now," Thornton said. "Hopefully it stays in place and hopefully it can take a lot of hits, but I haven't done any contact yet, so we'll just have to wait and see. I'll have to wait for the games to see how that fares anyway.

"This year we want everybody to be healthy and obviously I think it's going to help me in the long haul, you know, not playing with any pain. It's not like I'm going to come back early, so it's going to be beneficial to me."

Ftorek said that Thornton, who has been wearing a harness the past two weeks at practice, has been trying to make deals with him to get himself back on the ice. But the coach isn't having any of it until he knows that his All-Star center is completely healthy.

Ideally, the Bruins want Thornton to get in some regular season action before the playoffs start, but have not set that as a goal nor have they decided a number of games they would like to see him in.

"If he's healthy, then yes. If he's not then it doesn't matter. I don't think Joey is going to lose a lot," Ftorek said. "We don't rush anybody. Now if it's playoff time and the doctors say it's OK, then it's up to the player a little bit more, but not now. Your assets are too important to you and our players are assets, and we don't want to rush anybody back in."

Without Thornton in the lineup, the Bruins have won 10 of their last 15 games, including seven of their last eight. Tuesday's 4-2 win in Philadelphia extended Boston's lead over the Flyers to four points for the lead in the Eastern Conference, and the team needs just two more victories in the remaining six regular season games to amass 100 points for the first time since the 1992-93 season.

"The team's been playing fine right now, so it's key for me to come back healthy, and when I come back not to worry about the shoulder," Thornton said.

"Obviously you want to play and the guys have been doing so good you want to be a part of that. I've been working pretty hard, but it's not the same just practicing with the team. You definitely want to get in some games. But injuries are part of the game and I know that and I've just got to come back stronger."

 

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Rolston & Stumpel

Rolston & Stumpel

Rolston is getting his second wind

PHILADELPHIA - At practice Monday, coach Robbie Ftorek had Brian Rolston centering Marty McInnis and Bill Guerin instead of in his usual spot with P.J. Axelsson and Martin Lapointe.

It was a bit of tinkering, the kind Ftorek has done all season.

Against the Flyers last night, Rolston wound up playing the entire game with Guerin and McInnis. The trio combined on the winning goal - Guerin's 37th of the season - and combined for 18 shots, half of Boston's total.

Rolston also potted his ninth shorthanded tally of the year, which leads the league and is a club record.

No matter where he plays, Rolston has been one of the Bruins' most versatile forces. Wing? No problem. Pivot? Thanks, great. Point man on the power play? Sure thing. He kills penalties - and obviously is a shorthanded scoring threat - he plays a regular shift, and his heavy shot during the man advantage is a staple of the Bruins' attack.

Though he has contributed much this year, there was a time when Rolston hit the wall. In his first 37 games, he racked up 19 goals and 14 assists, never going more than two games without a point. In the last 39, he has 10 goals and 13 assists, with one four-game span without a point and one that lasted three games.

The problem, simply, was that Rolston was wiped out. In addition to his multitude of duties for the Bruins, he also represented Team USA in the Olympics.

Rolston said he was struggling for a time but now he feels fine.

''You have to get your rest when you can, but the last week, we've had two days off, which is huge,'' he said. ''We're playing so much hockey, I think everyone needs a little break and I think it's a smart thing to do.''

Rolston said his confidence was bolstered considerably by his fast start, and it hasn't ebbed though the points have.

''I felt like it was coming all the time and I was getting a lot of breaks,'' he said. ''I feel like, after the Olympics, I've had just as many opportunities. I was getting breakaway after breakaway but they weren't going in for some reason.

''You go through those little lulls and you want to get back to where you were. But I feel just as confident as I did at the beginning of the season.

''I haven't had too bad of a slump. A lot of times when you score goals, you think, `How did I just score that?' You don't even know, and that's the way it's got to be. When you start thinking about it too much, that's when it starts going bad.''

Having said that, Rolston acknowledged that he'd like to generate a little more offense, especially with the postseason close.

''Even if I wasn't scoring goals, I feel like I could do things like assists and playing well,'' he said. ''The goals haven't come as much as they did at the beginning of the year, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

''You want to get back scoring a few more goals so you have a good feeling going into the playoffs, because everybody has got to produce in the playoffs in order to win.''

Stumpel returns

As expected, center Jozef Stumpel returned after missing one game because of a groin strain. He said he has no ill effects. ''It felt pretty good,'' said Stumpel ... In a surprise move, Philadelphia center Jeremy Roenick was back in the lineup after missing seven games with a right knee sprain... Guerin had 10 shots on goal last night and is now the league leader.