Thursday's Bruins...

[the mugs]

This one's just like Tuesday's Bruins...:shrug:

BOSTON BRUINS vs. Montreal Canadiens
Thursday, October 30, 2003
FleetCenter; Boston MA

Tonight?s Game
The Bruins host the Canadiens tonight in the second of six games between these teams this season and the first of three games of this season?s series at the FleetCenter. The Bruins are 6-2-2-0 thus far this season with a 0-1-1-0 home record. The Canadiens are 5-5-0-0 thus far this season with a 1-2-0-0 road record. The Bruins are 1-0-0-0 vs. Northeast Division opponents thus far this season and are 2-2-2-0 vs. Eastern Conference foes. The Canadiens are 1-4-0-0 vs. Northeast Division opponents and are 4-5-0-0 vs. Eastern Conference foes.

Lifetime Series
The Bruins are 251-311-102-0 lifetime vs. Montreal with the Canadiens holding a 2017-1773 scoring advantage in those 664 games. On home ice, the Bruins are 154-122-56-0 lifetime vs. the Canadiens with a 985-898 scoring edge in those 332 contests. The Bruins won the first game of this season?s series with a 2-0 victory in Montreal on Oct. 28.

Recent Bruins Games
The Bruins have won their last two games and have taken points out of seven of their last eight games at 6-1-1-0 with 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, a 4-3 overtime win in Anaheim on Oct. 19, a 4-1 victory in Colorado on Oct. 21, a 2-0 loss to Carolina on Oct. 23, a 5-2 victory at New Jersey on Oct. 25 and a 2-0 win in Montreal on Oct. 28. They have won their last six straight road games and are unbeaten in their last seven on the road at 6-0-1-0 with their lone road loss of the season a 5-1 setback in Tampa Bay on Oct. 10. The Bruins have taken points out of eight of their first ten games this season at 6-2-2-0.

Recent Canadiens Games
The Canadiens have lost their last three games with a 6-2 loss to Ottawa on Oct. 25, a 5-0 loss in Philadelphia on Oct. 27 and a 2-0 loss to Boston on Oct. 28. That followed a 2-1 win over Detroit on Oct. 20 and a 3-0 victory over NY Islanders on Oct. 23.

Upcoming Bruins Games
The Bruins next travel to Pittsburgh to play the Penguins on Nov. 1 (1:00 p.m.). They will then return home for a three-game home stand, hosting San Jose on Nov. 6 (7:30 p.m.), Dallas on Nov. 8 (7:00 p.m. and Edmonton on Nov. 11 (7:00 p.m.).

Upcoming Canadiens Games
The Canadiens next return to Montreal to host NY Rangers on Nov. 1 and Edmonton on Nov. 4.

Bruins Injuries
Rob Zamuner: Hamstring strain; day-to-day.

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.
Oct. 23: Sergei Zinovjev recalled from Providence/AHL; Martin Samuelsson and Milan Jurcina 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 have already completed three of their 29 season series. They are 1-0-0-0 vs. Anaheim; 1-0-0 vs. Colorado; and 1-0-0-0 vs. Los Angeles.

The Bruins have three rookies on their current roster ? Patrice Bergeron, Andrew Raycroft and Sergei Zinovjev?Bergeron is currently the youngest player in the NHL with a July 24, 1985 birthdate

 

[the mugs]

Recent Meetings

Recent Meetings

Date Home Away Line ATS
10/28/2003 Mtl. 0 Bos. 2 0.5,-130/5 Bos./U (03-04)

2/11/2003 Mtl. 3 Bos. 1 -0.5,120/5.5 Mtl./U (02-03)
2/6/2003 Bos. 6 Mtl. 3 -0.5,-130/5 Bos./O
12/14/2002 Mtl. 4 Bos. 2 0.5,-130/5.5 Mtl./O
12/10/2002 Bos. 2 Mtl. 4 -0.5,-150/5.5 Mtl./O
11/29/2002 Bos. 4 Mtl. 2 -0.5,-160/5.5 Bos./O

4/29/2002 Mtl. 2 Bos. 1 0,110/5 Mtl./U '02 PLAYOFFS G6
4/27/2002 Bos. 1 Mtl. 2 0,-220/5 Mtl./U G5
4/25/2002 Mtl. 2 Bos. 5 0,120/5 Bos./O G4
4/23/2002 Mtl. 5 Bos. 3 0,110/5 Mtl./O G3

 

[the mugs]

RECENT TRENDS

RECENT TRENDS

? MON is 0-3 ATS in their last three overall.
? MON is 8th in def. w/2.20 goals per game.
? Over is 4-2 in the last six meetings.
? Bruins are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 overall.
? BOS is 2-0 ATS when playing w/ no rest.
? Over is 4-2 in the last six meetings.

 

[the mugs]

Boston Globe 10.30.03

Boston Globe 10.30.03

Stock is swapped for Savage

WILMINGTON -- P.J. Stock remains a member of the Bruins organization, but as of yesterday the pint-sized pugilist had his spoked-P in Providence swapped for the flying-P of the Philadelphia Phantoms.

"We had too many guys filling the same role," explained Bruins assistant general manager Jeff Gorton. "We're trying to upgrade our [AHL] team, and we needed help down the middle."

Stock essentially was traded for 28-year-old pivot Andre Savage, who turned pro out of Michigan Tech with the Bruins in 1998. According to Gorton, the sides remain able to swap the players back, but not for the purpose of playing in the minors. If Stock ever pulls on the Black and Gold again, it will be to play in Boston, but that doesn't appear to be likely.

He's not officially gone, but he's going. Technically, both players are considered "on loan" to their respective AHL clubs.

Savage played 50 games over three seasons with the Bruins prior to signing as a free agent with Vancouver in the summer of 2001. He spent the entire 2001-02 season with the Manitoba Moose (AHL), picking up 61 points in 76 games, and then signed again as a free agent with the Flyers in 2002-03.

A fan favorite in his two seasons with the Bruins, the 28-year-old Stock was often willing to scrap with the opposition's biggest, toughest, meanest forwards, typically ending his battles with a well-crafted conqueror's wave (hail, Caesar) to an adoring FleetCenter crowd. He logged 282 penalty minutes in 129 games over two seasons, but collected only one goal and a dozen assists.

But when the Bruins picked up true heavyweight Sandy McCarthy over the summer, Stock's job security all but vanished. Boston management encouraged him to fill out his game, hoping that he could become an energy forward (read: belligerent party crasher) like Tyson Nash [Phoenix] or Sean Avery [Los Angeles], but he didn't flash those tenacious traits in training camp and got himself a 60-mile demotion to Rhode Island.

Savage relies more on skill than pugnaciousness. For the latter, the Baby B's have Colton Orr, Brendan Walsh, and Doug Doull as prime candidates to grow into action figures.

"Orr's been pretty good, in the lineup almost every game," said Gorton. "He's handled that role pretty well, and that's not something you expect of a rookie. He's proven to us that he can do it at the AHL level."

Stock spent half a season in the Philly organization in 2000-01.

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Line carries weight

Following the Bruins' impressive 2-0 win in Montreal Tuesday night, Canadiens coach Claude Julien labeled Boston's No. 1 trio -- Joe Thornton between Mike Knuble and Glen Murray -- the "700 Pound Line."

"Is that right?" an amused Thornton said following the morning practice here, when informed that the line's listed weight is actually a slightly trimmer 675 pounds. "Well, on a good day we might be 675 pounds."

For the record, Thornton is listed at 220 pounds in the NHL Guide and Record Book, Murray at 225, and Knuble at 228. Tale of the scale: 673 pounds.

"As a line, it just opens things up," said Thornton, asked what impact size and weight have on the trio's game. "When you have big bodies to move around like we do, it makes us tougher to handle out there -- I think it makes it harder to hold on to us."

Knuble also chuckled at Julien's heavyweight words.

"Yeah, I think most people would take that as an insult," he said. "A line our size is not something you usually see. You might see two big wingers and a smaller, skilled center. It just so happens, on our team, our center is the biggest guy on the team -- and the most talented.

"Teams look at us, I think, and they're not really sure how to match up. Do they put their small and quick forwards out there to try to keep the puck from us, or do they take the muscle-for-muscle approach, making sure they get their two biggest defensemen out there each time for that beef-on-beef matchup? Probably the biggest difference, though, is Joe, because there aren't many centers in the league who can match him just for size -- I mean, who are we talking, maybe Jason Arnott [in Dallas] and Bobby Holik [Rangers]? That's about it.

"I'll tell you this, it's sure fun to be a part of it. To be out there with those guys, having success, and for the team to have success, too, it's just great. It's nice to have it go hand-in-hand like that."

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Special guests

Colin Campbell, the NHL's chief disciplinarian, addressed the Bruins prior to practice. He was joined by Bill Daly, the league's chief legal officer."Most of it was just [Campbell] going over league rules and regulations," said Thornton . . .

Rob Zamuner, hindered thus far this season by a groin/hamstring injury, skated the full workout and is expected to be in the lineup tonight against the Canadiens. If so, he likely will work a fourth line with Travis Green and McCarthy . . .

Coach Mike Sullivan won't make public his goaltender choice for any given game, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see Felix Potvin, fresh off of his 29th career shutout Tuesday night, back in the crosshairs tonight.

 

[the mugs]

Globe 10.29

Globe 10.29

Bruins jump out
Strong start propels them to shutout victory in Montreal

MONTREAL -- Coach Mike Sullivan figured he had harped on the point until he was blue in the face. It was looking like the next step was going to be to tattoo the message in big letters on his forehead. For most of their first nine games, the Bruins came out sluggishly, allowing the opponent to dictate the pace and usually to score the first goal.

The first-year coach hopes his players' performance last night in game No. 10 proves once and for all that they have gotten the message and are cured of their opening-period malaise. A strong start led to a satisfying finish as the Bruins frustrated the Montreal Canadiens, 2-0, behind the 23-save effort of goalie Felix Potvin, who earned his first shutout in a Boston uniform and 29th of his career.

Eighteen-year-old rookie Patrice Bergeron, playing his first NHL game in his native province, scored the winning goal (No. 3 of his young career) and left wing Mike Knuble added the insurance tally to give Boston its sixth victory in seven games.

"I really liked the start," said Sullivan. "It's something we talk about. We've given up the first goal in a fair amount of games so far [seven out of 10] and that's an area where we have to get better. We talked about it the last couple of days, having better starts and making sure we control the momentum right off the bat. I thought we did a pretty good job tonight."

Captain Joe Thornton said it was a relief to come out of the gate strong and stay that way.

"Lately we've been letting the other team get that first goal," said Thornton. "That was one thing we addressed before the game. We knew they were coming off back-to-back games and they were going to be a little tired. They were a little tired. That first goal seemed to put them in a hole. They kept on fighting all night but couldn't get it past Felix."

It all stemmed from the play in the neutral zone. When the Canadiens have been successful, they've scored first and then switched to the trap to smother the opponent. Last night, the Bruins turned the tables on their Northeast Division rival. The Habs had just three shots in the opening 20 minutes to 10 for Boston.

"I've said on more than one occasion, it's really a critical area of the ice for our team," said Sullivan. "When we make good decisions through the neutral zone with the puck, it allows us to get our skating legs and to get the puck into the area of the ice where our team is good. We've got some big forwards who are really tough to contain when we get the puck in the right areas of the ice."

Bergeron's strike came during a power play at 10:27 of the first period. With right wing Richard Zednik off for high sticking, Bergeron, working a give-and-go with left wing Sergei Samsonov, got the puck back from Samsonov in the slot and beat goalie Mathieu Garon at 10:27.

"It's a big thrill," said Bergeron, who had about 30 family members and friends in attendance. "I'm real happy about that. It was a big win and a big 2 points for us. It was a big game for me and I'm excited about it."

Bergeron said he felt he got a little fortunate on his goal.

"I just exchanged the puck with Sergei Samsonov and he made an unbelievable pass," he said. "At first I shot it but it deflected somewhere and I tipped it in with my stick in the air. It was a little bit lucky but I'll take it."

The Bruins sealed it at 10:09 of the second when Knuble potted his fifth of the year, taking a centering pass and beating Garon from the right circle.

Potvin said he received the kind of support he'd been expecting, this time right from the outset.

"This was much better," he said. "You can't always start behind the 8-ball. We came out strong tonight. This is close to our best game of the year. We played from start to finish."

Though Potvin wasn't tested all that often, the scoring chances he faced were quality ones.

"It was kind of weird," he said. "They kind of came in flurries. They've got some dangerous shooters, where you've got to stay on your game, but I thought overall we played really well, very strong."

 

[the mugs]

Globe 10.29

Globe 10.29

Trappings of victory

The Canadiens have now been outscored, 13-2, in their last three games. The key for them seems to be getting on the board early and switching into their trap mode. When they score first, they are 5-0-0-0. When the opponent gets the first goal, they are 0-5-0-0 . . .

 

[ddubs]

GO B's!!!!!!

 

[ND2002HORNS]

Thanks mugsy!

HORNS

 

[the mugs]

Like I said, Habs score first, they win...LOL