The Providence Bruins were eliminated from the AHL playoffs by the Manchester Monarchs on Monday. The P-Bruins lost the series 4-2.

Tuesday was their break-up day, which Fluto Shinzawa covered. Defenseman Matt Lashoff had nerve damage in his neck and didn't play in the playoffs. Defenseman Mark Stuart aggravated his sprained right ankle by returning to play too soon. Goaltender Tuukka Rask got some practice time and will be seeking a job in the NHL during training camp.

As for prospects camp in July, Stuart is planning to attend. Rask has not determined if he will be attending. More players should be known soon.

I think during the off-season, I'm taking weekends off from updating. I didn't have the time to update about the latest signing on Saturday, and yesterday figured I'll start focusing on blogging during the week.

The Bruins signed goaltender prospect Tuukka Rask to a three year entry level contract on Saturday. The contract is the maximum under the CBA at $850,000. There are also performance bonuses in the contract.

Rask arrived in Boston yesterday and will have a stay in Providence where he'll get some practice time with the team and watch the playoffs. It's unknown if he'll get any starts for the Providence Bruins during the playoffs, where the team is currently tied 1-1 in their series against the Manchester Monarchs.

If Rask fails to make the Boston roster out of training camp, he will get the bulk of the starts in Providence next season. It's good to have Rask signed now.

In the World Championships, team USA lost 6-3 against Canada today. Canada finished 6-0 in the tournament thus far. I didn't get to watch the game on television because my bar didn't get TSN, but I had it online. Defenseman Andrew Alberts checked in with Bish before the game today. (Nice hat Albe.) Team USA will play Finland on Thursday in the quarterfinals.

Checking in on this Saturday night while watching overtime of the New Jersey Devils and Ottawa Senators. The Senators tied the game at 2 with 26 seconds left. I basically ignored the entire third period while reading things online, and then Ottawa scored.

I checked in on the Providence Bruins tonight. They won 5-2 in Hartford tonight to tie the series 3-3. Game 7 is tomorrow in Hartford. Good luck to Providence tomorrow.

As for the World Championships, I slept through yesterday's USA game, so I watched it before going to sleep last night. (There's nothing like bringing the laptop to bed to watch hockey. I fell asleep sometime during the 2nd period.) USA won 6-2. Phil Kessel scored the first goal of the game. They play Belarus tomorrow at 12:15 p.m. EST. I'm sure I'll catch that game live.

The commentator during the game was talking about how team USA would be looking to Kessel for leadership. He's playing on the second line and wearing #8. Bruins fans have lots of things to look forward to regarding Kessel. He had 11 shots in yesterday's game. Imagine what he could do for the Bruins next season. This will be a very good experience for him.

It's good to see Mike Sullivan coaching again. He's coaching team USA in the World Championships. The commentator was saying during the USA game that Sullivan told his team that international hockey is all about possession, while NHL hockey is about pursuit. The first thing that came to my mind was the dump and chase. Out of all the teams that made it to the playoffs, I didn't see one team using the dump and chase system, that I could tell anyway.

It's been 21 days since the Bruins last game, and yet they're still coming up in conversation. I was having a conversation with somebody earlier today. We were talking about some players that became former Bruins before the 2006-2007 season started. I started to talk about how different the season might have been had the Bruins kept Sullivan around, and had promoted Jeff Gorton to the GM position last summer. It's fun to play the "what if?" game, and imagine what might have been different. Would anything have been different? What would the team have looked like on opening night? Would that team be in the playoffs? So many questions that would most likely have such different answers.

The San Jose Sharks blew a 2-0 lead in their game against the Detroit Red Wings this afternoon. The Red Wings won 3-2. I heard somebody say the Sharks were the first team to blew a 2-0 lead in the playoffs. They really are Bruins-West.

And the Senators/Devils game is almost at the end of the first overtime. There's a little over three minutes left. I would really like a multiple-overtime game tonight.

One last thing I want to mention in this "covering the bases" post. I got a new cell phone that allows for much easier internet browsing and typing, so next season I will be posting "on-the-fly" from training camp, practices and games. I'm very excited about that opportunity.

Now the Senators/Devils are going to a second overtime! Yay! More hockey! (By the way, my pick is Mike Fisher scoring to win it.)

I'll try and check in tomorrow with another post. I think my unofficial break from the blog is over.

Goaltender Hannu Toivonen has re-signed with the Boston Bruins. Toivonen will have the same exact salary as last season. The only detail that changed is this contract will be a one-way contract.

Toivonen is currently playing in Providence where those Bruins are still in the playoffs. The series with the Hartford Wolf Pack is tied 2-2. They play game 5 tonight in Providence.

I have been following the NHL playoffs less than I'd like to. Maybe this round will be different. I hope so. I know the teams I'm rooting for this round (Senators, Rangers, Sharks, Canucks), so perhaps I'll catch some games tonight and this weekend.

I will be keeping an eye on the World Championships over in Russia. Team USA played an exhibition game against Sweden yesterday and won 5-1. Phil Kessel had a goal and two assists.

And yes, I'm still around and kicking. I have been lost on motivation to post and do anything with the photos currently sitting on the desktop hard drive waiting to be edited. It'll happen soon. Someday.

With Glen Murray and Patrice Bergeron out for tonight's game, forward David Krejci was recalled this afternoon.

It can be assumed that Tim Thomas will be getting the start in net tonight. See ya at 7 for game time.