Center Patrice Bergeron will be heading home to Quebec for some time, GM Peter Chiarelli said.

“He’s going to spend some time there,” said B’s general manager Peter Chiarelli. “He may stay through Christmas. I’m not sure if he’s going to stay that long.”

Chiarelli hasn’t had much good news to offer on Bergeron’s condition over the past three weeks, but sounded somewhat more positive yesterday.

“He’s getting better,” said Chiarelli. “It’s small, baby steps, but he’s getting better. He’s getting more mobile. He’ll have two good days and one bad day now, so the net effect is improvement. He used to have headaches at various points in the day. Now, according to him, he gets them only at the end of the day.

“I talked to a psychologist who had spoken to him. He said he had never seen so much physical trauma that resulted from a concussion, just the terrible effect on the overall body.”

Bergeron suffered a grade three concussion back in October as a result from a hit from behind by Randy Jones of the Philadelphia Flyers. Bergeron has only addressed the media once since the injury.

It’s going to become a monthly contest now. (The winners of the November contest will be determined in the next week.)

First Place: 8x10 autographed photograph* of your choice player
Second Place: 5x7 photograph* of your choice player
Third Place: 4x6 photograph* of your choice player

Note: If there are five or less participants, there will only be a first place winner. So the more participants, the better!

*The photograph can be selected from any game album from the 2007-2008 season or from the 2007 training camp albums.

Deadline: December 4th

The Bruins are in Florida tonight to play against the Panthers in their first meeting of the season. The Panthers (12-12-1) owned the Bruins last season, winning all four games and outscoring the Bruins 24-10. It should be an interesting game tonight to say the least, and let’s hope the Bruins can start this leg of the road trip off with a win tonight.

With Tuukka Rask (2-0-0, 2.50 GAA, .909 Sv%) starting on Monday against Philadelphia, expect to see Tim Thomas (8-6-2, 1.99 GAA, .941 Sv%) in net tonight. There is no report (as of 12:42 p.m.) of what the Bruins line-up will look like, but the Bruins have an extra defenseman and forward on the road trip.

Down But Not Out: After taking a blow to the head on Monday night, defenseman Andrew Alberts is not expected to miss any game time. Alberts practiced with the team yesterday and is expected to play tonight. As a result from the hit, Alberts suffered what was called a “non-concussive head injury.” Winger Milan Lucic should also be available for tonight’s game. Lucic suffered a mild concussion against the Islanders last week. (Update 2:49 p.m.: Lucic will not be in the line-up tonight.)

Manny Fernandez, Andrew Ference and Shawn Thornton are all on the injured reserve still. Patrice Bergeron is on the long-term injured reserve.

Across the Ice: The Panthers will most likely have Thomas Vokoun (12-10-0, 2.75 GAA, .913 Sv%) between the pipes. Old Bruins “visitor” Craig Anderson (0-2-1, 2.68 GAA, .904 Sv%) is the back-up goaltender on the team… In game notes, the Panthers have a section called “5 Things Everyone Should Know About Tonight’s Game.” I think that’s pretty cool. It’s like Cliff Notes for the opponent. Those 5 things are:

5. Florida enters tonight on a season-high 4-game winning streak.

4. With their win last night in Washington, the Panthers are now 7-5-1 in November, clinching their first winning month of November since the 1999-00 season, the last time Florida made the playoffs.

3. Florida has won back-to-back games in a shootout. Last night in Washington, Stephen Weiss scored the shootout GWG in the 11th round, the longest shootout in Panthers history. Last Friday night, Olli Jokinen scored the shootout GWG in a 3-2 win over the NY Rangers.

2. Florida's power-play has scored at least one goal in three consecutive games and is 5 for the last 14 (35.7%) overall. Currently, the Panthers have the 5th best power-play this season in the NHL (23%) and the best power-play on home ice (26.5%).

1. Florida swept Boston last season in their four meetings outscoring the Bruins 15-5 in the BankAtlantic Center and 24-10 overall.

The Bruins are in the midst of a six game road trip that stops in Sunrise tonight, Tampa Bay on Saturday, then New York and New Jersey next week. The Bruins did have a couple of days back home since their game in Philadelphia on Monday. During their time back in Beantown, the Bruins went on their annual holiday shopping trip for local hospitals.

Participants were (in no particular order): P.J. Axelsson, his wife Siw and daughter Wilma, Glen Murray, wife Katie and his kids Parker and Hunter, Captain Zdeno Chara, Brandon Bochenski, Phil Kessel, Chuck Kobasew and wife Krissy, Milan Lucic, Glen Metropolit, his wife Michlyn, daughters Acivia and Esther and son Max, Jeremy Reich, Peter Schaefer and wife Julie, Shawn Thornton, Andrew Alberts, Andrew Ference, Mark Stuart, Dennis Wideman, Manny Fernandez, Tim Thomas and wife Melissa, and the newest Bruin, Matt Hunwick.

In all my seasons being a fan, I can’t remember a time where more than four players participated so this team is definitely something special.

Bergeron Update: Since speaking to the media a few of weeks ago, there hasn’t been much about Bergeron in the news. GM Peter Chiarelli has said he has some good days and bad days, but is getting better.

“He hasn’t exercised,” coach Claude Julien said. “He goes out for a walk but to say he’s jumped on a bike and that? None of that so far.”

Bergeron attended his first Bruins game on Friday afternoon against the Islanders. That’s a positive sign that he is improving.

One thing I brought up was if Bergeron’s nose still needs to be set. There was talk when Bergeron was first injured that doctors wouldn’t go in and set it because of the severity of the concussion. The broken nose is obviously a small thing compared to the concussion.

Status of WBF: I won’t be around tonight at game-time, but I should check in at some point during the game and recap it afterwards.

Also, if anybody was wondering how my hand is recovering from surgery, I have no stitches in my hand/wrist as of Tuesday. My next check-up of the hand isn’t for three months, so I would say my hand is recovering very nicely. Thanks for all the well wishes last month.

The going rate for a gallon of gas around the Boston area is over $3.00. The going rate for driving heads into the boards during Flyers/Bruins games is 2 games.

Scott Hartnell has been suspended two games for his hit on defenseman Andrew Alberts last night.

Déjà vu?

My prediction was three games, so I’m not too shocked. But taking a number of other things into consideration (the hit, Alberts’s vulnerability, Hartnell finishing his check regardless, etc.), it does grate on my nerves.

At the rate of suspensions handed down by Colin Campbell this season alone, it seems that hits to the head are treated differently than being deliberately hit in the face with a stick. I don’t get it.

But the one thing Campbell has is consistency when it comes to Flyers/Bruins incidents.

Is anybody else out there wishing the Bruins would not play the Flyers for the rest of the season? In their second meeting of the season, the Flyers again knocked out a Bruins player with a hit that was questionable. Coach Claude Julien could only shake his head behind the bench as he watched another Bruin lie motionless on the ice. I know I am getting awfully tired seeing Bruins players lying down face first on the ice.

Photo property of Getty Images.

Defenseman Andrew Alberts was trying to play the puck from his knees, preventing it from going into the Bruins defensive zone, and Scott Hartnell skated over and “finished his check” with Alberts’s head at the same level as the dasher. It probably wasn’t the smartest way to play a puck, especially so close to the boards, but hitting a 6’4” player who is on his knees is dumber. It’s understandable why I have read that this hit could be considered worse than the hit on Patrice Bergeron last month.

Hartnell had time to adjust his body and avoid driving the side of Alberts’s head into the dasher, but he didn’t. He could’ve glided over a foot to the right and avoided Alberts completely and hit glass. It wasn’t as if Alberts dropped to his knees at the last second before Hartnell checked him. There was some time before Hartnell even entered into the area where Alberts was. (YouTube video can be seen on James Mirtle’s blog, as well as a debate in the comments.)

I’m not sure what was worse, the hit on Alberts or Flyers’ fans booing when Alberts started getting up after the hit. I can only hope the NHL takes the appropriate action and hands down yet another suspension, but who knows if that will happen and if the length will be another joke.

Meanwhile, one blogger asks the question: And how are the Bruins not going ballistic, seeing another one of their teammates knocked out by the Flyers?

It’s easy. The fans are going ballistic enough for the Bruins.

Alberts did leave the rink on his feet, and will be evaluated by doctors in Boston today. The Bruins are home until tomorrow when they’ll jet off to Florida for a couple of games to begin the second leg of their road trip.

Perhaps I should give up live-blogging games… at the very least games against the Flyers.

The Boston Bruins visit Philadelphia tonight to play the Flyers. This is the second meeting between these two teams this season. The first meeting was a 2-1 loss on October 27th when center Patrice Bergeron was injured

Tuukka Rask will be getting the start in goal for the Bruins. Marco Sturm was interviewed during the pre-game show. Martin Biron is in net for the Flyers.

First Period: I literally sat down, after returning my bowl to the kitchen after eating a quick pasta dinner, and Alberts shot the puck at the glass to dump it in, and shattered the glass at the top. Perhaps he wanted to put in his bid to challenge Chara’a hardest shot. The delay occurred 36 seconds into the game and lasted nine minutes. Reich and Eager drop the gloves at 2:46. Murray scores at 4:06 to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead. The goal was assisted by Savard. Savard scores at 7:34 with his 5th goal of the season, assisted by Chara. At the other end of the ice, Chara made a nice save after the puck squirted through under Rask’s arm while he was lying on the ice. Alberts got a hooking penalty at 11:27. Knuble was on the receiving end of two hits on the power play, the first coming from Axelsson and the second from Stuart. The Bruins killed off the penalty. Bruins lead 2-0 after the period.

Second Period: The Bruins had 12 shots in the first period, and the Flyers had 9. Murray adds to the Bruins lead again at 1:43 scoring off a 25 feet wrist shot. The goal was assisted by Savard. Biron was pulled and Niittymaki was put in net. Metropolit scored his 5th goal of the season at 7:35 to give the Bruins a 4-0 lead. Metropolit’s goal was assisted by Kobasew. While Kessel was in the penalty box for high-sticking, Knuble got the Flyers on the scoreboard at 10:07.

9:17 p.m. I really wasn’t paying much attention to the second period, so I will come back and update as appropriate. Alberts however was hit while he was trying to play the puck from his knees, and Hartnell was giving a 5 minute major for boarding. Alberts won’t be returning to the game. The Bruins are currently leading 5-3. I have other duties elsewhere right now.

The Bruins are at the New York Islanders tonight in the second game of a home-and-home series. The Bruins won the first game yesterday 2-1 with goals coming from Glen Murray and Glen Metropolit. Tim Thomas made 25 saves for the win. Milan Lucic had his bell rung in yesterday’s game, did not travel with the team and is listed day-to-day.

The Bruins recalled center Vladimir Sobotka, who will play in his first NHL game tonight. Thomas will get the start in goal tonight.

The other line-up change is Matt Hunwick is taking Bobby Allen’s spot in the line-up. There are three teams playing at the same time that I wanted to watch tonight and those are the Bruins (obviously, duh!), Senators and Coyotes. They all play at 7 and the only solution I could come up with was going to my work on a day off and watching all three games there. But my couch was much more inviting.

First Period: The Islanders certainly came out with pressure on the Bruins early. Then Thomas made some crazy saves, and P.J. Axelsson scored when I was in the kitchen. Axelsson scored on the only Bruins shot of the game. The goal was assisted by Savard at 3:51. And in the Maple Leafs/Coyotes game, Andrew Raycroft was pulled after allowing two goals on seven shots. Raycroft has a caterpillar above his upper lip and something below his bottom lip. Yikes! Now it’s back to the Bruins game. Chuck Kobasew got the Bruins second shot on goal with 4:41 left in the period. Marco Sturm went down after Brendan Witt hit him at the Islanders’ blue line. Sturm was flexing his right knee when he went to the bench. The Bruins were on the power play, and now they’re not. Hunwick made a great defensive play on Miroslav Satan. Kobasew is getting picked on endlessly out there. Another crazy save for Thomas before Axelsson caught the puck flying in mid-air like it was a hot potato. The Islanders had 12 shots on net while the Bruins had two.

Period Recap: Sobotka played three shifts for a total of 1:50. The Bruins blocked 5 shots. It doesn’t look like Sturm missed any shifts after being shaken up. Axelsson was interviewed.

Second Period: I should have mentioned somewhere that Rick DiPietro was starting for the Islanders again tonight. Brandon Bochenski got a hooking penalty at 6:27. Thomas has been making a flurry of saves each shift. The Bruins haven’t had a shot on goal yet this period. Wow, another shot by the Bruins, and it was Axelsson again. Thomas continues to make crazy saves. And after making all those crazy saves, Thomas allows a goal by former Bruin Andy Hilbert from 57 feet out at 17:25. DiPietro got an assist. Murray had a nice scoring chance going the other way. Mike Comrie gets a holding penalty at 19:25. The Bruins have 10 shots through two periods. The Bruins are tied 1-1. Mark Stuart was interviewed during intermission.

Third Period: The Bruins start the period on the power play. Jeremy Reich was compared to a pillar on a Greek temple. Interesting. Glen Metropolit got a holding penalty at 4:48. Richard Park adds a goal at 7:30 for the Islanders giving them a 2-1 lead. Crap. Trent Hunter is going to the penalty box for boarding at 8:46. The Bruins were on the power play, and now they aren’t. Doesn’t that just sum it up? DiPietro was shaken up when he was outside of the crease, behind his net. But he’ll stay in the game with 4:45 left, so let’s hope the Bruins can tie it up. Thomas is on the bench for the extra attacker. And the Islanders win 2-1.

What a boring game that was. In hindsight, I should have went in and watched all three teams like I had intended because I’m sure one of the other ones would have been more entertaining than the Bruins game.

Pending any kind of unforeseen delays, the Bruins (10-7-2) and New York Islanders (11-7-0) will face-off in less than 10 hours at the TD Banknorth Garden. I know I will be pressured for time on the other side of sleep, so I am getting the game preview up a wee bit earlier than usual. I hope everybody had a nice Thanksgiving, and didn’t eat too much.

Today’s game is the first game between the Bruins and Islanders this season. The Bruins are 33-17-11-2 lifetime against the Islanders in Boston with a 232-179 scoring advantage in those 63 contests, so the Bruins do have a little advantage.

Across the Ice: The Islanders lost their last game 4-1 against the Bruins archrival Montreal Canadiens. The Islanders had 45 shots on goal, while the Canadiens managed a measly 17… The Islanders have a handful of former Bruins that have made recent Islanders news. Shawn Bates (sports hernia) has missed the first 18 games of the Islanders’ season and is on a conditioning stint in Bridgeport. Former Bruin Ben Walter was assigned to Bridgeport over a week ago. Bryan Berard, Andy Hilbert and Bill Guerin also had ties to the Bruins. Guerin is the captain of the Islanders… Islanders’ goalie Rick DiPietro is 5-2-2 in ten games against the Bruins in his career… The Islanders next win (hopefully not coming in their next two games) will be their 1200th all-time.

Tim Thomas (7-5-2, 2.05 GAA, .941 Sv%) will be starting in goal for the Bruins. Thomas had a game off on Tuesday when Tuukka Rask notched his first NHL win against Toronto. I would assume Thomas would be facing DiPietro (10-6-0, 2.37 GAA, .909 Sv%) at the other end of the ice, but I have been wrong before. The other goalie for the Islanders is Wade Dubielewicz (1-1-0, 5.08 GAA, .836 Sv%).

Power Changes: Fans might see some different power play units on the ice this weekend whenever the Bruins have the man-advantage. In practice on Thanksgiving, that was one thing changed up.

The Bruins worked on the power play for part of practice. The No. 1 unit featured Zdeno Chara and Dennis Wideman at the points, with Marco Sturm, Marc Savard, and Glen Murray down low. Andrew Alberts and Matt Hunwick manned the blue line on the second unit, while Phil Kessel, Peter Schaefer, and Chuck Kobasew were the forwards.

I like the idea of having two defensemen manning the points on the power play. It allows forwards to be creative down low and not have to worry about covering the points and the defensive backside of the power play, as long as the defensemen don’t drop down low. I know I’m probably in the minority that feels that way too. Sticking a forward at the point might be helpful in some cases, but I think it hurts teams more than it helps. It works against the power play when the lone defenseman out there can’t recover an errant puck quickly that turns into a shorthanded breakaway the other way.

I’m not sure how I feel about the defense pairs on the power play, but I think they could out well until Andrew Ference can return. The only change I would was is Mark Stuart taking Hunwick’s place on a few power play shifts.

Up or Down: It’s hard to keep track when players are returned to Providence, and when they come back up. But obviously since Hunwick was practicing on the second power play unit, that would indicate he is back up with the big club.

The Bruins lost a member of their family on Wednesday when Tom Johnson passed away at his home. Johnson was usually seen walking out of the Garden with a cigar in his mouth. He was 79.

I will try to update after the game via cell phone. But when I say that, I never do. This time I will really try my best when I have some free time.

I'm stopping in quick to update before I'm offline for the rest of the afternoon. The Bruins practiced this morning in Wilmington without Tim Thomas (family business). Manny Fernandez was in one of the nets, along with Tuukka Rask, but Fernandez left practice early because of back spasms.

Oh, the damaged Fernandez. (No offense to Manny. I'm a little cranky today.) I know injuries happen during the length of the season, but this is getting a little ridiculous, especially since Fernandez's injuries keep occurring in practices.

Fun Fact: Fernandez played in his last Bruins game on October 22nd, the same day as my hand surgery. Fernandez is still on the IR, and I have two stitches left in my hand and a few in my wrist just for comparison purposes.

Defenseman Matt Hunwick was returned to Providence, but could be recalled again since Andrew Ference still has an ice pack attached to his knee.

The Bruins will face the New York Islanders in the traditional day after Thanksgiving matinée game on Friday, and then will go to the Island and play them on Saturday night, which I am promising to live-blog now. (I slacked tremendously last night.)

The Bruins will not return for another home game until December 6th.

The Boston Bruins went into the third period down 2-1. Toronto scored the first two goals of the game off a couple of unlucky bounces that unfortunately went Tuukka Rask’s way. I was only hoping the Bruins wouldn’t be shutout and Phil Kessel made sure that didn’t happen, scoring late in the second period.

Then off a crazy play that started with Glen Murray passing the puck to Marc Savard, who opted not to shoot while Vesa Toskala put himself out of position. Instead, Savard passed the puck to P.J. Axelsson who netted his first goal of the season to tie the game!

And then I missed the last four minutes of the game and Chuck Kobasew’s two goals to give the Bruins a 4-2 win! What a comeback! Rask gets his first NHL win in his first NHL game and was interviewed after the game.

The Boston Bruins are in Toronto tonight to face-off against the Maple Leafs. That’s stating the obvious, huh? The Bruins are coming off a 7-4 loss to the Montreal Canadiens, while the Maple Leafs are coming off a 3-0 shutout win over the Ottawa Senators. There’s nothing like keeping it all in the division.

One thing I have been hoping for closely behind unseasonably warm weather is goalie prospect Tuukka Rask would start against the very team that drafted him and traded him away. I know there have been some other Bruins fans waiting for the day Rask would make his NHL debut.

Well, we don’t have to wait any longer. After dressing up as Tim Thomas’s back-up for five days, and trekking back and forth between Providence, Boston fans will get their first look at Rask tonight. Based on a number of confirmed reports around the internet, Rask will be starting in tonight’s game allowing Thomas to have a night off.

Here’s a look at Rask’s recent transactions.

Nov. 5: Tuukka Rask recalled from Providence/AHL. Nov. 15: Tuukka Rask recalled from Providence/AHL. Nov. 18: Tuukka Rask returned to Providence/AHL. Nov. 19: Tuukka Rask recalled from Providence/AHL.

Across the Ice: Vesa Toskala (6-6-2, 3.27 GAA, .895 Sv%) should be getting the start for the Leafs. He got the Leafs first shutout of the season on Saturday against the Senators stopping all 24 shots… The Leafs lost 5-2 against the Bruins on Thursday. Andrew Raycroft was in net for the Leafs… Mats Sundin has 51 career points in 76 games against Boston.

I will be around tonight to live-blog the game. The game is on Versus.

While working a quarter of the weekend, the Bruins lost in Montreal on Saturday night 7-4. (Fun Fact: The last time I worked a long shift was when the Bruins lost 7-0 to the NY Rangers on St. Patrick’s Day.)

I only caught some of the game against the Canadiens live and the last couple of scores I remember was 1-0 Bruins, 2-2, 3-3, 4-3 Canadiens, and then later when my boss told me the score was 7-4 Canadiens I knew I didn’t miss much.

But that wasn’t the case at all. I actually missed a lot, and caught the last half of the game on the rebroadcast later that night.

That sums up the game in Montreal on Saturday.

Here's a sad fact: I will be working half of the weekend, if not 75% of it. So I won't be able to update until late Sunday night or Monday. There's your reason for not visiting the website for a day.

Tim Thomas will be starting in goal for the Bruins tonight against Montreal.

Defenseman Matt Hunwick was recalled. Aaron Ward skated this morning, but Andrew Ference (knee sprain) is out.

Providence goaltender Jordan Sigalet should be okay after his collapse last night.

Go Bruins! (Can we please beat Montreal once this season?)

The Providence Bruins were playing tonight against the Worcester Sharks. In the third period, goalie Jordan Sigalet collapsed in the crease.

While the action in the American Hockey League game was well up ice, Sigalet fell face first and lie on the ice. It took several seconds before the officials and teams realized the 26-year-old was in danger and stopped the game. Play was delayed several minutes as Sigalet, who has Multiple Sclerosis, was immobilized and taken off the ice on the stretcher.

It was the first such episode of Sigalet’s professional career.

The 5-foot-11, 165-pound goalie appeared conscious as he was wheeled to a waiting ambulance dispatched by Rhode Island Hospital. No word was available as to his condition. P-Bruins coach Scott Gordon confirmed after the game that Sigalet was conscious.

My thoughts and prayers are with Jordan. Hopefully everything turns out okay.

(Credit to the HF Boards for the thread that gave me the heads up.)

Last night’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs had a little bit of everything. It almost makes me wish the Bruins played the Leafs more than 8 times this season because the Bruins should and could easily go 8-0 against them. But now that I said that and jinxed them, they won’t, so I’m glad we got that out of the way.

I got a cheap ticket roughly an hour before the game because it was my first night off for a Bruins game in the last two weeks and I wanted to go all fan’d out. I sported a brand new Bruins sweatshirt that was a Christmas present, and didn’t even bring my camera along.

More Than Two

The Bruins got on the scoreboard quickly when Marc Savard put a shot past Andrew Raycroft in the opening 19 seconds. Glen “Score Us Some Goals” Murray had the lone assist on Savard’s goal. With defenseman Mark Stuart in the penalty box serving a hooking penalty, Kyle Wellwood put the Leafs on the scoreboard 17 seconds into the man advantage. Just 32 seconds later, Marco Sturm gave the Bruins the lead again scoring his 8th goal of the season, assisted by Dennis Wideman and Phil Kessel.

The Bruins went into the second period with the 2-1 lead that became a two-goal lead when Glen Metropolit netted his 3rd goal of the season. Metropolit’s goal was assisted by his linemates Peter Schaefer and Brandon Bochenski. Toronto got a goal back and the Bruins led 3-2 going into the final period.

An interesting stat for the Bruins is they are unbeaten when leading going into the third period with a record of 7-0-1. Schaefer would score two goals in the 3rd period, the first at 2:11 and the second at 5:35, to secure the win for the Bruins.

Tim Thomas had 34 saves, making 19 saves on 19 shots in the third period.

At 2:24 of the first period, Milan Lucic and Mark Bell dropped the gloves. Lucic got some good shots in, but still had to go to the dressing room for repairs most likely for his hand.

Manny Being Manny

While goaltender Manny Fernandez, acquired over the summer for Petr Kalus, remains on the injured list with a knee sprain, goalie prospect Tuukka Rask has been backing up Tim Thomas.

Rask made the trip with the team to Montreal today, and will again be backing up Thomas tomorrow. If Rask remains with the team until they play the Leafs again on Tuesday, it would be an interesting storyline if Rask gets the start against the team that traded him for Raycroft.

Meanwhile, Fernandez is still recovering from his knee injury; it is unknown when he’ll return to the Bruins’ line-up. There has been recent word that he might need knee surgery.

Getting Healthy

Defensemen Andrew Ference and Bobby Allen returned to the Bruins’ line-up last night. Ference was paired with Zdeno Chara, while Allen was paired with Mark Stuart. Andrew Alberts and Dennis Wideman remained the only pair unchanged.

Defenseman Aaron Ward didn’t pass his neurological test the other day, but did return to practice today. Ference was absent from practice.

Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli was on a Toronto-based radio show yesterday and commented that center Patrice Bergeron could be out for the season. Chairelli spoke with Boston media last night and explained what he meant.

"What I said was, I'm operating under the assumption that he could be out for the year," Chiarelli said between the first and second periods of last night's game against the Maple Leafs at the Garden. "That's the nature of concussions.

"Who knows, he could be back in a month."

Chiarelli said he spoke with Bergeron yesterday, and the center told him it was "a good day," compared with days earlier this week when he felt tired.

"He had some color in his face," said Chiarelli. "And he's got a little better movement in his neck - not as sore."

Forward Shawn Thornton is recovering well from his broken foot.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are in town tonight to play the Bruins (8-6-2) for the first time this season. The Leafs (7-7-5) are coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens. (I have to admit when I was looking for the Leafs’ record, and saw 5 overtime losses, my reaction was, “Five?!” because that seems a little high.) The Leafs are 4-3-1 on the road, and the Bruins are 5-2-1 at home.

The Bruins should be going with Tim Thomas (6-4-2, 1.65 GAA, .950 Sv%) in net tonight as he had a stellar game on Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres making 45 saves in the 2-1 win. Thomas is second in the league in save percentage, only .02 behind Dan Ellis of the Nashville Predators. Tuukka Rask is listed as the back-up tonight as Manny Fernandez is still having problems with his knee.

TSN is reporting that former Bruin Andrew Raycroft will be in goal for the Leafs (no, I didn’t type Bruins; I only typed “Br” there.) I was looking forward to Vesa Toskala starting, but eh, I’m not that picky.

The Leafs projected lines look like this:

Ponikarovsky – Sundin – Blake
Steen – Stajan – Devereaux
Tlusty – Wellwood – Antropov
Kilger – Bell – Tucker

Kronwall – Kaberle
Gill – White
McCabe – Wozniewski

It sounds like defensemen Andrew Ference and Bobby Allen could be back for tonight’s game.

It should be a good match-up and a game the Bruins should win. We’ll see if that happens tonight.

Humor got me posting again. I will catch up on all things Bruin later today.

But first.

Aaron Ward, who missed a game for the first time this season Saturday because of a concussion sustained two days earlier, returned to practice yesterday and skated with no limitations. He is scheduled to undergo a neuro-psych test today. If he passes, he will be cleared to play Thursday against Toronto. When asked where he was scheduled to take the test, Ward said he had no idea. "Maybe that's the first part of the test," Ward joked. "You get a map and read it."

That has to easily be the quote of the week from the Bruins. Hopefully Ward's test goes well today and he'll be back on the ice for Thursday's game.

The Bruins (7-6-1) host the Buffalo Sabres (6-8-1) tonight at the Garden. This is the third meeting between the Bruins and Sabres in 10 days. The season series is split with overtimes wins, the Bruins took the two points on November 1st and the Sabres took the two points three days ago.

There is no word whether Tim Thomas or Tuukka Rask will be getting the start in goal for the Bruins.

Both defensemen Matt Hunwick and Matt Lashoff could get in tonight’s game if Andrew Ference and Bobby Allen remain out.

After reading that goaltender Manny Fernandez and Shawn Thornton were placed on the IR (Patrice Bergeron is on the long-term IR) yesterday, I walked around my apartment getting ready for work shaking my head in disbelief.

It was November 9th, the Bruins season just over a month old and there are more than a handful of injured players on the team. Defenseman Bobby Allen joined the injured list yesterday afternoon apparently, and defenseman Matt Lashoff is on emergency recall from Providence.

Here is the injured list from the game notes for tonight’s game against Buffalo.

Bobby Allen: Day-to-day; Arm injury suffered Nov. 8 vs. Montreal.

Patrice Bergeron: (IR) Out indefinitely; Concussion and broken nose suffered Oct. 27 vs. Philadelphia.

Andrew Ference: Day-to-day; Upper core injury suffered Nov. 3 in Ottawa.

Manny Fernandez: (IR) Out indefinitely; Knee strain suffered Oct. 30 in practice.

Shawn Thornton: (IR) Out indefinitely; Broken foot suffered Nov. 4 vs. Ottawa.

Aaron Ward: Out indefinitely; Concussion suffered Nov. 8 vs. Montreal.

What has happened to this young Bruins season? They started 3-2 on their season opening west coast road trip, and now they’re struggling to win games. The Bruins scored 8 goals against the Los Angeles Kings, and now they have lost their last four games, one in a shootout and one in overtime, and have scored five goals in those four games.

The Bruins struggles scoring goals is led by sniper Glen Murray, who has only netted one goal in 15 games. Peter Schaefer, Milan Lucic, Dennis Wideman and Mark Stuart each have one goal also to compare.

The season is slipping away and it’s time for the Bruins to right the ship again. I know injuries hurt any team, but this team can still win without the players who are injured.

They need to or the playoff hopes will slip away.

The Bruins lost 2-1 to the Montreal Canadiens last night. Marco Sturm scored the Bruins lone goal, and Tim Thomas made the start in goal.

There was a scary moment late in the third period when defenseman Aaron Ward was lying face down on the ice. The Bruins trainer called for the stretcher immediately, giving Bruins fans a feeling of déjà vu. Ward was later helped to the Bruins bench by defensemen Dennis Wideman and Andrew Alberts. Ward suffered a concussion and an update should be known later (check for Fluto to update).

In the meantime, the Bruins recalled defenseman Matt Hunwick from Providence to take Ward's spot.

And the hits just keep on coming. Quick check of Fluto's blog reveals that Manny Fernandez and Shawn Thornton have been placed on the injured reserved list. Thornton is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with a broken foot. There is no timetable for Fernandez's return.

I will have more thoughts later tonight if I can't stop back in during the afternoon.

Patrice Bergeron is at the table with GM Peter Chiarelli. NESN joined after the first question was asked. Bergeron is wearing a suit and a foam neck brace. His nose is swollen, but he doesn’t look too bad physically for what he might be feeling.

Bergeron saw the hit last week, and some part he couldn’t really remember. He couldn’t remember why he was going for that puck, and then after watching that play, he remembered he was going to pass it to “Chuckie” (Chuck Kobasew).

He’d be lying if he said he feels good right now. He feels a lot of the symptoms from the concussion. It’s hard for him to walk more than 200 feet without feeling dizzy. So far, he said there’s been improvement from last week and he’s taking that as a positive. Bergeron said, “Personally, it was a hit from behind, and I’m here to send a message about the consequences.”

“Hitting is part of the game but not from behind,” Bergeron said. Bergeron thinks something needs to be done. Bergeron says it could be worse, but he’s walking. Randy Jones left Bergeron a message last week. Jones apologized and said he didn’t mean to do that. Bergeron isn’t saying anything bad about Jones, just trying to change things so it doesn’t happen to anybody else.

Bergeron wants to send the message to NHL players, respect each other more and when you see a player’s numbers, don’t hit them because it’s against the rules. Bergeron said he could be in a wheelchair because of the consequences. Bergeron also wants to send the message to kids that it’s not okay to hit from behind.

Bergeron doesn’t know why there’s discussion about players setting themselves up to be hit like that. The last English question is about his return and Bergeron says he’s confident he’ll be back. It’s about feeling better. If he had to do the same thing again, he would go for the puck exactly how he did.

The French questions are now.

The conference lasted 13 minutes, and Bergeron walked under his own power from the table and down the steps off to the side. But you could see as he was getting up, it took an effort for him to do that.

2:47 p.m. Ash commented with a link to the WBZ podcast (mp3 file).

Friday 10:27 a.m. Some notables from the French question/answer portion are here. Fluto also has a great recap of quotes from Bergeron, much better than mine. The entire transcript is on the Bruins site.

First, the most important thing to know in today’s game preview. Tonight’s game against the Montreal Canadiens is at 7:30 p.m. at the TD Banknorth Garden. It is not the usual 7:00 start. So fans have an extra half hour to do things before the game. Enjoy your extra half hour.

The Bruins are hosting the Montreal Canadiens (8-3-3) tonight. It is the second meeting between the rivals this season. In the first meeting between the two teams, Montreal beat the Bruins 6-1. I couldn’t remember when that game was, and for good reason. The Canadiens are 63-67-33 when facing the Bruins after Boston played the day before.

Hurt So Good: The Bruins injury list is piling up aside from Patrice Bergeron. Manny Fernandez (knee), Andrew Ference (upper core) and Shawn Thornton (foot) are all listed day-to-day. Thornton was the other player that wasn’t playing last night. There is no word if Ference or Thornton will be in the line-up tonight.

Across the Ice: The Canadiens played the Sabres in their last game and shut them out 2-0. Cristobal Huet was in goal and saved all 27 shots… The Canadiens have yet to allow a shorthanded goal this season. They are one of five teams (Sabres, Sharks, Senators, Avalanche) to not allow a shortie this season… The Canadiens have the best power play in the league at 30.1%, scoring 22 goals on 73 extra-man opportunities. For a fun preview, check here.

Save Me: The starting goalie for the Bruins has yet to be announced. The Globe reported that Carey Price (2-1-1, 2.65 GAA, .906 Sv%) would start for the Canadiens. Tuukka Rask might get play his first NHL game tonight. If not Rask, expect Tim Thomas (5-3-2, 1.67 GAA, .948 Sv%) to be back between the pipes.

I am not going to tonight’s game, but I know a handful of people that are. I do have to say if Rask starts, I’m going to feel like one left out fan.

A reminder to check back around 2 when Bergeron will be speaking with media at the TD Banknorth Garden. I will most likely be live-blogging, updating every few minutes or so.

1:49 p.m. The Bruins were not in Boston this morning. Due to plane trouble, the team flew back from Buffalo this morning.

So the Buffalo Sabres defeated the Bruins in a 2-1 overtime victory on Wednesday night. Marc Savard scored the first goal of the game, which I saw after work, and got the lead for the Bruins in the first period. Buffalo tied it later in the first, and during the second period, I commuted back to home. Nobody scored by the time I made it home, and the Bruins and Sabres went to overtime. I missed the overtime goal, which was fine because I was focused on more important things like not having milk to make macaroni and cheese, and eating a can of Spaghetti O’s for a late dinner.

I am watching the rebroadcast of the game, the last couple of minutes of regulation so I have an idea of how the overtime goal was scored. Glen Metropolit was shaken up. Tuukka Rask is wearing #40. Oh and Tim Thomas was in net against Buffalo. I wonder what the chances Rask will get the start against Montreal.

While I wait for overtime to start, I will say that the Bruins are holding a press conference at 2 p.m. where center Patrice Bergeron will address the media. He will only be answering ten minutes of questions (five minutes in English, five minutes in French) during the press conference. TSN and RDS are covering the Canadiens/Bruins game in Canada. I will be covering the press conference for the blog, so if you can’t make it to a television, check back here in the afternoon.

Overtime is on now for the Bruins/Sabres game. The Sabres really controlled overtime, it looks like. I remember that, when the net was on top of Thomas and there wasn’t any whistle because it wasn’t knocked off. I still made it a point to complain about it. So the Sabres goal came with 1:44 left in overtime, and I missed it again because I was reading a blog. Cam Neely didn’t look as happy as he did when the Bruins scored in overtime to beat the Sabres last week, in a game I still didn’t recap but sat in the first row for.

Andrew Ference was still out because of his upper core injury. Milan Lucic was back in the line-up.

I wish I could say more about the game, but I really can’t. (I could, but typing on the laptop is much different from the desktop, therefore I’m aggravating my stitched up left hand/wrist more than I should be.) And I could save my words for when the Sabres play the Bruins again in three days, when the Sabres come to Boston on Saturday.

I will return in less than twelve hours to preview the Bruins and Montreal game, but for now, I say goodnight.

I kind of forgot about tonight's game preview against the Buffalo Sabres. Sue me. I was off running errands and eating lunch and drinking coffee from Dunkin Donuts.

Then I realized, the preview! So I will wing it.

The Bruins (7-5-1) hosted the Sabres (5-7-1) six days ago at the TD Banknorth Garden. The Bruins skated away with a 4-3 overtime win. The Sabres have lost their last two games since then.

Clueless: I would normally say who's starting, but I haven't a clue because the Globe blog hasn't been updated. But if I had to guess, it's be Ryan Miller (4-6-1, 2.99 GAA, .894 Sv%) for the Sabres. For the Bruins, it could be either Tim Thomas or Tuukka Rask. Think of it as a surprise.

I won't be around for the beginning of the game to live-blog, but should be checking in at some point during the game. I guess that's all for now. Go Bruins!

In today’s Bruins practice, Tuukka Rask was on the ice participating with the Boston team. Manny Fernandez skated with the strength and conditioning coach before the team practice. It is possible that Rask and Tim Thomas will split starts in the back-to-back games Wednesday in Buffalo and Thursday in Boston against Montreal. But that decision is up to coach Claude Julien. Defenseman Andrew Ference did not practice.

An update on Bergeron

Patrice Bergeron, who suffered a Grade 3 concussion and broken nose when drilled by the Flyers Randy Jones a week ago on Saturday, visited the practice facility here to receive treatment for his multitude of wounds.

‘’He still hasn’t been able to have his nose set,’’ noted Chiarelli, ‘‘because they have to wait for his other injuries to settle and stablize first. He’s still really out of it.’’

Stat Leaders

Thomas remains in the top five of both save percentage and goals against average in the league. Thomas ranks 5th in GAA with 1.65 and 3rd in save percentage with .949.

Under the Bud Light plus/minus, Chuck Kobasew ranks 4th overall with +9 and is the top forward in the category.

The Boston Bruins recalled goaltender Tuukka Rask yesterday and sent goaltender Jordan Sigalet back to Providence. The Bruins face a tough schedule this week playing the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday and Saturduay, and the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

The move comes as Tim Thomas has started the last five games. Manny Fernandez is still out with a left knee strain.

The Bruins will be practicing this morning before jetting off to Buffalo later today.

The Boston Bruins hosted the Ottawa Senators in the second game of a home-and-home series. The Senators prevailed victorious in the first game in Ottawa, scoring three power play goals and winning 3-2. Both Tim Thomas and Martin Gerber were back in net for their respective teams, but there were some line-up changes on the Bruins side. The Bruins sent forward David Krejci down to Providence and recalled Petteri Nokelainen, who made his Bruins debut. Defenseman Andrew Ference was out of the line-up because of an upper core injury and Milan Lucic was a healthy scratch. On a personal level, I was disappointed in myself when it took me a few minutes into warm-ups to realize Ference was missing. And I was greatly disappointed when I didn’t realize Lucic was missing until Tracy text messaged me about it after warm-ups. I hope I can contribute my lack of noticing to being tired. Defenseman Bobby Allen and forward Jeremy Reich both got into the line-up with the absences of Ference and Lucic.

The Bruins jumped up out to a 1-0 lead at 4:13 of the first period when Chuck Kobasew netted his 6th goal of the season. Kobasew’s goal was assisted by Marco Sturm and Phil Kessel. Despite being whistled for six penalties in the first two periods, the Bruins killed off each of them and their penalty killing looked much improved from Saturday night’s game.

But special teams still cost the Bruins two points. With forward Nick Foligno in the penalty box for interference at 3:33, the Senators tied the game up. Antoine Vermette scored the team’s league-leading 4th shorthanded goal to tie the game at 1 in the third period. It was the second shorthanded goal allowed by the Bruins.

Five minutes of overtime came and went, and the zambonis came out to prepare the ice for a shootout. I said to my mother, who attended the game with me, “Kessel will score and we can go home.” It didn’t exactly turn out that way. The Senators shot first and Daniel Alfredsson put the puck past Thomas with a snap shot. Chuck Kobasew was first for the Bruins and missed the net. Vermette was the second shooter for Ottawa and beat Thomas with a backhand. Kessel came out and shot second, but unlike when he shoots in the “closer spot”, he missed the net and the Senators celebrated their shootout victory as Thomas headed straight off the ice.

The Senators won 2-1 coming from behind and swept the Bruins in the weekend series.

After the game, I had the opportunity to get Mike Fisher’s autograph, which was something I had been planning on since the 2007-2008 season schedule was released. It was easily my highlight of the game.

First reported by Kevin Paul Dupont, the Bruins made a little transaction today sending forward David Krejci to Providence.

The Bruins recalled center Petteri Nokelainen who will wear #56 for tonight's game against the Senators.

The Bruins in suits were shown walking down the hallway to the dressing room. Milan Lucic was leading the team. General manager Peter Chiarelli responded to some media comments regarding Patrice Bergeron. Rob Simpson confirms Tim Thomas and Martin Gerber are in net for their respective teams. Former Ottawa Senator Peter Schaefer was interviewed by Simpson.

Starters: Thomas, Murray, Axelsson, Savard, Alberts, Ference.

First Period: 19:23 - Thomas makes the first save of the game on Heatley. McGrattan and Thornton are fighting and McGrattan got more punches in and the tackle. The fighting majors came at 2:39. Axelsson gets a penalty for having a Senators player skate by and break his stick. It was called hooking at 3:29. The Senators score on the power play on their third attempt after Thomas recovered and got back in the crease area, but Fisher was still there. The power play goal was scored at 4:16 and was also Fisher’s 200th NHL point. (I seriously have a soft spot for Fisher and kind/sort of root for him.) McGrattan had a big hit on Alberts. Bruins get a power play with 1:03 left in the period. The Bruins haven’t had a lot of puck possession this period, or really any at all for that matter. So maybe they’ll possess the puck a bit on the power play and see what it feels like. Well it didn’t happen in the 1:03 to end the period. Senators lead 1-0 after one.

Intermission: Pizza time!

Second Period: I was eating pizza when Kobasew scored two goals. Somebody cracked the glass behind Thomas, so they’re replacing it now. The Kobasew goals came at 1:04 and 4:50. The first goal was assisted by Chara and Savard. The second goal was assisted by Sturm and Alberts. 10:23 – Sturm going off to the penalty box for hooking. Heatley scored on the power play at 10:14. The Bruins penalty kill is not so hot. Axelsson is going off for boarding at 14:24. Then he got boarded and he was in a similar position as Bergeron. But the refs don’t call that, or the earlier boarding hit against Wideman. The Bruins actually killed a penalty! Thomas had a huge save in the last minute of the period. Score at the end of two periods is 2-2.

Pat on the Back: This goes to Rob Simpson because not only did he interview Mike Fisher during the first intermission, but he also added Andrew Alberts in the second intermission. It doesn’t get any better than that for me. Sadly.

Third Period: Chara opens the period with a nice hit. I am stats hunting because I want to find the Senators record when they’re tied after two periods. Ottawa is 3-0-0 when tied after two periods, and the Bruins are 1-1-0. Thomas just made a nice save. Bochenski picks up a cross-checking penalty at 3:04. Bruins killed another penalty! Thomas made two saves on Fisher in about 10 seconds. Kessel was shaken up a few shifts ago and has not been seen since. And now he just took a face-off, so hopefully he’s okay. Thomas had another great save. Thomas had another save. Senators are getting another power play at 12:50 as Savard goes off for hooking. And Fisher scores another power play goal at 13:49. Bruins are putting on a little pressure. Thomas with a few more crazy saves with less than 4 minutes left. Ottawa fans are booing Stuart for checking Donovan. With a minute remaining, the Bruins pulled Thomas. Bruins iced the puck with 10 seconds to go. And the game ends with a little hatred coming out between the lines that were on the ice. Wideman ended up getting a double minor for roughing at 20:00 and Meszaros got a penalty for roughing. The Bruins had 19 shots on net and the Senators had 45. The Senators won 3-2.

Holy Shot!: Fisher led both teams with 9 shots on goal.

Another Pat on the Back: Rob Simpson interviewed Chuck Kobasew after the game. Three of my favorite players speaking in one game is one nice hat trick.

WBF View: Penalties and penalty killing lost this game for the Bruins tonight. At even-strength, the Bruins could have easily won this game. It should be an interesting game tomorrow. If the Bruins can stay out of the box, they should be able to get a couple of points.

The Bruins face-off against division rival Ottawa Senators (10-1-0) tonight. The Bruins visit Ottawa tonight and the Senators will visit Boston tomorrow in this set of away-and-home games. Last season, the teams split the regular season series 4-4-0.

Goaltender Manny Fernandez didn’t make the trip to Ottawa, so Jordan Sigalet will be backing up Tim Thomas (5-2-0, 1.56 GAA, .949 Sv%) who is expected to start both tonight and most likely tomorrow. Ottawa appears to be starting Ray Emery (2-0-0, 2.50 GAA, .902 Sv%) tonight, perhaps resting Martin Gerber (7-1-0, 1.99 GAA, .940 Sv%) for tomorrow. But I also read that Gerber is starting tonight, so take your pick.

Across the Ice: The Ottawa Senators sit atop both the Northeast Division and Eastern Conference with a record of 10-1-0 this season. Their only loss (5-3 against Carolina) was on October 11th… Center Jason Spezza signed a seven year contract extension yesterday that will take him through the 2014-2015 season. Spezza will not be in the line-up for tonight’s game.

Hey, I know you: During the summer, the Bruins acquired forward Peter Scahefer from Ottawa in exchange for forward Shean Donovan. Donovan wears #10 for the Senators and has scored two goals, both game-winners, this season.

I will be recapping Thursday’s game at some point and will backdate the post. I also have some pictures from the start of the game and during the game, splitting picture-taking responsibilities with my mother while I worked. The album will have the least amount of pictures ever, but hopefully quality beats quantity in this case, and will be up later this afternoon.

As for tonight, I will be live-blogging the game starting at 7.

I was at work yesterday afternoon and NESN was on one of the many televisions at the establishment. I watched the bottom line and saw GM Peter Chiarelli's update about Patrice Bergeron. I actually received an update from a source within the Bruins organization at Thursday's game and Chiarelli only confirmed that, which is marked in bold in the quoted portion.

According to Chiarelli, Bergeron has trouble sleeping, waking up once or twice each night. During the day, Bergeron wears a neck collar. He is sedentary and can watch TV, but becomes tired and distracted easily.

This week, Bergeron had to be transported in a wheelchair from his home to the Garden for treatment. Bergeron, 22, lives nearby and usually walks to games and practices.

At the time hearing about the neck collar and wheelchair, I didn't want to disclose any information that wouldn't be public knowledge out of respect to Bergeron, the Bruins and my source.

"He was a fraction of an inch away from receiving an injury that was life-threatening," said Chiarelli. "I was told at one point that it was pretty certain he had broken his neck. He's very well-conditioned. He's strong up top with the [trapezius muscle], shoulders, and neck. But for that, he probably would have broken his neck."

I have set up a page on the site where fans can leave well wishes and thoughts for Bergeron if you choose to do so.

The Bruins (6-4-0) host their division rival Buffalo Sabres (5-5-0) tonight at the Garden. This is the first meeting of the season between these two teams. The Sabres are coming off two straight road wins in Florida with a 4-3 OT win against the Lightning and a 4-2 win against the Panthers. In Tampa, the Sabres overcame a two goal deficit to win the game in the extra session.

Bruins fans are going to be wondering how the Bruins will bounce back from losing one of their key players in Saturday’s game against Philadelphia. Players like Marc Savard and Marco Sturm, as well as other supporting players, will have to step up in this crucial stretch of games. This stretch could easily make or break the season.

"There's no doubt there's a good chance we'll be looking back at this stretch at the end of the year, one way or another - whether it propelled us into the playoffs or whether it was a situation where it cost us," said Julien, whose team kicks off its extended test against Buffalo tonight at TD Banknorth Garden. "We really have to take it pretty seriously here and make sure we're ready for it."

Tim Thomas (4-2-0, 1.34 GAA, .957 Sv%) will get the start in goal for the Bruins. He still is the top goalie in the league with save percentage. I am going to assume that Ryan Miller (4-5-0, 3.11 GAA, .896 Sv%) will be starting for the Sabres.

New Faces: The Bruins will have some familiar new faces in jerseys tonight. Brandon Bochenski, sent to Providence on a conditioning stint on October 23rd, was recalled on October 28th and will be in the line-up tonight. Hopefully Bochenski will even get some ice time under his belt. Goaltender Jordan Sigalet was recalled from Providence on Tuesday and will dress as Thomas’s back-up tonight due to Manny Fernandez’s minor knee sprain.

Tidbits: Happy birthday to Bruins winger Glen Murray. Murray is celebrating his 35th birthday today... The referees for tonight’s game are Chris Rooney and Eric Furlatt.

Across the Ice: The Sabres rotate the captaincy each month and defenseman Toni Lydman is the captain for November. Ales Kotalik will be playing his 300th NHL game tonight.

An update on Patrice Bergeron:

According to Julien, Patrice Bergeron is suffering headaches from the Grade 3 concussion he sustained last Saturday. "I think right now it's about giving him some space and a little bit of rest," Julien said. "Hopefully in the next few days, we'll start seeing some positive signs of a guy getting better."

Red Sox owner John Henry and chairman Tom Werner will be dropping the ceremonial puck before tonight’s game. The World Series trophy will also be in the building.

I can’t make it for warm-ups tonight, and most likely will miss the start of the game, but I will be sending a back-up with my camera for, at the very least, the ceremonial puck drop. The back-up is known as my mother. Upon accepting the gig as WBF photographer, she realized she has to lug my not-so-light camera along with her.

And thanks to a great friend, when I do get to the game, there will be a seat in the first row waiting for me. I am wicked excited about that. Go Bruins!