Untitled Page

Boston Bruins News

Horton has setback in concussion recovery
February 11
Boston Globe
 
"Nathan Horton will miss his seventh straight game today because of a concussion. It will not be the last. After yesterday's practice at TD Garden, coach Claude Julien acknowledged that Horton has suffered a setback. Horton first skated on his own last Sunday. But Horton's post-concussion symptoms, which have included headaches, resumed once Horton hit the ice. "He's been pulled back,'' Julien said. "He's got some symptoms. So we've pulled him back. It's hard for me to come out every day with a step forward, step backward. He's back to square one. We're giving him some time here. Those symptoms, once he got on the ice, came back.'' Horton suffered the concussion Jan. 22 when he was hit by"
Concussed Nathan Horton suffers setback
February 11
Boston Herald
 
"Bruins coach Claude Julien said after practice yesterday that Nathan Horton has taken a step back on the road to recovery from a concussion after skating last Sunday. "He's been pulled back," Julien said after practice at the Garden. "He's got some symptoms, so we've pulled him back. That's why I said (earlier this week) that it's hard for me to come out every day and say whether it's a step forward or a step backward. But he's back to square one and we're giving him some time here. Those symptoms, once he got on the ice, came back." Horton suffered the concussion Jan. 22 in Philadelphia when he was the victim of a blind-side hit from the Flyers' Tom Sestito, a hit that did not garner a"
Claude Julien turns up heat in hard practice
February 10
Boston Herald
 
"Claude Julien isn't much for punishment practices and he didn't call yesterday's session one, either. But it had to get his players' attention. The roughly hour-long session started with a battle drill. It ended with a battle drill. And in between, there were a few more battle drills, with Julien occasionally barking at players to keep digging. By the end of it, the players left the Ristuccia Arena ice with their sweat-drenched jerseys clinging to their equipment. Such is life when you're a legitimate Stanley Cup contender and you've lost half of your last dozen games, the most recent of which was the 6-0 pummeling at the hands of the out-of-the-playoff-picture Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday"
Putting politics aside, Tim Thomas is not talking
February 10
Boston Herald
 
"In the wake of Tim Thomas' Facebook posting Wednesday in support of the Catholic Church's battle against the Obama administration over contraceptives, the goalie faced a new round of questions yesterday asking him to expound on his thoughts. Not surprisingly, Thomas, who refused his own team's repeated requests to attend the recent White House Stanley Cup function, dug in his heels and kept to the same robotic mantra after Wednesday's game in Buffalo."
Facebook posting dogs Tim Thomas
February 10
Boston Herald
 
"In the wake of Tim Thomas' Facebook posting yesterday in support of the Catholic church's battle against the Obama administration over contraceptives, the goalie faced a new round of reporters today who wanted him to expound on his thoughts. Not surprisingly, the goalie, who was able to deny his own team's repeated requests to attend the White House function with the rest of his teammates a couple of weeks ago, dug his heels in and kept to the same robotic mantra that he used when asked about it after last night's game in Buffalo. "It's my personal life that has absolutely nothing to do with the Bruins or hockey and I'm going to use my right to remain silent," said Thomas."
Wrong call costs B's tying tally
February 9
Boston Herald
 
"It appeared the Bruins had a good goal called back at 8:20 of the first period of last night's 6-0 loss at the Sabres. Milan Lucic tipped a Chris Kelly shot past Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller, but it was waved off for incidental contact that Rich Peverley supposedly made with Miller. It also happened to be Miller's first game against the B's since Lucic blew him up in a collision on Nov. 12 at the Garden. Did Lucic feel the antennae of referees Dan O'Halloran and Rob Martell was any higher for such goalie contact because of that? "I don't know. It's probably something that the referee would be better off answering, but I guess he saw incidental contact, but the replay clearly showed there was"
Bruins' Tim Thomas takes 'stand with Catholics' on Facebook
February 9
Boston Herald
 
"Bruins goalie Tim Thomas waded into political waters again yesterday, declaring on his Facebook page, "I Stand with the Catholics in the fight for Religious Freedom." While he didn't say so explicitly, and he wasn't immediately available for further comment, the post could be in response to the Obama administration's directive that all insurance plans, including those offered by religious-affiliated schools and hospitals, provide women free access to contraceptives. The new policy has set off a firestorm of controversy among religious groups, especially Catholics, who say the requirement would force them to violate church teachings and long-held beliefs against contraception. Republican"
Bruins take big step back in shutout loss to Sabres
February 9
Boston Herald
 
"The Bruins continued their one-step-up, one-step-back dance they've been perfecting in the new year, and they added a new twist to it last night. They fell flat on their face. After playing a terrific game in a 4-1 win over the Capitals on Sunday, the B's started last night with some fine intentions against the Buffalo Sabres, but saw the game quickly unravel en route to their worst loss of the season, 6-0, at First Niagara Center. "It went from good to bad to worse," said coach Claude Julien, who has rarely seen his team take such a beating."
Change good for Krejci
February 8
Boston Herald
 
"When the Bruins hit the ice for practice yesterday at Ristuccia Arena, David Krejci found himself in the gray jersey of the third line, skating with Benoit Pouliot and Jordan Caron, the same players he centered in the team's 4-1 win over the Capitals on Sunday. It is an unusual spot for a player who is used to skating among the top six forwards and very often as the No. 1 center. But after steaming into the All-Star break on a hot streak in which he notched points in 15-of-17 games, Krejci started the post-break portion of the schedule decidedly cooler. After recording an assist in the first game back against Ottawa, Krejci went pointless in a pair of losses to Carolina and Pittsburgh in"
Slumping Hamill fails to stick
February 8
Boston Herald
 
"Zach Hamill cleared waivers yesterday at noon and was assigned to Providence. When the fourth-year pro and former first-round draft pick was first promoted to the NHL team this season from the AHL club, it appeared as though the forward may have finally turned a corner. For the first time in his pro career, he was playing as a winger and seemed to be adapting well to the shift from center. But after picking up a pair of assists and being a plus-4 in his first three games with the Bruins [team stats], Hamill's play slipped. In his last 13 games, he went pointless and was a minus-1. "I just think he needs to get stronger," coach Claude Julien said. "He's a guy that's capable of making plays"
Julien: Mums the word on Horton
February 7
CSN New England
 
"Nathan Horton was scheduled to skate on his own Sunday, and it appears that's the last piece of information anybody will have on No. 18 until he's fit to return to the practice ice. Bruins coach Claude Julien deflected all questions about Horton's current status and whether the solitary skating session was a success, and said he won't be commenting any further on the concussed winger's path to recovery. "Guys, I'm done talking about it," said Julien. "I look at every team that has guys with concussions, and you've got to give him a chance to let him go through the things. I can't give you an update every day on this guy because it could be long, it could be short. When you see him on the"
B's step back into familiar form
February 7
Boston Herald
 
"The Bruins flew home from Washington in plenty of time Sunday night to watch the Super Bowl, from kickoff to heartbreaking Hail Mary. No doubt the B's players were as a disappointed as any New England fan, but they did have the consolation of knowing that earlier in the day they delivered maybe their best 60-minute performance in a long time. The B's have begun a very difficult stretch of their schedule, three weeks that will go a long way toward determining their playoff seed. Eight-of-10 games will be on the road against some tough opponents."
Positive strides for Horton
February 6
Boston Herald
 
"Winger Nathan Horton, sidelined since Jan. 22 with a mild concussion, skated yesterday in Boston. It was his next step under the NHL's protocol for return from concussion, a program that so far is moving along successfully. "He's started to skate, which is another step in the right direction," coach Claude Julien said before yesterday's 4-1 win against the Washington Capitals. "When you see him in full practice with us, that's going to be the next sign. Until then that's basically all I can tell you. "You take steps and he's got to stay symptom-free. You go from the bike, to the ice, to contact. You've just got to make sure the next day, or the next few days, there's no setbacks.""
Bruins put slump on ice
February 6
Boston Herald
 
"For the first time in weeks, the Bruins truly looked like the Bruins for 60 minutes — like the team that won a Stanley Cup last June and dominated the league earlier this season. Playing their best all-around game in some time, the Bruins handled the Washington Capitals, 4-1, and avoided their first three-game losing streak since October. "I think overall, the last couple of days, we went in the right direction," said goalie Tim Thomas, who was in fine form. "We're starting to play the type of hockey the Boston Bruins play." This is the start of a crucial and difficult stretch for the B's, with 8-of-10 on the road, and they may be rediscovering their game just in time. "We took another"
Joe Corvo takes a shot at adding to offense
February 5
Boston Herald
 
"An unlikely source produced the lone Bruins goal in yesterday's 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Defenseman Joe Corvo netted his third goal of the season on a long-range wrist shot from the left point that beat Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury at 6:45 of the third period at the Garden. Corvo was the beneficiary of two excellent plays before and after his shot found its final resting place. Patrice Bergeron made a strong play along the boards to provide Corvo an uncontested shot from his perch. Brad Marchand did his part by obstructing Fleury's view of the play before the puck sailed inside the far post."
Reasons for encouragement
February 5
Boston Herald
 
"Several of the Bruins' wins during the last month or so, while good for the desired two points, were far short of great 60-minute success stories. Yes, a win is a win, but for anyone who looked honestly at many of those games, they only added to the troubling feeling that has grown around this team since late December. Yesterday was the opposite: a loss after which the Bruins could feel OK about themselves. The 2-1 setback against the hardworking and talented Pittsburgh Penguins, dipping the B's to 4-5-1 in their last 10, was hardly the ideal outcome. But there were encouraging signs in this one."
Halting end to Tim Thomas hot streak
February 5
Boston Herald
 
"Tim Thomas couldn't make up for the Bruins' scoring deficiencies in yesterday's 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Garden. The goalie had won his past three starts going into the game and looked sharp on 26 saves. But Thomas was beaten cleanly on two close-range shots by Evgeni Malkin and Matt Cooke. Thomas is 21-10-0 on the season with a 2.14 goals-against average. Malkin scored the first goal on a Chris Kunitz rebound during a power play with 8.1 seconds to play in the first period. Cooke scored the game-winning goal from a scrum in front of the Bruins cage at 1:53 of the third."
Goals, victories tough for Bruins to come by
February 5
Boston Herald
 
"If focus, effort and energy were measured in goals, the Bruins would have fared better in yesterday's 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Garden. Factoring in Thursday night's shutout loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, the B's lack of scoring since the All-Star break is now an issue. "We were better (yesterday) than we were the other night," coach Claude Julien said. "I thought we played a lot harder than we had but like everything else, when you are struggling you don't just come in the next night and everything is fixed."
Time to wake up for Bruins
February 3
Boston Herald
 
"Peter Chiarelli has been one of the more patient and deliberative general managers in the National Hockey League, not a fellow prone to knee-jerk reactions and hasty decisions — a proponent of the notion that often the best trades are the ones you do not make. He has maintained faith in the Bruins, and why not? When the B's are good, they're very good. But the problem Chiarelli & Co. have faced for some time now is that the B's aren't very good. Mediocre has been more like it these last dozen or so games."
Lowly Hurricanes beat Bruins, sweep season series
February 3
Boston Herald
 
"Some things just don't make any sense. The Southeast Division might be the worst division in the NHL, but the Bruins are now 5-8 against those teams. And the Carolina Hurricanes came into TD Garden last night as the worst team in the Eastern Conference, but thanks to their 3-0 victory, they completed the franchise's first ever sweep over the Bruins. Go figure. The Hurricanes scored a goal in each period — Eric Staal, Tuomo Ruutu and Brandon Sutter — and, after the first period, the B's couldn't muster many high-caliber scoring chances on Cam Ward (47 saves)."
Canes know Bruins have a bone to pick
February 2
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"The Carolina Hurricanes aren't sure which team they'll be playing tonight - the Boston Bruins, or the Boston Brawlers. Or maybe a little of both. Either way, the Canes are expecting to see the defending Stanley Cup champions at their bruising, skillful best. With a win tonight in Boston's TD Garden, the Hurricanes can finish off the first season sweep of the Bruins in Carolina's franchise history."
Explosive B's lacking on defense
February 2
Boston Herald
 
"The fact the Bruins are one of the most explosive teams in the NHL is well established. They lead the league in goals per game (3.54), they've scored twice in fewer than 30 seconds six times, they've scored twice in less than a minute 14 times and, in a game against Ottawa Tuesday that seemed destined for the loss column, they scored three goals in 7:54 to pull a win out of the fire. The B's have picked the right time to get their offense clicking. They are a remarkable plus-38 in the third period this season. But since Christmas, their overall game has slipped from an incredibly productive November and December to the point at which scoring three goals is not what it used to be — an"
Senators collapse in Boston
February 1
Ottawa Citizen
 
"The Ottawa Senators were sailing along, playing well and sitting on a 3-1 lead, when all of a sudden their world turned upside down. The Boston Bruins scored three unanswered goals in just 7:44 from the end of the second to early in the third to take the lead and hang on for a 4-3 win. The worst goal was the fourth — a shot from the centre red line from Dennis Seidenberg that was going wide but which took a weird bounce and deflected in off Craig Anderson's stick. Zdeno Chara, Milan Lucic, and Brad Marchand also scored for Boston. Colin Greening, Kyle Turris, and Erik Karlsson scored for Ottawa. Tim Thomas faced 33 shots for the Bruins while Anderson faced 30."
Feistier Marchand squirrels away a key goal
February 1
Boston Globe
 
"Brad Marchand didn't leave the White House last week without the leader of the free world asking him about his nickname. "Little Ball of Hate,'' said President Obama. "What's up with that nickname?'' Back on Causeway Street yesterday for the first time since that visit to Pennsylvania Avenue, Marchand said the shout-out caught him off-guard."
Bruins catch a break
February 1
Boston Herald
 
"The Bruins proved again last night that, when they put their minds and bodies to a task, they can achieve just about anything. It's just that little matter of maintaining that confident determination for 60 minutes, which the B's have rarely done of late. After falling behind by two goals in their return from the All-Star break thanks to a so-so first period and shoddy play until the final minute of the second, the Bruins scored three goals in 7:54 to beat the surprise team of the NHL, the Ottawa Senators, 4-3, at the Garden. While the B's are still a long way from their dominant days of November and December, coach Claude Julien is more concerned with execution than effort in this lull."
One good turn for Milan Lucic goal
February 1
Boston Herald
 
"A case can be made that Milan Lucic's goal in the final minute of the second period last night was the Bruins' biggest tally of the season. We will never know if this is true, of course, because we'll never know what would have happened in the B's first post-All-Star break outing if Lucic had not scored. What we do know is that, in an important game for the B's, whose play had declined before the break, things were again not looking good through most of two periods against the vastly improved Ottawa Senators."
Tim Thomas gets a welcome back from the fans
February 1
Boston Herald
 
"Given how understanding sports fans usually are of their heroes, it seemed more than likely that Tim Thomas would be welcomed back by TD Garden fans last night after the B's goalie chose to boycott the Stanley Cup champions' recent visit to the White House because of his problems with the federal government. And for Thomas, it was nice to know for sure. Playing in his first game since his decision, Thomas received his usual strong ovation from the faithful."
Bruins mid-season report card
January 31
Boston Herald
 
"If this piece had been prepared at the end of December we could have handled the whole midseason report card business in four words: Everyone gets an A. Alas, as magnificent as the Bruins were in the first few months of the season — after a brief, rotten start — the quality of their play and their individual grades have slipped somewhat as January comes to a close. Maybe it was just human nature that the remarkable level of success enjoyed by the B's during their 21-2-1 stretch led inevitably to some measure of overconfidence, complacency, relaxation and decline in play, as shown in the so-so 7-5-1 record (two shootout wins) in the last 13 games."
Bruins seek to send message
January 31
Boston Herald
 
"The Bruins returned to work at the Garden yesterday after the All-Star break refreshed, refocused and re-energized — but without the hoped-for reinforcement. Taking that last point first, the team hoped first-line winger Nathan Horton might be able to use the time off to bounce back from the mild concussion he suffered in Philadelphia on Jan. 22. But concussions, even mild ones, are mysterious and unpredictable things. And Horton, still feeling post-concussion symptoms, hasn't been able to resume exercise and isn't expected to do so for a couple of more days at least."
Back to the real NHL games
January 30
Ottawa Sun
 columnist Chris Stevenson
"The days at the beach, as tweeted by Capitals defenceman Mike Green from the Cayman Islands, are over. The neon tans from Las Vegas will now start to fade. The NHL's feel-good weekend here — a resounding success which revolved around the emotional outpouring between Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson and Senators fans — now becomes a fond memory. Ahead is a 30-game sausage grinder that is the rest of the NHL season. "You need the break whether you're here or somewhere else doing something different. This is a part of the season the guys really look forward to, just to recharge the battery," said Maple Leafs winger Joffrey Lupul. "When you get back from this break, you're re-energized and you"
Tim Thomas lets play do talking in All-Star triumph
January 30
Boston Herald
 
"A week ago, Tim Thomas pushed his way onto the front pages of newspapers. Yesterday, he was back grabbing the back-page headlines. Six days after causing quite a stir for skipping the Bruins' White House visit because of his issues with the federal government, Tim Thomas returned to doing what he does best — stopping pucks. Thomas added to his record with his fourth straight All-Star Game win in goal after stopping 18-of-21 shots in Team Chara's 12-9 victory over the Team Alfredsson at Scotiabank Place."
Chara's stars beat hometown hero Alfredsson
January 30
Ottawa Sun
 
"On his big day, Daniel Alfredsson surrounded himself with Swedes. But it was a bunch of Slovak buddies, led by New York Rangers winger Marian Gaborik, who drove Team Chara to a 12-9 victory over Team Alfredsson in front of 20,510 in the 57th NHL all-star game Sunday at Scotiabank Place. While former Senators defenceman Zdeno Chara scored the third-period winner, it was Gaborik, voted the game MVP, who led his club to victory with a hat trick and four-point effort as Team Chara walked away with the bragging rights. "You could see the guys wanted to win," said Chara when asked if he gave his team any instructions with the score tied 6-6 going into the third period. "I didn't have to say a"
Bruins goalie Tim Thomas lights political fire but can't stand heat
January 29
Detroit Free Press
 columnist Drew Sharp
"Tim Thomas took the easy route. The Boston Bruins' goalie and Flint native could have stood tall on his stand of individual rights if he exercised the all-important addendum to those rights -- personal accountability. But instead of accepting criticism for his boycott of the team's official White House celebration of their Stanley Cup championship as a consequence of free political expression, Thomas picked a convenient target. He blamed the media. How clichéd! It probably took him all of 3 seconds to figure out that defensive strategy. "I think it's all media-driven now," Thomas told reporters Friday at NHL All-Star weekend in Ottawa. "It has been from the start. Everything I said then"
Second gear
January 29
Boston Globe
 
"We'll see today if Bruins coach Claude Julien gives the kid a break, allows his budding offensive phenom, Tyler Seguin, to cast off those chains that bind him to the right wing wall and fly like an eagle at his natural center position. Oh wait, wrong critter. The pick of the animal kingdom for Seguin would be a tiger. For many of his years in amateur hockey, he and his father shared a series of hand signals that served as tutoring tools for the future NHL All-Star. Paul Seguin, a former defenseman/winger at the University of Vermont, would connect with his son during games by flashing any of three simple gestures from the stands. One signal had dad using an index finger to scrawl an"
B's owner sticks by side of Tim Thomas
January 29
Boston Herald
 
"If Jeremy Jacobs was angry Tim Thomas snubbed the White House last Monday, the Bruins owner certainly seemed over it yesterday. In his first public comments since the goalie decided to skip the reigning Stanley Cup champions' visit with President Barack Obama because of issues he has with the federal government, Jacobs supported Thomas' right to feel and say what he believes. "Tim is a great hockey player," said Jacobs, who was here for the league's Board of Governors meeting. "He's done his job very well for us, and I'm totally behind him. I don't necessarily agree with his political views, but that's not what he does for me. And I've got to say this: While I don't agree with it, I"
Bruins' Tyler Seguin learns from all experiences
January 29
Boston Herald
 
"Tyler Seguin will take his place among NHL luminaries today in the league's annual All-Star Game. For many players, such an honor is a stamp of approval, the moment they feel they finally have arrived. But while the 19-year-old Seguin is worthy of such distinction for the strong first half of his sophomore season, he fully admits he's still in the midst of his hockey education, one he hopes will make him the complete player he wants to be. "I could write a book about the things I've learned, and am still learning," Seguin said recently."
Chara sets record while keeping Hardest Shot title
January 29
NHL.com
 
"Patrick Kane may have been Superman at the 2012 Molson Canadian NHL All-Star Skills Competition on Saturday, but Zdeno Chara was the master of speeding bullets. Chara set a new record in the BlackBerry Hardest Shot event, shooting the puck at a blistering 108.8 mph. The Bruins' captain beat his own record of 105.9 mph, set last year. He beat Nashville's Shea Weber in the finals of the event, which has been dominated by the pair for several years. Weber also broke the old mark by firing a slap shot that hit an even 106 mph. "Sometimes you don't look exactly at the numbers," Chara said after winning the hardest shot title for the fifth straight time. "Sometimes you just want to win Obviously"
Bruins reunion for Capitals' All-Star Dennis Wideman
January 28
Washington Times
 
"It might feel like the good Ol' Boston days for Dennis Wideman this weekend, on a team captained by defenseman Zdeno Chara and coached by Claude Julien and his staff. If only Wideman's time with the Bruins didn't end on such a sour note. Wideman spent parts of four seasons in Boston that he enjoyed, despite things going downhill late in the 2009-10 campaign before he was traded to the Florida Panthers. "The other things in Boston didn't end great. I had a bad year or a couple bad months there. But that's part of the game; that's what we're doing," Wideman said Friday. "Boston fans, they're intense and they expect you to play a certain way. I wasn't at the time, and they let me know about"
Comforts of home
January 28
Boston Globe
 
"When Zdeno Chara spent part of yesterday reliving Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, the Bruins captain recalled coach Claude Julien's near serenity in the most pressure-crammed situation. "You saw we had three rounds going into Game 7,'' Chara said. "Usually you kind of sense or notice the coach is kind of nervous, too. You really didn't see that in him. He was really strong that way. Sometimes you're looking to the biggest leader we have. Obviously, that's him. He's the head coach. When you see a little bit of weakness, then you kind of hesitate yourself. But you never saw that in him. He was really just solid like a rock. "Even before Game 7 of the Final, the meetings were like any other"
Tim Thomas weary of snub hub
January 28
Boston Herald
 
"Day 5 of the Tim Thomas controversy rolled on here at All-Star weekend as the players met the press at the Ottawa Westin, and it's clear the Bruins goalie is ready for the whole brouhaha to go away. "I think it should. Why? Because it's all media-driven right now, and it has been from the start," Thomas said yesterday. "Everything I said and did was as an individual and not as a representative of the Boston Bruins. All it has to do with is me. It's separate from hockey. That's my personal life. Those are my personal views. Those are my personal beliefs, It has nothing to do with hockey. It has nothing to do with the All-Star Game. It has nothing to do with the Boston Bruins." Thomas"
Zdeno Chara finds Tim Thomas to his liking
January 27
Boston Herald
 
"Bruins captain Zdeno Chara gave his strategy prior to last night's NHL Fantasy Draft, saying you don't want to load up on too many players of the same position. "You don't want to have, say, too many right wingers," said Chara. That, of course, gave the wiseguys in the press a wide opening. "So, Zdeno, if you don't want to take too many right wingers," asked Dave Shoalts of the Toronto Globe and Mail, "does that mean you won't be taking Tim Thomas?""
Aaron Ward:?TT no problem
January 27
Boston Herald
 
"Aaron Ward played in front of Tim Thomas for parts of three seasons, has visited the White House a couple of times as a Stanley Cup winner with Detroit and Carolina and has never been afraid to voice his opinions. And now that he's outside the Bruins umbrella, Ward is eminently qualified to join the chorus of thousands to give his opinion on Tim Thomas' snub of the White House and the federal government. Even he was a little jarred by Thomas actions."
Who will win? Breaking down All-Star teams
January 27
NHL.com
 
"The draft is over, the rosters set for the 2012 Tim Hortons NHL All-Star Game. We now know who will be wearing the white jerseys for Team Alfredsson and the blue jerseys to represent Team Chara. Now it's time to take a look at the rosters and break them down by position. Look for our prediction at the end. FORWARDS Datsyuk and Malkin on the same team is a scary proposition for the opposition. They may be the two most skilled players in the NHL right now. As Chara said, you can put them on the same line and they can be unstoppable, or you can put them on separate lines and they'll still be dominant and "make the line." Team Alfredsson has a lot of talent, but it doesn't have two"
Tim Thomas act could push Bruins to react
January 27
Boston Herald
 
"Could Tim Thomas' political protest end up costing him his spot on the Bruins? Even before Thomas' ill-advised stunt, the possibility existed that Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli might face a difficult and profoundly important decision this summer on the netminder, who turns 38 this April and has just one year remaining on his contract. Thomas' decision to snub the White House and then release an anti-big government manifesto was an embarrassment for the team and no doubt angered the front office and ownership greatly."
Bruins recent play averages out
January 26
Boston Herald
 
"The Bruins continued to eke out wins over the last few weeks, but it was pretty obvious to anyone who watched the games that the defending Stanley Cup champions were not playing at the same dominant level that marked their play during November and December. A winning 7-5-1 record in the last 13 games masked the reality that the team defense and goaltending slipped. Not by all that much, but enough to give opponents a far better chance of winning. As coach Claude Julien and many of his players have said frequently, when the Bruins don't execute their game plan properly — and when their compete level is sub-par — they become an average team."
Wideman's empty-net goal secures Caps' win
January 25
Washington Times
 
"Fresh off the ice and a victory against his former team, Capitals defenseman Dennis Wideman sat in the locker room at Verizon Center among a swarm of reporters. As he entertained questions about the importance of winning the last game before the All-Star break, playing against the defending Stanley Cup champions and earning two points without the team's two leading scorers, Wideman wiped his sweat-soaked hair away from his face. The 28-year-old defenseman was playing in his 500th NHL game and celebrating his first selection to the league's All-Star Game. His importance on the blue line has been magnified by the long-term absence of high-scoring defenseman Mike Green."
Capitals defeat Boston 5-3, head into all-star break on positive note
January 25
Washington Post
 
"The Capitals knew they would need someone to step up in the absence of three of the team's biggest star players. They received that clutch performance from Mathieu Perreault, who recorded his first career hat trick in the NHL to lead Washington to a 5-3 win over the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins. Read plenty more about Perreault's night in the hard-copy game story here. In addition to a valuable two points that moved them into first place in the Southeast Division for the night with 55 points (but 26 wins to Florida's 22), it also offers the Capitals some positive momentum heading into a five-day break for the All-Star Game."
Bruins break badly
January 25
Boston Herald
 
"Claude Julien's answer to the first question asked after last night's 5-3 Bruins loss to the undermanned Washington Capitals said it all. The coach was asked to talk about the team's defense. "Talk about our defense?" Julien said. "There was none." Facing a Washington team missing several stars, including a suspended Alex Ovechkin and injured Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green, the Bruins were guilty of several killer mistakes that led to three of the Capitals' first four goals. Mathieu Perreault scored his first career hat trick for Washington and defenseman Dennis Wideman tossed a 170-foot shot into an empty net to clinch the win against his former team with 26.1 seconds left."
Certainly there's an 'I' in Tim
January 25
Boston Herald
 columnist Ron Borges
"One of the great things about America is that millions of people sacrificed their lives so someone like Tim Thomas can make a hypocritical ass of himself. The Bruins' constitutional law expert managed to do this simply by doing nothing, which is what a lot of his kind of "patriots'' do these days. Thomas chose not to show up with his teammates at a White House reception Monday hosted by President Barack Obama to honor the team's Stanley Cup victory. It caused a predictable firestorm of protest or support depending on your politics. The inaction of a guy who stops frozen rubber for a living thus became an issue of local and national debate."