In need of a veteran presence down the middle, the B’s have to come to terms with veteran Wyatt Smith on a one-year deal. With Trent Whitfield likely gone for the year, the 33-year-old center should prove to be a solid replacement down in Providence.

Smith has appeared in 211 NHL regular season games to date, during which he has posted 10-22-32 totals with the Coyotes, Predators, Islanders and the Avalanche. After playing in a career-high 61 games for the Wild in 2006-07, the Minnesota native last appeared in the NHL in 2007-08 with the Avs. Smith has also appeared in five playoff tilts.

The former University of Minnesota star has spent majority of his pro career at the AHL level. In 550 games in the American Hockey League, the 5-foot-11 pivot has 160-227-387 totals for eight different squads. Originally drafted in the ninth round by Phoenix in 1997, Smith helped lead the Milwaukee Admirals to a Calder Cup championship in 2003-04, picking up 12 points in 22 playoff tilts. Most recently, the center suited up for the Penguins’ AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre in 2009-10, scoring 13 times while adding 35 assists.

After leading the Providence Bruins in goals in each of the last two seasons, Mikko Lehtonen is headed to the Swedish Elite League. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)

After two years in the Bruins’ organization, Finnish winger Mikko Lehtonen has decided to return to Europe. After leading Providence with 23 goals and 50 points in 2009-10, the 23-year-old restricted free agent has elected to sign a one-year deal with Skelleftea of the Swedish Elite League. Originally selected in the third round of the 2005 draft by Boston, Lehtonen led the B’s AHL affiliate during his first pro season in North America with 28 goals in 2008-09.

After statistically regressing this past season, and with Jordan Caron, Joe Colborne and Yannick Riendeau all slated to take part in their first full professional campaigns in 2010-11, the 6-foot-3 winger likely would have seen his playing time reduced under Head Coach Rob Murray. Lehtonen made two appearances with the big club, suiting up for one game in both 2008-09 and 2009-10. In the two tilts combined, Lehtonen saw 23:22 of ice time and fired two shots on net. In addition to not jumping off the page with his offensive skills in a limited opportunity, Lehtonen also failed to show signs of any sense of physicality, a disappointment when considering both his size and reputation as a sound checker.

The move to Sweden, however, doesn’t guarantee that Lehtonen’s career in Black and Gold is definitively over. The Bruins will retain the forward’s NHL rights. After being passed over numerous times this year when the parent club was in need of reinforcements, it was clear that the B’s weren’t confident in his abilities outside of the offensive zone. It will be interesting to see if a low-scoring league like the SEL sparks the return of Lehtonen to North America with a far more well-rounded game.

The Providence Bruins rallied for a 3-2 overtime win over Springfield in their home finale, but it wasn’t enough to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

Despite the victory, Providence was eliminated when Bridgeport beat Lowell 6-3. Bridgeport and Lowell each have 84 points, while Norfolk has 82 in the battle for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. Providence (36-36-5-1) has 78 points with two games remaining. Even with two more wins, they can’t catch either Bridgeport or Lowell.

The Bruins went out with a bang though, as Kirk MacDonald scored from Steven Kampfer and Jeff Penner just 22 secondsinto OT. Jeff LoVecchio tied it with an unassisted goal on an end-to-end rush at 11:43 of the third. Kampfer scored his first professional goal for Providence’s first goal. Kampfer finished the night with a goal and an assist and was a plus-2 with three shots.

Providence’s other newcomers had less of an impact, as Joe Colborne and Max Sauve were each a minus-1 with no points. Sauve had two shots and Colborne one.

Doug Nolan (Quincy, Mass.) made his Providence debut after signing with the club this week and dropped the gloves with Colin McDonald.

Providence closes out its season with road games at Worcester tomorrow and at Lowell on Sunday.

Joe Colborne wasted no time in making an impact in the American Hockey League.

The Bruins 2008 first-round pick, who signed with the club on Wednesday, played his first game with Providence tonight, and collected a pair of assists in his pro debut as the Bruin beat Worcester 3-1.

Colborne helped set up fellow newcomer Max Sauve twice, as Sauve had an even better first pro game with two power-play goals. Colborne had one shot in the game and also took a late hooking penalty. Sauve scored twice while putting just two shots on net, so he’s currently working a perfect shooting percentage as a professional.

Devin Timberlake also scored, netting his second goal in his second game with Providence, while Dany Sabourin made 48 saves as Worcester outshot the Bruins 49-23. With the win, Providence (34-35-5-1, 74 points) keeps its slim playoff hopes alive. They are six points out of the final spot in the East with five games to play, starting tomorrow at Manchester.

PROVIDENCE – The Providence Bruins’ path to the playoffs just got a whole lot tougher.

The Baby B’s sit in sixth place in the AHL’s Atlantic Division, but the fifth-place team can make the postseason if it has more points that the fourth-place finisher in the East Division. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton currently sits in fourth in the East and was in Providence tonight. The Penguins entered the evening leading the Baby B’s but just one point, but after rallying from a 3-1 deficit for a 5-3 win, the Penguins now have a three-point edge.

Both teams, however, are still looking up at Bridgeport, which won in shootout tonight and has 71 points, two more than the Penguins and five ahead of Providence, which fell to 31-31-3-1.

“It’s a non-division (game), but not really anymore,” said Pens coach Todd Reirden, whose club is now 33-29-1-2 (69 points). “This was a big game for us. Providence is a well-coached team and they came out hard and definitely put us on our heels to start the game, but we were able to turn the corner. It was a game of high importance to our team. We certainly understood the magnitude of tonight. We’ve been playing playoff hockey for about the last 15 games or so. We know it’s going to be difficult and it’s going to be a battle each night, so we’re happy to get the points.”

Providence struck first when Trent Whitfield banged in the rebound of a Mikko Lehtonen shot just five seconds into a 5-on-3 power play. After the Pens tied it, Jared Ross scored on a blast from the right point and Jordan Knackstedt continued his torrid scoring at 4:25 of the second. Knackstedt redirected an Andy Wozniewski shot at the right point for his sixth goal in the last six games.

But the Penguins answered just 12 seconds later on a goal by tough guy Zach Sill, who had earlier battled Lane MacDermid in a long and entertaining scrap. Brian Strait (Waltham, Mass.) then scored his second of the year in front of his friends and family to tie it 3-3 at 7:07.

“Probably the toughest position to transition into as a young player is playing defense in the American Hockey League,” said Reirden of Strait. “But we’ve been really happy with his progress this year. He’s got a bright future in the organization. I was happy with Brian’s game tonight. Certainly he’s not evaluated on his offense, so whatever he can add in that regard, we’ll gladly take it.”

Tim Wallace put WB/S ahead early in the third, then iced the game with a short-handed tally with 5:24 left.

Providence goes to Adirondack tomorrow.

The Providence Bruins couldn’t build off last night’s win, as they gave up goals early and often in a 5-1 loss at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

The host Penguins scored three goals in the first and two more early in the second to chase Providence goalie Dany Sabourin, who gave up five goals on just 13 shots against his old club. Kevin Regan (South Boston, Mass.) stopped all nine of the shots he faced in relief, but it was too deep a hole to dig out of. Jeff LoVecchio helped the Bruins (29-28-3-0) avoid the shutout with a goal from Alain Goulet and Yannick Riendeau, but Providence was 0 for 8 on the power play and gave up a short-handed goal. The top line of Trent Whitfield, Brad Marchand and Jordan Knackstedt were each a minus-3 on the night.

Chris Conner led the Penguins (30-27-1-1) with three goals and an assist, while Ben Lovejoy (Canaan, NH) chipped in two assists and former Boston University goalie John Curry made 26 saves.

Providence closes out its four-game road trip with back-to-back games at Abbotsford on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Providence Bruins opened a crucial four-game road trip on a positive note, rallying for a 6-4 win at Binghamton tonight as former junior teammates Zach Hamill and John Lammers combined for seven points.

Lammers, signed to a professional tryout contract in January, tallied a hat trick, with former Everett (WHL) linemate Hamill assisted on all three. Lammers finished plus-4 with seven shots, while Hamill had four assists and was plus-5. Brad Marchand chipped in a goal and an assist and had a team-high eight shots, Jordan Knackstedt added two assists and Dany Sabourin made 36 saves for the win in goal.

Josh Hennessy (Brockton, Mass.) had a goal and two assists for Binghamton (22-29-3-2), while former Bruin Martin St. Pierre added three assists.

Providence (29-27-3-0) plays at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton tomorrow.

PROVIDENCE – While all eyes in the hockey world were on tonight’s epic clash between the U.S. and Canada, the Black and Gold Blog warmed up for that main event by checking on the progress of the Bruins’ top prospects down in Providence in a matinee clash between American and Canadian teams with a little less at stake.

The Providence Bruins didn’t fare as well as Team USA, as this time the Canadian side prevailed with the Abbotsford Heat, the British Columbia-based AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames, downed the Baby B’s 5-2 at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.

Sloppy defensive play doomed the Bruins, who entered the third tied at 2-2 before Abbotsford pulled away. Shawn Weller broke the tie just 1:49 into the third with his second goal of the day when he was left all alone out front, then Riley Armstrong netted the backbreaker 34 seconds later when Providence goalie Dany Sabourin couldn’t handle a dump-in from center ice.

“Both the second and third goal, we had just horrific breakdowns in our defensive zone coverage,” said Providence coach Rob Murray, whose club falls to 28-27-3-0. “We’ve got three guys behind the goal line searching for the puck and we’re leaving guys wide open in front of our net.

“Plus, honestly, our goaltending is kind of letting us down right now,” added Murray. “That was a rock on our team all year. Even when we weren’t winning, we could always depend on the goalies. It hasn’t been as strong lately and that just adds to it.”

Trent Whitfield and Jeff Penner scored for Providence, while Andy Wozniewski added a pair of assists. The Bruins also enjoyed an edge in the physical play, with Lane MacDermid pounding out a win over Ryley Grantham in the game’s lone fight and Brad Marchand delivering a crushing hit on Radek Smolenak in the closing minutes.

But the Bruins struggled in just about every other facet of the game, especially in their own zone. That’s largely due to injuries  forcing the club to play three unheralded rookies in prominent roles on the blue line. Among the injured is Adam McQuaid, who was hurt while playing for Boston and has not been able to play since being sent back down to Providence for the Olympic break. For more on Providence’s growing pains, check out my story here.

The Bruins will try to turn things around on Friday when they begin a four-game road trip at Binghamton.

The Providence Bruins had won eight of their last 11 games, scoring 46 goals in the process. Riding such a hot streak, they thought they might finally break through against Manchester tonight.

They didn’t. Not for a win, not even for a goal. Not that such a result is anything new. After falling 4-0 tonight in Manchester, the Bruins have now been shut out four straight times by the Monarchs. Providence is 1-6-0-0 against Manchester this season, with five of those losses being shutouts. The other loss was a 2-1 decision, while Providence posted its lone win on Nov. 22 by a 5-4 count with Andrew Bodnarchuk scoring the winner at 19:12 of the third period, which puts the scoreless streak against Manchester at 240:48. The Bruins, who have been blanked nine times in all this year, have been outscored 19-6 by the Monarchs.

Kevin Regan (South Boston, Mass.) made 34 saves for the Bruins, but he couldn’t match Jonathan Bernier, who made 40 saves for the shutout for Manchester (32-19-2-5). Four different players had goals for the Monarchs, while Drew Bagnall had a pair of assists and took on Lane MacDermid in the game’s lone fight.

Providence (28-26-3-0) will try to bounce back tomorrow when the Bruins host Abbotsford.

Record crowd for AHL outdoor clash

In other AHL news, Syracuse held off Binghamton 2-1 before an AHL-record crowd of 21,508 in the league’s first-ever outdoor game at the New York State Fairgrounds.

Josh Hennessy (Brockton, Mass.) scored Binghamton’s lone goal, a short-handed tally from former Bruin Martin St. Pierre, but it wasn’t enough as David Liffiton’s goal in the final minute of the second period stood up as the winner for Syracuse.

It was a sloppy game featuring 26 penalties and 18 power plays as referee Terry Koharski tried to steal the spotlight from the players. That’s the brother of Don Korharski of “have another doughnut” fame – the insult yelled at him by Devils coach Jim Schoenfeld during the Bruins’ Eastern Conference final series against New Jersey in 1988. Koharski’s efforts killed the flow of much of the game, but it didn’t have an impact on the scoreboard, as Syracuse was 0 for 8 on the power play and Binghamton was 0 for 10.

At least two of those penalties brought some joy to the record crowd, as AHL heavyweights Jon Mirasty and Jeremy Yablonski hooked up in a highlight-reel bout just 1:50 into the first. With all due respect to Shawn Thornton and Dan Carcillo, who had the first outdoor fight in NHL history this year at Fenway Park, this minor-league fight was a major-league slugfest that put the Thornton-Carcillo scrap to shame.

AHL Outdoor Fight: Mirasty vs. Yablonski

Another View of Mirasty vs. Yablonski

After having their four-game win streak snapped by Syracuse on Sunday, the Providence Bruins bounced back tonight with a 4-2 win over the Abbotsford Heat.

John Lammers, Andrew Bodnarchuk, Craig Weller and Brad Marchand each scored, while Zach Hamill dished out three assists for Providence, which has won 5 of its last 6 and 7 of its last nine to improve to 28-25-3-0. Guillaume Lefebvre and Andy Wozniewski also had assists, while Dany Sabourin made 34 saves for the win.

Hamill had a strong all-around game, finishing a plus-3 with five shots. Bodnarchuk had just one shot, but made it count with his goal, while also finishing a plus-2 and taking on Riley Armstrong in the game’s lone fight.

Providence plays at Manchester tomorrow, then returns home for a rematch with Abbotsford on Sunday.

Elsewhere in the AHL, tomorrow marks the first outdoor game in league history as the Syracuse Crunch host the Binghamton Senators in the Mirabito Outdoor Classic at the New York State Fairgrounds. Fans who enjoyed watching the Bruins and Flyers clash in the Winter Classic at Fenway Park may like to check out an outdoor game on a slightly smaller scale. The game will be televised on the NHL Network tomorrow at 1 p.m. There’s plenty of local interest, with Syracuse featuring former Bruin prospect Jonathan Sigalet on defense and Jordan LaVallee-Smotherman (Westborough, Mass.) up front. Binghamton counters with former Bruin Martin St. Pierre, who is second on the team with 47 points, and Brockton, Mass. native Josh Hennessey, who is a plus-13 with 37 points in 51 games.