The Bruins have officially released both the training camp schedule for September and the names of 57 players set to participate. Here’s the rundown:

SEPT. 7-10
- Captains’ practices will be held at Ristuccia Arena (public availability TBD)

SEPT. 12-14
- Rookie practices and fitness testing at Ristuccia Arena (fitness testing on 9/12 closed to public)

SEPT. 15-16
- Rookie games held each night vs. Islanders at 7:00pm at TD Garden
- Captains’ practices held at Ristuccia each morning at 10:00am

SEPT. 17
- Veteran fitness testing (closed to public/media)
- Optional skating (1:30pm, TD Garden)

SEPT. 18-21
- Group A practice at 10:00am (TD Garden)
- Group B practice at 12:30pm (TD Garden)

SEPT. 22
- Game Players Morning Skate, TD Garden, 10:00 a.m. ET
- Non-Game Players Ice, TD Garden, 11:30 a.m. ET
- Bruins at Montreal Canadiens, Bell Centre, 7:30 p.m. ET (1909 Ave. des Canadiens, Montreal, QC, H4B 5GO)

SEPT. 23
- Game Players Morning Skate, Blue Cross Arena, 11:30 a.m. ET (One War Memorial Square, Rochester, NY 14614)
- Non-Game Players Ice, Blue Cross Arena, 12:30 p.m. ET
- Bruins vs. Florida Panthers, Blue Cross Arena, 7:00 p.m. ET

SEPT. 24
- Practice at TD Garden, 11:00 a.m. ET

SEPT. 25
- Non-Game Players Ice, TD Garden, 9:00 a.m. ET
- Game Players Morning Skate, TD Garden, 10:30 a.m. ET
- Bruins vs. Florida Panthers, TD Garden, 7:00 p.m. ET

SEPT. 26
- TBD

SEPT. 27
- Practice at TD Garden, 11:00 a.m. ET
- Media day

SEPT. 28
- Game Players Morning Skate, TD Garden, 10:00 a.m. ET
- Non-Game Players Ice, TD Garden, 11:30 a.m. ET
- Bruins at Washington Capitals, Verizon Center, 7:00 p.m. ET (601 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20004)

SEPT. 29
- Game Players Morning Skate, TD Garden, 10:00 a.m. ET
- Non-Game Players Ice, TD Garden, 11:30 a.m. ET
- Bruins vs. Washington Capitals, TD Garden, 7:00 p.m. ET

SEPT. 30 – OCT. 1
- Practice in Belfast

OCT. 2
- Morning Skate at Odyssey Arena, 11:00 a.m. local/ 6:00 a.m. ET
- Bruins vs. Belfast Giants Select, Odyssey Arena, 7:00 p.m. local/ 2:00 p.m. ET (2 Queens Quay, Belfast, UK, BT3 9QQ)

OCT. 3
- Travel to Prague

OCT. 4
- Practice in Prague

OCT. 5
- Morning Skate at O2 Arena, 10:00 a.m. local/ 4:00 a.m. ET (Ocelarska 460/2 190 00, Prague, CZE)
- Bruins vs. HC Liberec, Tipsport Arena, 7:00 p.m. local/ 1:00 p.m. ET (Jeronymova 570/22, 460 07, Liberec, CZE)

OCT. 6-8
- Practice in Prague

OCT. 9
- Morning Skate, O2 Arena, 9:30 a.m. local/ 3:30 a.m. ET
- Season opening game, Bruins vs. Phoenix Coyotes, O2 Arena, 6:00 p.m. local/ 12 noon ET (Ocelarska 460/2 190 00, Prague, CZE)

OCT. 10
- Morning Skate, O2 Arena, 8:30 a.m. local/ 2:30 a.m. ET
- Bruins vs. Phoenix Coyotes, O2 Arena, 4:00 p.m. local/ 10:00 a.m. ET (Ocelarska 460/2 190 00, Prague, CZE)

Here’s how the roster looks:

FORWARDS
Jamie Arniel, Patrice Bergeron, Gregory Campbell, Jordan Caron, Joe Colborne
Craig Cunningham, Zach Hamill, Nathan Horton, Jordan Knackstedt, Jared Knight
David Krejci, Jeff LoVecchio, Milan Lucic, Lane MacDermid, Kirk MacDonald,
Brad Marchand, Levi Nelson, Daniel Paille, Tyler Randell, Mark Recchi, Jeremy Reich
Yannick Riendeau, Antoine Roussel, Michael Ryder, Max Sauve, Marc Savard,
Tyler Seguin, Wyatt Smith, Ryan Smith, Shawn Thornton, Blake Wheeler, Walker Wintoneak

DEFENSEMEN
Yuri Alexandrov, Matt Bartkowski, Andrew Bodnarchuk, Johnny Boychuk, Ryan Button
Zdeno Chara, Matt Delahey, Ryan Donald, Andrew Ference, Alain Goulet, Matt Hunwick
Steve Kampfer, Nathan McIver, Adam McQuaid, Jeff Penner, Joe Rullier, Dennis Seidenberg
Mark Stuart, Cody Wild

GOALIES
Adam Courchaine, Matt Dalton, Michael Hutchinson
Tuukka Rask, Nolan Schaefer, Tim Thomas

Both Marco Sturm and Trent Whitfield will be inactive due to injury. For more on the new faces coming to town for this year’s camp, be sure to check out Kirk’s Call for a little background info on a few of the rookie invitees.

Continuing with the Black and Gold Blog’s ten part series, we’ll now take a look back at the 2002 NHL Draft and see how the Bruins fared. To share what grade you think the team deserves, check out the poll below.

In the year 2002…

DRAFT HELD: June 22-23
BRUINS GM: Mike O’Connell
BRUINS HEAD COACH: Robbie Ftorek
PREVIOUS RECORD: 43-24-6-9 (1^st in East)
TOTAL PICKS: 7

Outside of hockey…

MUSIC: Maroon 5 releases hit album “Songs About Jane” on June 25.
MOVIES: Tom Cruise’s futuristic flick Minority Report hits theaters on June 21.
TV: Sci-fi fans are still in mourning a month after the series finale of The X-Files.

ROUND ONE

27^th overall – Hannu Toivonen (Goalie, HPK Hameenlinna)

After being selected by the Bruins in the first round, Hannu Toivonen had B’s fans buzzing after he posted a 16-2-4 for HPK Hameenlinna. Following two solid years developing in Providence, which included a .932 Sv% and 2.05 GAA in 2004-05, Toivonen made his NHL debut on October 8, 2005 for Boston.

After earning an OT victory in his first game, which included allowing Sidney Crosby’s first NHL tally, Toivonen posted a 9-5-4 record before succumbing to an ankle injury. Unfortunately for Toivonen and the B’s, his initial rookie run proved to be the best stretch of hockey in the Finnish netminder’s NHL career.

Toivonen got shelled to the tune of a 4.23 GAA in 2006-07 under Dave Lewis, and was subsequently shipped to St. Louis for the ever-enigmatic Carl Soderberg the following offseason. His struggles continued there, notably in a game on Dec. 9, 2007 against Colorado. Toivonen was pulled twice in the same game, sent back in after the Blues cut into the Avs lead only to wind up allowing a total of eight goals on a mere 25 shots in a 9-5 setback.

The 6-foot-2 netminder returned to Finland in 2008-09 before deciding to rejoin St. Louis’ AHL affiliate in Peoria. Toivonen was moved late last season and made five appearances for the Rockford IceHogs. He sported a 1-4-0 record with an unspectacular 3.44 goals against average for the ‘Hawks affiliate. The former Bruin is under contract until 2010-11 for Chicago, and will likely spend majority of the campaign in the American Hockey League.

ROUND TWO

56^th overall – Vladislav Evseev (Left Wing, CSKA Moscow)

Evseev, occasionally deemed to be Yevseyev in other hockey circles, was a highly-touted prospect in Russia who received little attention in North America. The Bruins came calling in the second round, grabbing him despite a lengthy history of shoulder problems. Evseev never crossed the pond, and has remained in Russia ever since.

The 6-foot-1 winger remains active, but has played sparingly throughout the decade. Since 2002-03, Evseev has suited up for a grand total of 194 games for Moscow Dynamo, Ufa Salavat Yulayev, Cherepovets Severstal and Chekov Vityaz (now of the KHL). Average that out and you’re looking at slightly more than 24 games per season.

Over the next seven picks, future NHL regulars Matt Stajan, Jiri Hudler, Tomas Fleischmann and current Bruin Johnny Boychuk were selected.

ROUND FOUR

130^th overall – Jan Kubista (Right Wing, Pardubice HC)

Extensive internet research turns up nearly no information on the mysterious Czech winger Jan Kubista. Drafted 130^th overall, Kubista played in just 12 games over the next two seasons for Pardubice HC. No other records of any kind could be found, making it appear as though the forward called it a career at the young age of 20.

ROUND FIVE

153^rd overall – Peter Hamerlik (Goalie, Kingston)

Originally drafted 84^th overall by the Penguins, Peter Hamerlik headed to the OHL to sharpen his game before re-entering the draft in 2002. Over three seasons, the netminder renown for his puck-handling abilities appeared in a total of seven games for Providence. Following the 2004-05 campaign, he returned to his native Slovakia.

After two years with Skalica HK 36, Hamerlik was out of hockey during both the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons. He returned to the game this past season, going 18-17-0 for Trinec Ocelari HC.

NHL defenders James Wisniewski, Paul Ranger and Ian White were all selected after the B’s grabbed Hamerlik.

ROUND SEVEN

228^th overall – Dimitri Utkin (Forward, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2)

Utkin, pronounced “OOT-kin” for those who were curious, proved to be yet another Russian prospect that never saw ice time in North America. Utkin followed the draft by appearing in just four games for Yaroslavl in 2002-03. After a two-year hiatus, he returned to hockey with Moscow Spartak. Utkin called it a career in 2008 after appearing in just 93 games over a six-year span.

Former Bruin Dennis Wideman was selected just 13 picks later by the Buffalo Sabres.

ROUND EIGHT

259^th overall – Yan Stastny (Center, Notre Dame)

The Bruins took a shot on the son of a Hall of Famer in round eight, grabbing Peter Stastny’s son Yan out of Notre Dame. After the center spent two seasons overseas with the Nuremburg Ice Tigers, Stastny found his way back to the Bruins’ organization thanks to a trade with the Oilers in 2006.

After his rights were originally sent to Edmonton in the summer of 2005, Stastny returned and played in 17 games for the B’s at the tail end of 2005-06, as he and Marty Reasoner joined the Bruins in exchange for Sergei Samsonov. Additionally, the B’s received a second round pick in the upcoming draft which turned out to be Milan Lucic.

Stastny remains a fringe NHLer to this day. After spending most of the past three years in the AHL, appearing in just 50 games for the Blues during that stretch, Stastny was traded to the Canucks on March 3, 2010. On June 29, the former Bruin signed on with CSKA Moscow of the KHL.

ROUND NINE

290^th overall – Pavel Frolov (Forward, Novgorod Jr.)

With the second-to-last pick in the 2002 draft, Boston selected yet another Russia forward, this time going with Pavel Frolov. Like many of his Russian peers, little is known about the 6-foot-2 pivot. Frolov is listed as having appeared in just one game for Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo in 2003-04. The rest of his career and life beyond hockey remain a mystery.

Mr. Irrelevant, Jonathan Ericsson, has played in 89 games for the Red Wings, including 62 tilts in 2009-10. Ericsson, a 6-foot-4 Swedish defenseman, has 78 points in 176 career AHL games.

DRAFT SUMMARY
After a minor obsession with over-sized defenders in previous years, the B’s repeatedly rolled the dice on Russian forwards in 2002. Unfortunately, each time they did resulted in the dice bouncing off the table and disappearing into a black abyss. Only two of the seven draftees made it to the NHL and, as mentioned in the caption above, Stastny remains the only one to record an NHL point (though, we can’t really hold that against Toivonen). The Bruins scouting staff was wrong at nearly every turn in 2002. While the pickings were slim that year, it’s doubtful many NHL clubs wound up with as little to show for their selections as the Black and Gold.

Continuing with the Black and Gold’s player-by-player preview series, we now take a look at what lies ahead in 2010-11 for No. 2 overall pick Tyler Seguin.

TYLER SEGUIN | #19 | Forward

HEIGHT: 6-1 WEIGHT: 186 SHOOTS: Right

BORN: January 31, 1992 – Brampton, Ontario

DRAFT: 2010 – 1st Round (2nd overall) by the Boston Bruins

CONTRACT STATUS: Signed through 2012-13 ($3.55 million cap hit)

2009-10 STATISTICS: 48 goals, 58 assists, 106 points in 63 games (OHL)

LOOKING BACK ON 2009-10

Unlike all of the preceding previews, Seguin is the first player for which we have no NHL campaign to reflect upon. The 18-year-old starred for the OHL’s Plymouth Whalers last season, jumping from 67 points in his first year in Plymouth to a league-leading 106 points, sharing the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as the OHL’s leading scorer with No. 1 overall pick Taylor Hall. Drawing comparisons to Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman, Seguin’s slick offensive skills and well-rounded game earned him the distinction of being named the top-ranked skater in North America for the 2010 draft.

Seguin followed the regular season by picking up 10 points in nine playoff tilts for the Whalers, paling in comparison to Hall’s magnificent run that included 35 points in 19 games and the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as the MVP of the Memorial Cup. Seguin, however, did capture the Red Tilson trophy, annually awarded to the most outstanding player in the Ontario Hockey League. After being selected by the Bruins as the No. 2 overall pick in June, Seguin signed a three-year, entry level contract in July. With bonuses, the young rookie could earn up to $3.55 million each year.

FIVE FACTS

1. Seguin had 25 more goals and 43 more points than Plymouth’s second leading scorer, A.J. Jenks.
2. With 48 tallies, Seguin scored 19.7% of the Whalers’ goals in 2009-10.
3. The last three forwards picked 2nd overall (Jordan Staal, Bobby Ryan, Evgeni Malkin) scored an average of 31 goals in their first full NHL season.
4. Seguin will look to become the first Bruins’ rookie to capture the Calder Trophy since Andrew Raycroft did in 2004.
5. Mark Recchi had nearly 200 NHL games under his belt before Seguin was even born.

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2010-11

It’s been quite sometime since a rookie arrived in the Hub of Hockey and created as much buzz as Seguin. After fans turned out in droves to see how the young star performed at development camp, their next glimpse of the 18-year-old forward will come Sept. 15 during the team’s first rookie game against the Islanders. Trying to predict how quickly Seguin, or any rookie for that matter, becomes acclimated with the speed and physicality of the National Hockey is truly anyone’s guess. Ideally, Claude Julien should be able to ease the Ontario native in as, despite their goal-scoring woes last year, the Bruins do have a talented group of forwards that won’t force Seguin to be “the man” right from the get-go.

As mentioned in the Patrice Bergeron preview, seeing Seguin line up to the right of No. 37 seems like a solid fit, as he could benefit greatly from the on-ice tutelage provided by both Bergeron and Mark Recchi. While there may be a stretch of growing pains for the highly-hyped newcomer to the Black and Gold, his natural talent should be visible from the moment he hits the ice. Seguin is a strong skater with quick feet. His offensive instincts and extremely-high hockey IQ, coupled with his dedication to defense make it no surprise that he was deemed to be a far-more complete player than his flashier counterpart, Hall. Donning former No. 1 overall pick Joe Thornton’s jersey number, 19, Seguin expects to have far more responsibility and provide much more production than Jumbo Joe did in his rookie campaign. The only question remaining seems to be how quickly it’ll all click for the gifted pivot. After watching Steven Stamkos struggle in the early stages of his rookie season, only to break out for 51 goals the following year, knowledgeable B’s fans know that sometimes patience is a virtue. Not everyone can hit the ground running like an Ovechkin or a Crosby. However, there’s no doubt that even the most realistic of Bruins’ fans are hoping Seguin can do just that.

PREDICTION FOR 2010-11

Easily the toughest of our player preview series thus far. Predicting Seguin’s output in his first year, at just 18-years-old, is a tall task. He clearly has skill up the wazoo, but the final point tally in his rookie year will depend on a few key factors. Who will be Seguin’s linemates? How much emphasis is Claude Julien, a play-it-safe man by nature, going to put on defense and possibly neutralize his dynamic offensive skills? With that said, I’m going to go with the following: 21 goals, 33 assists, 54 points for No. 19 this season. As is always the case, don’t bet the house on me being the Nostradamus of hockey.

NEXT PREVIEW (8/25): Brad Marchand

The B's depth down the middle took a hit this afternoon with reports surfacing that Trent Whitfield will likely be out for the entirety of 2010-11. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

If you’ve kept tabs on the Black and Gold Blog calendar, you may have been looking forward to a season preview for center Trent Whitfield. CSN’s Joe Haggerty has reported that the veteran pivot will likely be done for the year:

By Joe Haggerty
CSNNE.com

BOSTON – Bruins training camp doesn’t start for a few more weeks, but the B’s have already suffered their first loss.

Center Trent Whitfield blew out his Achilles tendon while working out this week, and will likely be lost for the entire season. A Bruins source confirmed the injury to CSNNE.com on Sunday.

Whitfield, 33, played 16 games for the Bruins and notched an assist last season while serving as an organizational depth player when injuries hit. Whitfield also suited up for four playoff games after David Krejci went down with the dislocated right wrist after being hit by Mike Richards in the Flyers series.

As you may expect, Whitfield’s feature will not be appearing as originally scheduled this afternoon. While his loss is hardly a crushing one, the 33-year-old’s ability to be plugged in at any time and give the team quality minutes in a pinch will be missed. The Black and Gold Blog’s draft review series will continue later on this evening with a look back at 2001.

After a painstaking 56-hour wait, the Boston Bruins finally learned the final cost to retain winger Blake Wheeler. Word came late Thursday night, after deliberation over Blackhawks’ netminder Antti Niemi’s arbitration award forced an eight-hour delay, that the B’s 23-year-old RFA had been deemed worthy of a $2.2 million dollar salary.

Peter Chiarelli and the rest of the Bruins’ brass must undoubtedly be pleased by the ruling, as Wheeler’s cap hit will clock in at a lower figure than nearly all of the comparable contracts discussed in recent days. Coming into the hearing with a little over $12,000 in cap space, Boston will now officially be over the NHL’s salary cap. Should Tyler Seguin net a contract in the neighborhood of top pick Taylor Hall’s, the Bruins could find themselves with a payroll over five million dollars above the league limit.

Hardly a man of wealth, but definitely one of taste. Pleased to meet you, my new readers and friends here at the Hockey Journal. I won’t make you guess my name. I am Jesse Connolly, and from here on out I will be responsible for all content here on the Black and Gold Blog. I spent the past two years of my life as the Bruins’ blogger for Hockeybuzz. Many thanks to those of you have followed me over here from there. I was fortunate enough to have sat next to and befriended Doug Flynn, who as you well know previously held this post, throughout the entirety of the 2009-10 season in the press box at the TD Garden. I owe him an infinite amount of gratitude for putting in the good word for me and giving me the chance to take on this exciting new role with such a highly-respected publication. Best of luck to Doug in his future endeavors with NESN.

If you’re familiar with my work over at Hockeybuzz, you know full well that I like to inject a sense of personality into my writing. I really enjoy opportunities to be humorous and creative. You’ll also learn I’m very keen on statistics as well. If you’re taking the time to read what I’ve posted, I feel that you should either be informed, entertained or hopefully both. Aside from your monthly cell phone bill or maybe that overwhelmingly confusing set of instructions for your new all-in-one Harmony remote, the reason you’re driven to read something is because you hope to enjoy it. I’ll do my best to not let you down. I’m also extremely open to opinions and suggestions. Don’t be afraid to share them with me.

While I’m not busy on the Bruins’ beat, I usually spend a lot of time on PokerStars, where I’ve had a fairly good amount of success over the past seven or so years. I’m finally getting back into trading stocks again in hopes of one day becoming a wildly successful day trader. I’m busy working on building my second desktop. I do not enjoy bananas. I’m an infrequent poster, but I visit the Bruins’ page over on HF Boards religiously. I was born and raised in the Boston area and take great pride in knowing I pronounce every last one of my “R”s in conversation. I’m extremely humbled to be one of the youngest members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. I was never fortunate enough to play ice hockey, but I spent many a summer profusely sweating down at Brown’s Pond in Peabody while dawning a heap of street hockey goalie equipment. I’m willing to bet many of you know the feeling. Like you, I have been a fan of the B’s since birth. I feel no shame in letting you know that Byron Dafoe will always be my favorite Bruin. None whatsoever.

Well, that’s pretty much me in a nutshell. I look forward to getting to know you all very soon. I’m always interactive, so if you feel like leaving comments you can bank on getting a reply from me. And in the meantime, for all you Facebook folks out there, be sure to check out our newly created page. All you have to do is search for “New England Hockey Journal”, click the “like” button and from then on you’ll see all of the latest stories on here popping up in your news feed. If you dig the Hockey Journal, be sure to spread the word to all of your fellow die-hard fans.

I’ll be back tomorrow with some info on the Blake Wheeler arbitration ruling, as word is expected to break by mid-day. Until then, thanks again for taking the time to swing by here. I can promise, if you decide to stick around, that 2010-11 is going to be a fun season here in the Hub of Hockey.

Marc Savard has been officially diagnosed with a Grade 2 concussion, the team announced this evening.

Savard was injured on a blind-side hit by Penguins forward Matt Cooke with 5:37 to play in yesterday’s 2-1 loss in Pittsburgh. Savard remained in Pittsburgh overnight and returned to Boston today, where he was evaluated and diagnosed by the Bruins team doctor, Dr. Peter Asnis, along with a concussion specialist from Mass General Hospital.

The team release stated that there is no timetable for Savard’s return to the ice.  Dr. Asnis and the Bruins’ medical staff will continue to monitor and evaluate Savard over the next 4-5 days, and at that time the team will have an update on his prognosis.

The NHL has not yet announced any discipline for Cooke, who should face a lengthy suspension having already been suspended twice in the last 14 months for similar predatory hit shots. The Penguins do not play again until Thursday. A decision on  any punishment for Cooke will be made before then.

The Bruins also announced that defenseman Jeff Penner has been recalled from Providence on an emergency basis. Penner will join the club for tomorrow’s game in Toronto. Penner, 22, has 6-21-27 totals in 55 games for the Baby B’s this season. There was no report on which defenseman he could be replacing. With Andrew Ference sidelined with a groin injury, the Bruins had been down to just six defensemen available without Penner.

BOSTON – Welcome to the Garden, where the Bruins will try to win their first game here in 2010against the last-place Leafs. Boston has dropped 10 straight at home, one game shy of their longest home losing streak in history. They’ll have to do it without several key players though.

Patrice Bergeron remains out with a groin injury that Peter Chiarelli just revealed will keep him sidelined for 5-7 days. Tuukka Rask is also sidelined with an undisclosed injury, giving Tim Thomas his first start in over a month. Andrew Ference is also out with a groin injury, which puts Johnny Boychuk back in the lineup for the first time since suffering a broken orbital bone against Vancouver on Feb. 6.

Check back here for updates throughout the game.

Final, Boston 3-2 (1-0 in shootout)

Miroslav Satan scores the lone goal with a niftydeke to the backhand on Boston’s third shot, while Thomas stops all three shooters, including Kessel to give Boston its first win at the Garden in 2010

End OT – 2-2

And it’s on to the shootout. Get ready for Kessel’s chance to haunt his old club.

4:39-OT – Toronto 2-on-1, Kessel shot from left side, Thomas save

3:31-OT – Toronto timeout

2:38-OT – Matt Hunwick with the giveaway in his own zone with ill-advised pass up middle intercepted by Kulemin, big save Thomas

End regulation, 2-2

Another third period lead squandered, as now we’re headed to overtime

8:30-3rd – Marc Savard can’t put home point-blank bid on empty net after Michael Ryder’s initial shot went off Dion Phaneuf, hitting far post behind Giguere

6:12-3rd – Toronto goal

Luca Caputi out of the box after serving Orr’s extra minor, forces turnover, then down left wing; Nikolai Kulemin then centered it to Tyler Bozak, who banged it home from the top of the crease

Bozak from Kulemin, Caputi (6:12), 2-2

3:58-3rd – Steve Begin levels Wayne Primeau, bringing Colton Orr over ; Orr forces the issue and they go; Begin gos for takedown, but fight continues on the ice; Shawn Thornton tried to jump in, but cut off by Primeau; Orr gets the extra two minutes with a roughing double minor, Begin two for roughing; Bruins go on power play

End 2nd – Boston, 2-1

- Bruins holding a 20-14 edge in shots so far, but take just a one-goal lead into the third, and third periods haven’t been kind to the B’s of late

- Tim Thomas hasn’t been tested often, but he’s been solid in his first start in over a month

- Good to see Boychuk score in his return; he should be playing even when everyone is healthy, as he’s had a much more consistent season than Matt Hunwick

18:45-2nd – Mark Stuart sends Rickard Wallin flying with a huge hit at center ice

15:24-2nd Boston goal

Johnny Boychuk with an absolute cannon from the right point finds the back of the net

Boychuk from Marco Sturm, Mark Recchi (15:24), Boston 2-1

14:11-2nd – Michael Ryder with the tip in front, but J-S Giguere makes stop on bouncing puck

12:16-2nd – Milan Lucic clangs one off the post from the right slot

9:15-2nd – Steve Begin big hit on Tomas Kaberle, then short-handed bid from left side

8:17-2nd – Nikolai Kulemin denied on breakaway, but Dennis Wideman going off for holding

7:35-2nd – Colton Orr buries Dennis Seidenberg with hit into boards; defense partner Chara looks on, but makes no move toward Orr to stand up for new teammate

2:57-2nd – Kessel rings the post on a one-timer

2:47-2nd – Hunwick off for tripping

End 1st – 1-1

- entertaining opening period with a little bit of everything, including back-to-back scraps one second apart, but probably a little too sloppy for the coaches’ liking

- Bruins were denied one goal on video review, but still took an early lead, only to see Toronto strike back late

- last-minute save on Kessel’s breakaway could give the B’s some momentum heading into the second

- Bruins were outhit 8-3 in first; also had four giveaways to none for Toronto; Wheeler had one of those to lead to Kessel’s breakaway, while Chara had the other three; rough night so far for the captain

19:09-1st – Kessel in alone, backhand move, Thomas with the pad save; huge ovation, followed by taunting Kessel chants; Kessel came in after giveaway by old buddy Blake Wheeler

15:27-1st Toronto goal

Skating 4-on-4 with Marco Sturm off for hooking seven seconds after Dion Phaneuf was called for slashing, Viktor Stalberg broke down left wing and beat Tim Thomas short-side

Stalberg from Francois Beauchemin, Jamie Lundmark (15:27) 1-1

13:46-1st Shawn Thornton and Wayne Primeau fight off ensuing face-off; all the ex-Bruins getting feisty in this one; Thornton controlled this bout nd got him down and at his mercy quickly; 5:00 each for fighting

13:45-1st Milan Lucic and Colton Orr drop the gloves in an major slugfest; both men landed bombs, Orr took over late; they separated and Orr wanted to re-engage, but Lucic appeared to be done; 5:00 each for fighting; Lucic heads to the room after the bout

11:39-1st – post-whistle scrum after tie-up, Dennis Wideman gives Phil Kessel a shove; first time in a long time Wideman hears cheers from the crowd; Kessel being booed every time he touches the puck again

11:10-1st Welcome to Boston Dennis Seidenberg, the newcomer takes a seat for two minutes for delay of game, first power-play chance for Toronto

9:36-1st – Boston goal

Shawn Thornton takes a hit at his own blue line to pass up to Miroslav Satan, springing him down the middle, wrister 5-hole for the goal; this one won’t be reviewed

Satan from Thornton (9:36) Boston 1-0

6:03-1st – Boston with the first power play of the night, Viktor Stalberg off for holding

1:03-1st – Boston goal, waved off

Steve Begin swoops around behind net, puck squirts out to top of the crease, where Michael Ryder knocks it home, but video review reveals it was kicked in and goal is waved off