Steve Begin (left) was an effective penalty killer and face-off man, but wasn't quite the agitator the Bruins needed as the club's fourth-line center this season. (photo: Getty)

Note: Continuing our look back at the 2009-10 Bruins, the Black & Gold Blog’s player-by-player report card now turns its attention to Steve Begin, who opened the season strong offensively and was solid on the PK, but was never quite the agitator the Bruins thought they signed for the fourth line.

Steve Begin

2009-10 stats: 77 games, 5-9-14, minus-7, 53 PIMs

Playoffs: 13 games, 1-0-1, minus-7, 10 PIMs

Other numbers of note: Led team with 184 hits in regular season and was second in the playoffs with 41; third among forwards for short-handed ice-time (1:54), which helped explain his high overall ice-time (12:49) for a fourth-liner, though injuries did occasionally force him into a bigger role on higher lines; solid face-off man, winning 53.5 percent of draws in the regular season and 53.7 percent in the postseason; tied for fourth on team with 53 penalty minutes, his most since 2005-06 (113), but was also fourth on the team with 19 minor penalties; had two fighting majors in the preseason, but just three in the regular season; his three fights were all against tough customers though, as he took on Chris Neil, Jamal Mayers and Brandon Prust, who combined for 53 fighting majors this season; collected six points in his first nine games, but had just eight points in final 80 games (including playoffs).

Preseason expectations: Former Canadien was brought in to provide some nastiness to the fourth line and contribute on the penalty kill.

Performance evaluation: Begin did everything asked in his penalty killing role, helping the Bruins overcome some early season struggles in that area to finish third in the league on the PK. But despite leading the team in hits, he was not the agitating presence the club needed. The Bruins didn’t want him in the box all the time, but they did need him driving the opposition crazy so that they ended up in the sin bin more often. His offense cooled considerably after a surprising start, but Begin was brought in more for his leadership and defense, which were mostly solid all season.

2010-11 outlook: The Bruins have preferred using experienced veterans to anchor the fourth line since Claude Julien took over, with Glen Metropolit, Stephane Yelle and Begin all taking turns in the role. But next year they might finally have to turn the reins over to a youngster with Vladimir Sobotka ready for a full-time role with the big club. That would mean it’s one and done for Begin, who is due to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 after signing a one-year deal with Boston last summer. Begin has expressed a desire to re-sign here, but it’s hard to see the Bruins devoting any of their limited cap or roster space to make that happen.

Regular-season grade: C

Playoff grade: C-

Overall grade: C

The Bruins wrapped up a week of preparation today in Wilmington, and will finally get back in action tomorrow night in Buffalo.

They’ll have a few more healthy bodies for that one, too. Marc Savard has been cleared to return after practicing this week. He has missed the past eight games with a partially torn ligament in his knee. He’s been skating with Milan Lucic and Miroslav Satan. With Satan wearing Phil Kessel’s old No. 81, that line will at least look like last year’s top unit in the program. Whether they can replicate their success on the scoresheet will be another matter.

Byron Bitz, out the last four games with an undisclosed injury, is also expected to be back in the lineup tomorrow. Steve Begin, who’s also missed the last four games with an undisclosed injury, will make the trip and be a game-time decision. Marco Sturm, out the last five games with a leg injury, will also go to Buffalo, but is not expected to play this weekend. Andrew Ference (groin) skated on his own before practice but is still at least a week away from returning.

“It’s coming along,” said coach Claude Julien after practice. “We’re slowly getting back to hopefully a full roster.”

Julien also hopes the club is healing the psychological damage that their current 1-7-1 streak has caused. This last four days of practice have been designed to restore some of the team’s confidence and work on some of the more technical aspects of the game that the Bruins have struggled in this season.

“I think the guys are feeling better,” said Julien. “I see our team skating better in practice. It’s been a good week for us.

“It’s been a good week for us to practice and try to get our game back together here,” added Julien. “But at the same time we’re kind of itching to get back to playing and hopefully see the results of our work this week.”

The Bruins will find out right away, as they’ll have to face the Northeast Division-leading Sabres in Buffalo, where they are 17-5-5 this year.