Stars' unsung heroes

DALLAS -- Tonight, the NHL stars on the ice and behind the bench at the American Airlines Center will include Nashville Predators defenseman Kimmo Timonen and coach Barry Trotz.

Timonen (9-26--35) and Trotz (34 wins) are the two representatives from Music City whose first-half performances have earned them All-Star status and helped propel the eight-year-old franchise to the top of the Western Conference standings.

But in the words of both player and coach, the Predators might not have a league-best 71 points -- and perhaps Timonen and Trotz wouldn't be in Dallas -- if not for a player whose hard-hitting style is practically forbidden at All-Star Games: forward Jordin Tootoo.

"It gets you going," Timonen said of the 5-foot-9-inch buzz saw's play. "To see him almost going through the boards wakes you up. It gets the crowd going. He can really change your game. And he's not afraid of fighting.

"He plays hard and he fights, too. You can't replace that on the ice. On our team, he's a very important guy."

Tonight, as in every past and future All-Star Game, there won't be any players with paltry numbers like Tootoo's meager 2-3--5 scoring line. The All-Star Game, in lockstep with the NHL's preference for offense, is a showcase for skill, with no room for the muck-and-grinders who roam into the danger areas every night with little regard for their health.

But it's no-name energy guys like Tootoo who give superstars the freedom to perform their magic. He's exactly the type of character player -- hop over the bench and skate an all-out shift while hitting everything in sight -- that Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli, with his club struggling to push for the playoffs, desperately desires for his gentlemanly lineup.

"He can change the momentum and the flow of a game pretty quickly with what he can bring," Trotz said of Tootoo (78 penalty minutes), who has played as a fourth-liner and a checking-line winger this season. "He brings energy. He can bring a big hit.

"What he brings is disruption to the flow and the rhythm of a team. To me, that's real huge. There aren't many things that can change the flow of a team. There are very few people, other than your top skill guys, that can really turn the game around and turn the momentum in a different direction. He's got that ability."

In Boston, the kick-in-the-pants duties usually fall to third-liners Shean Donovan and Jeff Hoggan, who aren't afraid to skate hard and barrel into corners.

But Donovan (4-8--12, 40 PIMs) and Hoggan (0-2--2, 18 PIMs) are hardly among the upper class of grinders that are considered the royalty of the blue-collar club.

Some members include Ottawa's Chris Neil, Colorado's Ian Laperriere, Los Angeles's Sean Avery, Toronto's Darcy Tucker, Chicago's Martin Lapointe, and Edmonton's Raffi Torres -- players with big hearts, motors as reliable as Toyotas and powerful as Porsches, and hands that can shovel in goals as well as occasionally knock around opposing heads.

The Bruins have seen it happen to them. On Dec. 29, with the Bruins enjoying a 4-0 lead over the Blackhawks, Chicago forward Patrick Sharp challenged Andrew Alberts. Sharp got the better of the defenseman in a third-period fight, bringing the United Center crowd to its feet. Fifty-three seconds later, the Blackhawks scored the first of three straight third-period goals before a Marc Savard empty-netter gave the Bruins a 5-3 win.

They're also players who inspire hate, sometimes prompting stars to lose their cool. Tootoo, who had two assists in Boston's 5-0 loss to the Predators last month, has shown no hesitation in performing his wrecking-ball imitation against opposing top guns.

"He's one of the most hated players in the league," said Trotz. "But he backs it up. When they're standing up and yelling at him and more concerned about him, he's doing his job."

Despite his bloated contract with the Bruins, Lapointe -- a favorite of coach Dave Lewis -- had the same snarl to his game in Boston that he featured in Detroit and employs currently in Chicago. In the 5-3 Boston victory, Lapointe turned his guns on Savard, trading whacks as well as words with Boston's No. 1 center.

"He's one of the hardest-working guys," said Chicago sniper Martin Havlat. "With the young guys around him, when they see him doing that stuff, they have to do it, too. Even if they don't want to do it, they have to because one of the older guys is doing it. He's the team leader. Everybody wants to win the Cup. He's done it. That's what we have to do to get there."

Chiarelli hasn't tipped his hand on the forward he'd like to acquire. Despite the crackdown that has sanitized the game and placed grinders under the scrutiny of referees, there aren't many spark plugs available via trade.

They're still too valuable to give up.

"He's a huge component," said Nashville defenseman Shea Weber of Tootoo. "He's an unsung hero. He doesn't play a lot of minutes per game. But he's such a game-changer. With one big hit, he gets the crowd into it and energizes the bench. Guys know he's putting his body on the line. He's not afraid of anyone. He'll go after anyone."