Bourque gets his wish for increased ice time
WILMINGTON -- Yesterday, like he did throughout his 21 years in a Boston jersey, Ray Bourque did the little things at Bruins practice.
Except this time, instead of digging pucks out of corners and feeding them to his forwards, he was gathering stray pucks and depositing them in the net for later use. He opened the bench door for the players during a power-play drill. He remained on the ice after practice to work with two young defensemen.
He may be a Hall of Famer and owner of a championship ring, but yesterday, his first day on the job as a consultant to the Bruins' coaching staff, Bourque was doing all the lowly things required of a coaching newbie.
''It's a young man's game," said the 44-year-old former defenseman. ''That's not the case for me anymore."
Bourque's arrival -- he worked yesterday with the defensemen and special-teams units -- comes at a time when the team could use his defensive expertise. Brian Leetch is expected to miss a month with a strained medial collateral ligament in his right knee. Ian Moran has a knee injury of his own. Rookie defenseman Kevin Dallman did not practice yesterday because of a bruised foot suffered in Boston's 4-1 win over Florida Thursday, although coach Mike Sullivan said he didn't think it was a serious injury.
''At the defensive position, it will be a lot of fun working with a lot of young guys we have here," said Bourque, who expects to be present for nearly every home practice. ''We have a lot of talented young guys in this organization."
Yesterday, wearing a Bruins warmup suit, Bourque was one of the first on the ice, chomping on a wad of gum and looping around the ice while firing wrist shots. During power-play drills, he stood next to the bench, talking to Patrice Bergeron, who had just come off the ice after playing the point on the No. 1 unit. Bourque pointed to the ice with the blade of his stick while Bergeron listened to the former captain. Several minutes later, Bourque spoke to Sergei Samsonov, motioning again with his stick.
After practice, Bourque stayed on the ice with rookie defensemen Andrew Alberts and Milan Jurcina, working on a transition drill to move the puck out of the defensive zone.
''We were talking about moving the puck faster and allowing yourself to have more options," Alberts explained. ''He's going to help us out with the little things. He sees what we have. He'll be here for most practices and afterward for 15 to 20 minutes so he can help us out. Everything he offers is going to help us out. Nothing's going to hurt us."
Bourque last served in a coaching position at Cushing Academy, where his son, Chris, played for three seasons. He said he enjoyed working with younger players, but is looking forward to coaching professionals. He returns to the Bruins at a time when they could use another defenseman, but he said he has not recently considered a return as a player.
Bourque will split his time coaching the Bruins on the ice and serving as another evaluator during games. Last week, he met with Sullivan to discuss some of the observations he made in recent games regarding the team's performance.
''As a coach here, you're so emotionally attached to it every day," Sullivan said. ''You're close to the players, you're close to the circumstances, you're close to the situation. I think what Ray will provide is a little bit of a different perspective because he's not as emotionally attached to it every day like we are. I think that insight will be invaluable for us."
Andrew Raycroft, recovering from a hamstring injury, participated in nearly the entire practice, although he didn't know if he would be available for tonight's game against Pittsburgh.
''It hasn't regressed yet," said the goalie. ''[Thursday] night I did a lot of strength [exercises] on it during the game, probably for the first two periods. [Yesterday] it was tired but it wasn't painful. That's a good thing. It's getting better and not getting worse."
Raycroft did not man the crease for a breakaway drill, allowing Jordan Sigalet to stand between the pipes for shooters.
''I can't do that yet," Raycroft said. ''I'm not going to blow a groin in practice on Friday morning. I'll hold off on that. I'm not 100 percent."
Sullivan was encouraged by the progress of Alexei Zhamnov, who has yet to play this season because of a shoulder injury. Zhamnov, who played the point alongside Nick Boynton on the No. 2 power-play unit, said he was close to returning but would not play tonight. The forward, who concluded practice by skating in large circles at center ice, said he was targeting next week for his Bruins debut . . . Sullivan thought Alberts's performance against Florida -- 20 shifts for 18 minutes 7 seconds of ice time -- was his best of the season. The defenseman was called for an elbowing penalty in the third period, but the Bruins killed off the Florida power play, which was 0 for 7 on the night. ''Some penalties he takes is because he's too strong," Sullivan said. ''He's an aggressive player, but he's just strong and he might end up in the penalty box for that reason."
