Improvising York recovers

The way Jason York explains the game in which he earns his living, hockey is a random collection of plays, reads, and occurrences that happen to take place during 60 minutes on a 200-by-85 sheet of ice.

"Hockey's so much different than other sports," said the defenseman before last night's 4-3 shootout win over the Lightning. "There are no set plays. It's like you've got to ad-lib. You know how Peyton Manning ad-libs at the line? We do that on every single hockey shift."

By now, York knows all about random happenings. Prior to this season, York had never suffered a knee injury. Now, he's skating on two knees that blew up in less than a month.

Three weeks ago, York underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. Last night, the 36-year-old defenseman returned after missing Tuesday's 4-1 win over Toronto because of a sprained left knee he injured in last Saturday's 3-1 victory over the Maple Leafs.

York committed a front-of-the-net giveaway to Lightning forward Eric Perrin on the game's first shift. But by the third period, York -- he said he felt sluggish to start the game -- was pinching along the boards, bowling over forward Martin St. Louis in a play that led to Glen Murray's tying goal.

"I knew St. Louis was out of the way," said York, who had an assist in 19 minutes 50 seconds of ice time. "That made a little room for Marc [Savard], and he did what he does best, find Glen Murray."

York suffered his most recent injury in a game he skated 20 shifts for 13:27 of ice time.

"I got behind the net in Toronto and my leg was dangling back," said York. "Sometimes you get caught in a weird position along the boards. My knee took the brunt of the whole hit."

When York hurt his right knee, estimates had him out for 2-4 weeks. York credited physical therapist Scott Waugh for his quick return from surgery.

"I had a little bit of a rough start," said York, who skated with Brad Stuart last night. "I haven't practiced too much lately. But once I got back into it, I got back into the groove and felt pretty good. The first shift wasn't that great, but after that, I felt pretty good."

York took the place of Paul Mara, who missed his first game of the year after being belted into the boards by Toronto forward Chad Kilger Tuesday. According to a league source, Mara suffered a deep left thigh contusion.

The Bruins were being cautious with the injury out of fear of calcification. But Lewis, who originally thought Mara might not accompany the team on their two-game trip to Carolina and Montreal, said after last night's game the defenseman planned to skate in today's optional practice. Mara will be on the trip, said Lewis.

Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella, when queried about the trap the Bruins used vs. the Leafs, said he got a call yesterday regarding the no-space neutral zone recently on display. "I had a guy from Toronto call me today about how a lot of people think the trap's out of the game," Tortorella said. "Boy, I don't know what people are watching. There's still quite a bit of it going on. I think coaches get into a jam. Each coach has to find a way to be successful. Say the general manager wants you to play a wide-open game that's exciting for the fans. You go through two or three weeks of losing 5-2, 6-2, you're out the door." . . . Shean Donovan, after being stoned by Marc Denis in the second period, was sent off for unsportsmanlike conduct, nabbed for uttering naughty words. Donovan's penalty put the Bruins down two skaters for 14 seconds, but the club killed off both infractions, with P.J. Axelsson scoring a shorthanded goal . . . General manager Peter Chiarelli chatted with San Jose Sharks counterpart Doug Wilson at TD Banknorth Garden. Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of Wilson's blockbuster that made Joe Thornton an ex-Bruin . . . Savard had some words for Vaclav Prospal after the Lightning forward was high-sticked by Andrew Alberts in the third period. Savard didn't appreciate what he considered embellishment by Prospal . . . Brad Boyes has scored a goal in each of the last three games. "It was sort of like I was waiting and waiting . . . to see what made him the successful player he was last year," Lewis said.