Allen was one of the positives

BUFFALO -- After last night's 24-shift performance, the only question about Bobby Allen was why he wasn't called up earlier.

The ex-Boston College Eagle, playing in his first NHL game since Dec. 31, 2002, was one of three Bruins (defensive partner Milan Jurcina and Petr Tenkrat the others) to end up on the positive side of the plus-minus register.

Allen, a plus-1 (on the ice for Phil Kessel's first goal), played 14:05 in the 6-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres. Before the game, Allen only had 2:53 of NHL ice time to his name, so he more than quadrupled that output.

" Allen's performance left coach Dave Lewis "extremely happy. I thought he was one of our better defensemen. I thought he moved the puck well. He had good composure. He played his position really well. He read the rush well. He was a pleasure to watch."

All this -- as well as his first NHL shot, which came at 10:47 of the first period (goalie Ryan Miller saved the attempt) -- came despite the nerves Allen felt at the beginning of the game. Allen, stuck in Providence while rookies Matt Lashoff and Jonathan Sigalet (both more offensive-minded defensemen) got earlier call-ups, said it took him most of the first period to get used to the team's defensive structure. But by the second and third periods, Allen said he felt comfortable.

"Obviously, they can do awesome things with the puck at high levels of speed," Allen said of the Sabres. "There are a lot of world-class players in this league. You have to be ready to go on the back end. This team especially, when they break us up in the neutral zone, they're coming at us hard. It's tough to adjust to that. That's probably the biggest thing, just being ready to get back on defense when the puck comes over."

The Hull native, wearing No. 38, recorded two hits, three blocked shots, and one giveaway. Lewis said Allen will play again tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

"I really liked the way he passed the puck," Lewis said. "He snaps his passes. They're tape-to-tape. He looks to make that play, and if that play's not there, it's somewhere else. He made good plays to his partner and good plays to his forwards and wingers."

On Jan. 1 in Toronto, Hannu Toivonen tried out his new mask, courtesy of Sportmask's owner, Tony Priolo. Aside from a few fitting tweaks, all Toivonen's white topper needed was a paint job, the details of which he declined to share that day, only noting that he had something in mind.

Yesterday, Priolo delivered the completed mask, which is gold with Toivonen's No. 54 in white on the chin, the retired Pooh bear logos flanking his number, and a spoked-B on the forehead. The mask also pays tribute to the four major Boston professional teams. There are graphics of Tedy Bruschi and David Ortiz on the left side of the mask, matched on the right by head shots of Larry Bird and Ray Bourque. There are logos of the teams, including the Celtics' leprechaun and the Patriots' flying Elvis, placed around the mask.

Toivonen, who backed up Tim Thomas last night and will start tonight, said the mask felt good, although he hadn't decided whether he will wear it tonight. Among the four Boston icons, Toivonen has only met Bourque.

"Hopefully, someday," Toivonen said of face-to-faces with Bruschi, Ortiz, and Bird. "It would be a great pleasure."

Priolo also delivered a new chin piece to Thomas, his other Boston client. While Thomas's old chin piece was plain white, his new one features the teeth of a snarling bear. Thomas used the new piece last night . . . Priolo brought his company's new carbon-fiber protector, which covers the foot along the laces of the skate boot, to the Bruins yesterday. Priolo said he's been told not to discuss the new protector, which could give the Bruins' shot-blockers another safeguard.

Brad Boyes, playing center for the second straight game (he was on the fourth line with Kessel and Tenkrat), didn't score. He's now gone 10 straight games without a point. "There's a lot of weight on it," Boyes said about his back, which seized up on him Nov. 15 against the Washington Capitals. "Other than that, it's not bad." . . . The Sabres were without forward Jochen Hecht, who suffered a lower-body injury in Monday's game. The Sabres recalled Drew Stafford from the Rochester Americans to take Hecht's spot up front . . . There was some argument about Glen Murray's power-play goal in the first period. The right wing was set up by Zdeno Chara, who appeared to put himself offside while stickhandling, pulling the puck back over the blue line after he entered the Buffalo zone. But the linesmen didn't blow the whistle, and Murray took Chara's dish and zinged a wrister over Miller . . . Tenkrat was the lone Bruin wearing a black helmet during the morning skate. He explained that as the loser of Tuesday's practice-ending shootout, he had to wear a different-colored helmet than the rest of the team. Stanislav Chistov lost yesterday's shootout, meaning he'll wear a white helmet for today's skate . . . Chara, the first Bruin on the ice yesterday morning, accidentally tagged Johnny Bucyk on the head with the blade of his stick. Bucyk, the team's road services coordinator, wasn't hurt, prompting some laughs from Chara.