Moving message to bear in mind

BRAD BOYES A mental game

WILMINGTON -- Before Thursday's 3-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, the brown bear head -- the bruin was shot years ago by Johnny Bucyk -- that usually makes its home propped above Boston's dressing room door at TD Banknorth Garden was in an unfamiliar spot.

In Dave Lewis's hands.

During this five-game string of despair, the first-year Boston coach has noticed many shortcomings with his club. Perhaps above all else, Lewis has recognized that his players, with their confidence as low as it's been all year, have been thinking too much instead of acting instinctively on the ice.

So to make his point, Lewis pulled a doozy out of the coaching manual.

By his recollection, Lewis heaved the bear head, which is mounted on a wooden plaque, about seven times to different dumbfounded players. Tim Thomas and Hannu Toivonen, who sit next to each other next to the TV, looked at each other with raised eyebrows, wondering two things: what had gotten into their coach and how they planned to catch the bear.

It never came their way, but the goalies, along with the rest of the Bruins (the head was not dropped) understood the meaning of the pitch and catch.

"They didn't think about, 'Well, I've got to raise my right arm, my left arm, grasp it with my right hand and my left hand, squeeze it, hold it, and now I have to cradle it so it doesn't fall.' They did it instinctively," said Lewis. "When you're playing hockey at a level in this league and things happen like that, you're playing very well."

Exhibit A might be Brad Boyes, so sick of his 16-game pointless streak that he picked his first NHL fight Thursday, with defenseman Toni Lydman.

"It's the biggest thing," Boyes said of the mental game. "I'm really realizing that this year. Mentally, I've been here and there before. But nothing like this. It's not like yesterday we can shoot the puck and today we forget how to shoot the puck. That's not it at all. If we don't think about it, we can do the little things. Instead, you get worried about doing the little things."

Marco Sturm, his face whacked and bloodied by defenseman Henrik Tallinder's stick late in Thursday's loss, did not practice yesterday at Ristuccia Arena and didn't make the trip to North Carolina for tonight's game against the Hurricanes.

Sturm, one of two Bruins who didn't practice (David Krejci was the other), had several teeth loosened. Lewis also noted that Sturm didn't feel well, prompting the Bruins to evaluate the left wing for a concussion.

"His teeth were loose, he had stitches in the facial area, it was quite a blow," said Lewis. "Pretty severe blow to the face."

Lewis said he thought Tallinder should have been whistled for high-sticking, which would have given the Bruins a four-on-three power play. Lewis said the club planned to call up a player from Providence after the Baby B's defeated the Portland Pirates, 6-1, last night.

Krejci, who suffered a concussion Tuesday in his first NHL game, didn't skate yesterday but worked out before practice. Krejci said he felt fine, although he did not travel with the team. Krejci said he planned to skate tomorrow at the Garden.

Krejci was scheduled to skate yesterday and felt fine riding the bike at the Garden Thursday. But that afternoon, while doing sprints on the bike, Krejci felt nauseous, leading the Bruins to keep the rookie off the ice another day.

At the conclusion of practice, Lewis ran the Bruins through 10 minutes of all-out sprints because the Bruins took 10 minutes' worth of careless penalties Thursday night. Shean Donovan took the worst one, a holding penalty that came less than two minutes after Boyes's fight had the building juiced and the team fired up. "We can't take penalties like that," Lewis said. "They're lazy penalties. They're unacceptable. It takes flow and momentum away when we're trying to get back into the game. The message was if you do that, there's a price to pay during the game and a price to pay after the game." . . . Thomas will start his second straight game tonight . . . Boyes said his right hand was still sore from Thursday's fight. He cut his right hand on Lydman's visor . . . Jason York became friends with Shawn McEachern when they played in Ottawa. McEachern is now an assistant at Northeastern, and York hoped to watch his ex-teammate's team play in the Beanpot Monday. York was discouraged to learn the Bruins will be flying to Washington when the Huskies face off against Boston University at 5 p.m. in the first round . . . Tonight's game is at 8:30 p.m. The late time is because the North Carolina State men's basketball team is hosting North Carolina at 3:30 p.m. at the RBC Center.

Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at FShinzawa@globe.com.