Injuries not a pain

TAMPA -- Last night, as the victorious Bruins filed back to their dressing room at the St. Pete Times Forum, three of their teammates, dressed in suits, tapped them on the shoulders and showered them with attaboys.

For the second straight game, the Bruins hardly missed Patrice Bergeron, Glen Murray, and Andrew Alberts, who tempered the disappointment of not playing by offering their congratulations.

"There's a few key guys out," said Jeremy Reich, who answered the third-period challenge of Nick Tarnasky by fighting with the forward. "That gives guys like me a chance to play. We've got to go out and make the most of the opportunity."

While Murray (groin) didn't participate in yesterday's morning skate, Bergeron (lower body) practiced with the rest of his team. Bergeron also skated in pregame warm-ups, with fourth-liners Stanislav Chistov and Petr Tenkrat serving as his wingers during line rushes.

But after a lengthy pregame chat with trainer Don DelNegro, Bergeron decided it was best to sit out his fifth straight game.

"He wants to get back in the lineup so bad," said coach Dave Lewis, who indicated Bergeron will test his injury again this morning prior to tonight's game against the Florida Panthers. "But we want to do the right thing for him."

Alberts (hamstring) practiced yesterday morning but didn't play, and is considered questionable for tonight.

"I don't know what to expect," Alberts said yesterday morning of possibly playing tonight. "We'll see how it feels in the morning."

Despite the missing firepower, the Bruins responded with another round of balanced scoring. Brad Boyes skated in place of Murray on the No. 1 line and scored two goals.

Phil Kessel, replacing Bergeron on the second line, skated 21 shifts for 15:59 of ice time and set up Marco Sturm's first-period goal. In the second period, after goalie Johan Holmqvist stopped an initial shot by Brandon Bochenski, Kessel crashed the net and scored on his second whack at the puck.

"He's learning the importance of little plays," Lewis said of Kessel. "He's battling at a higher level. I think his confidence is at a higher level. I think he has better vision now. Before, I think he had a narrow perspective when he had the puck. Now, it's a widened perspective, and I think that's the most important thing."

Before the game, the Bruins were buzzing about Thursday's brawl between the Senators and Sabres. The melee started when Ottawa forward Chris Neil leveled Chris Drury, knocking out the Buffalo cocaptain.

It escalated on the next shift when the Sabres went after forwards Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley, touching off a fight between goalies Ray Emery and Martin Biron. Then the brawl crested when Emery, after taking down Biron, traded punches with Buffalo tough guy Andrew Peters.

"Not first choice, that's for sure," said Tim Thomas when asked if he would tangle with Peters.

As the Bruins claw for points, Thomas will remain the starting goalie for the time being. "Timmy's been hot," said Lewis. "It's the way it is. You try to do what's best for the team and the player. But right now, what's right for the team comes first, and the player comes second." After the game, Lewis said that Thomas, who wasn't heavily tested by the Lightning, should be fresh after spending two off days in Tampa . . . Reich was icing his right hand following his fight with Tarnasky, but said he was OK. "I thought it was a pretty good scrap," said Reich (four shots in 12:02 of ice time). "I got in a few good punches. That's all you can ask for." . . . Bobby Allen, paired mostly with Zdeno Chara, had two blocked shots, one that came after he lost his helmet. "Bobby Allen looked like Larry Robinson, no helmet while blocking a shot," noted Thomas. "No thanks. I'll keep my mask on." . . . Chistov has scored a goal in each of his last two games. He will take a three-game point streak into tonight.

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