Players divvy up Bergeron's duties

Before last night's encounter with the Sabres, the first full game for the Bruins without Patrice Bergeron, the players knew it wouldn't take one man to replace their 22-year-old center.

It would require a committee.

It just so happened that the players tabbed to fill Bergeron's role emerged in the 4-3 overtime victory. Phil Kessel had played right wing all season, but was shifted to center between Marco Sturm and Chuck Kobasew, Bergeron's regular linemates.

Kessel answered coach Claude Julien's call with a second-period goal, his sixth of the season. Kessel winged a game-high six shots on goal, blocked two shots, recorded one takeaway, and won 11 of 16 faceoffs.

Julien slotted Glen Metropolit into Bergeron's left-point position on the power play.

Metropolit took advantage of the opportunity, scoring the game's first goal when he took a pass from Marc Savard and sent a slow-moving shot over goalie Ryan Miller's glove at 2:07 of the second period.

Metropolit played 20 minutes 29 seconds, his most ice time of the season. He also assisted on Sturm's winning goal.

"He just played well," Julien said of Metropolit. "He played smart on the power play. Obviously, he scored a big goal, but he was also moving the puck fairly well.

"I thought he was composed. The shifts he had at center, he was going up against some pretty good lines. He held his own and I thought he was extremely dominant in our own end and taking care of business there."

But the player who perhaps responded the most was Savard, who took over Bergeron's duties as one of the alternate captains. On Metropolit's goal, Savard recorded his 10th assist of the season.

In the third period, Savard was called for a hooking penalty that led to a tying power-play goal by defenseman Brian Campbell. Fifty-nine seconds later, Savard made up for the infraction by breaking out for a two-on-one rush with Aaron Ward and burying an off-wing wrister to give his club a 3-2 lead.

"It was a big lift," Julien said of Savard's goal. "Not only for the team, but I think it was important for Savvy to redeem himself after taking that hooking penalty.

"Those are good signs when guys go back out there and they want to redeem themselves."

Job change

David Krejci made his reputation last season in the American Hockey League as a playmaker by scoring 74 points. But last night, Julien deployed Krejci as a penalty killer for the first time this season.

Krejci played 2:02 of his 10:27 on the penalty kill, and was on the ice for one of Buffalo's two power-play goals. He skated on the fourth line during even-strength situations, and was replaced by Brandon Bochenski on the No. 2 power-play unit.

"He's capable of doing that," Julien said of Krejci. "He played in all situations last year. With the injury to Patrice, we've asked [Metropolit] to step up. At the same time, with Bochenski back in the lineup, we want to utilize him for his strengths. Putting him on the power play allows [Krejci] to kill penalties as well."

Last night was the first game Krejci played against the Sabres since Buffalo tough guy Adam Mair gave him a concussion Jan. 30 in Krejci's first NHL game and third big league shift.

"It was a cheap hit," Krejci recalled.

Idle thoughts

Manny Fernandez, who strained his left knee in practice Tuesday, didn't skate yesterday for the second straight day.

"It was supposed to be just a few days," said Julien before the game. "Hopefully, we'll get him back to 100 percent. In this situation, we're going to call it a day-to-day thing. Right now, I think everything is going as planned."

Fernandez (2-2-0, 3.93 goals-against average, .832 save percentage) last played Oct. 22 against Montreal. When asked about his condition yesterday, Fernandez said he couldn't comment on the injury.

Banding together

Bergeron's recovery timetable has yet to be determined. "You hope that if anything, the guys want to do it for the right reason," said Julien. "It's to do it for Bergy. For the team, it's to say, 'Look, we're going to hold down the fort while you're away.' That's basically what I'm hoping the guys are going to do." . . . Bochenski skated 15 shifts for 12:14 of ice time, recording one shot . . . Milton native and former Northeastern star Michael Ryan was a healthy scratch for the Sabres . . . On Nov. 10, the Cam Neely Foundation for Cancer Care will host "Comics Come Home" at 7:30 p.m. at Boston University's Agganis Arena. Performers will include Mike Birbiglia, Lenny Clarke, and Artie Lange. For tickets, visit ticketmaster.com or call (617) 931-2000.