Chiarelli wears thinking cap

KANATA, Ontario - Patrice Bergeron remains at his Boston home, healing from the Grade 3 concussion and broken nose he suffered last weekend.

Meanwhile, the Bruins are considering their next move to prepare for a long stretch without their alternate captain.

Bergeron has not been placed on long-term injured reserve, but general manager Peter Chiarelli said it is an option. If Bergeron goes on long-term IR, the Bruins can use a portion of his $4.75 million cap hit for acquisitions via trade or free agency. They would have approximately $5 million under the cap if Bergeron goes on long-term injured reserve.

For a player to be eligible for long-term injured reserve, he must be out for 24 days and 10 games since suffering his injury. If placed on long-term IR, the earliest Bergeron could return would be Nov. 24 against the Islanders. But given Bergeron's current condition, it's highly unlikely he would be ready to play by then.

Alexei Zhamnov is the only Bruin currently on long-term injured reserve. There is no limit on the amount of players one club can place on LTIR.

The Bruins have depth at center, with Vladimir Sobotka, Nate Thompson, and Petteri Nokelainen all playing in Providence.

If the Bruins exercise the long-term injury exception and Bergeron is ready to play, the club must get below $50.3 million cap number before the center can return to game action.

Reward, not risk

Coach Claude Julien read a story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that praised the Blues for landing Brad Boyes in exchange for Dennis Wideman.

"I read where St. Louis was talking about [Wideman] being a high-risk player and they made him available because they didn't like that part of his game," Julien said. "I think, if anything, we've really managed to make him a pretty stable defenseman. I don't think anyone can call him a high-risk defenseman this year."

Last night, Wideman played his 11th straight game (he was a healthy scratch in the season opener). He skated 21 shifts for 15:41 of ice time, recording two shots, one hit, and three blocked shots. Wideman committed a turnover behind his net to Daniel Alfredsson, but the Bruins prevented the giveaway from turning into a scoring chance.

The Bruins had only one power play last night. Wideman, who had skated on the No. 2 unit in the last three games, didn't see any man-advantage time.

"The last few games I've played more," said Wideman before last night's 3-2 loss. "I've gotten on the power play the last three games. So I figure I must be doing what they want if I'm starting to play more."

Gift-wrapped chances

For the first time in the last three games, the Bruins didn't give up a shorthanded breakaway. Last Saturday against Philadelphia, a puck got past Zdeno Chara, allowing forward Mike Richards to score a shortie. On Thursday against Buffalo, Chara couldn't handle a bouncing puck at the point. Forward Jason Pominville chased down the puck but was foiled by Tim Thomas.

Julien positioned Glen Metropolit, who mans the left point, a little higher than in previous games to keep the Senators from going the other way.

Wideman said that holding the zone when a bouncing puck is passed back to the point is one of the tougher plays for a power-play quarterback. He must make a decision - play it aggressively and gamble that the onrushing forward can be beaten, kick the puck forward into the zone, or cut losses and go one-on-one against the penalty-killer - in a split-second.

Ottawa connections

Julien, who grew up just east of Ottawa in Orleans and lives in nearby Kanata, is one of several Bruins with ties to the area. Chiarelli, Marc Savard, and Aaron Ward were raised in Ottawa, Chara, Peter Schaefer, and Brandon Bochenski played for the Senators, and Thomas trained this past summer under Eli Wilson, the Senators' goaltending coach. Wilson is an offseason business partner of Boston goaltending coach Bob Essensa.

Thomas first worked with the Ottawa goalie coach two years ago when he served as an instructor in Wilson's camp in Detroit.

"I was an instructor, not a student," Thomas said. "But I ended up being a student because it was the first goalie school I had ever been to in my life. I had 10-year-old girls critiquing every move I made out there."

During the camp, Thomas recalled that Essensa pointed out to the campers how Thomas always tracked the puck.

" 'Do you see what he did on that play?' " Thomas remembered Essensa asking the students.

One girl raised her hand to reply.

" 'When he was moving from side to side, he left his legs open,' " a laughing Thomas recalled the girl saying.

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