Sigalet's collapse was scary

Goalie is expected to recover quickly

Andrew Alberts appears to have the upper hand on the Canadiens' Tom Kostopoulos. (SHAUN BEST/Reuters)

MONTREAL - On Friday, the Bruins got a mammoth scare when goalie Jordan Sigalet collapsed during the third period of Providence's 5-2 home win over Worcester and had to be taken off the ice on a stretcher.

But it appears that the 26-year-old goalie, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, should make a quick recovery.

"I talked to [Providence center] Wacey Rabbit," said Tuukka Rask yesterday after the Bruins' morning skate at the Bell Centre. "[Sigalet's] going to be OK."

Boston general manager Peter Chiarelli said the collapse was related to Sigalet's illness. Chiarelli theorized that recent construction at the Dunkin' Donuts Center might have contributed. And Chiarelli says Sigalet has not felt well in road games at Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, N.H., where smoke and pyrotechnics exacerbate his MS-related symptoms.

Defenseman Matt Hunwick, recalled to the Bruins yesterday morning, said that after Sigalet's collapse, the game became secondary.

"It was very scary," said Hunwick. "I didn't see it happen. But when one of your teammates is face-down and not moving, it's scary. The last 10 minutes, we were just trying to get through it. My thoughts are with him."

The Bruins signed 22-year-old goalie Ryan Nie to a professional tryout agreement yesterday. Nie was Mike Brown's backup in the P-Bruins' 4-3 victory over visiting Norfolk last night. Nie started 2007-08 with the ECHL's Johnstown Chiefs, posting a 5-2-0 record with a 3.20 goals-against average in seven games.

Changing on the fly

Hunwick, who traveled to Montreal from Boston first thing yesterday, didn't arrive in time for the morning skate. But as his teammates came off the ice, Hunwick got his gear on for a quick twirl to prepare for last night's 7-4 loss to the Canadiens.

"He's played well for us," said coach Claude Julien. "He's played extremely well in Providence. We've lost [Andrew ] Ference here for a little bit. We thought Matt should be part of the team and he was deserving to be here. That's why we called him up."

Hunwick, who made his NHL debut last Saturday, skated 19 shifts for 13:30 of ice time last night. Hunwick recorded a minus-2 rating. Hunwick replaced Bobby Allen, who was a healthy scratch for the 12th game this season.

Rask stays ready

Last night, Rask served as Tim Thomas's backup for the fifth time this season, and there's no telling when the 20-year-old will make his first NHL start. Especially considering Thomas's struggles last night, the opportunity could come as soon as Tuesday, when the Bruins face Toronto, the club that originally selected Rask.

But the more likely dates might be either Friday or Saturday, when the Bruins play back-to-back games against the Islanders.

Under his skin

Pesky Montreal forward Steve Begin did his job last night, taking Zdeno Chara with him to the box three times. In the first period, both players were called for roughing penalties at 15:12. After they served their penalties, they were thrown out again at 18:37 (Chara for cross-checking, Begin for slashing). The duo went off for a third time at 7:49 of the second period after Chara cross-checked the forward and Begin was caught for diving. "Hockey is a physical game," said Chara, who was whistled for 19 more penalty minutes when he elbowed Alexei Kovalev and picked a fight with Guillaume Latendresse in the third period. "That's part of hockey. But we lost 2 points." . . . Aaron Ward played in his first game after missing the previous two because of a concussion. Ward played a total of 20:56 and was a minus-1 . . . Chara scored his first goal of the season with a one-timer at 3:11 of the second period . . . Both Glen Murray (2-1 -3) and Marc Savard (0-3 -3) led all players with plus-3 ratings.

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