Goaltender Auld acquired

He'll back up Rask with Thomas out

Alex Auld had just settled into his new place in San Antonio when the call came shortly before midnight Wednesday. The Bruins were down to one goalie after Tim Thomas limped off in New Jersey and they needed a backup - immediately.

"Things change in a hurry in this business, that's for sure," said Auld, who was in uniform for last night's 4-2 loss to the Canadiens after Boston shipped Providence left wing Nate DiCasmirro to the Coyotes, along with its fifth-round pick in the 2009 draft.

Auld had been gathering cobwebs with the Rampage after being sent down by Phoenix, where he'd played nine games (3-6, 3.54 goals-against average) this season. "It was crowded everywhere I turned," said Auld, who was one of three goalies in San Antonio after being one of three with the big club, and hadn't played in nearly two weeks.

It was remarkably uncluttered on Causeway Street, where Tuukka Rask was the only able-bodied backstop after Thomas strained a groin muscle sliding across the crease. With Manny Fernandez put on long-term injured reserve yesterday with a back ailment and Jordan Sigalet struggling with complications from multiple sclerosis, the Bruins needed a man in pads, pronto.

Auld, who had played well against the Bruins for Florida last season, was a known quantity and was available. "We need some depth with the uncertainty," said general manager Peter Chiarelli, who said the Bruins "had been looking at him for a bit."

The 26-year-old Auld, who described himself as a "big butterfly goalie," had been with three organizations in two years and is 49-50-2-11 lifetime with a 2.94 GAA and a .901 save percentage. "It'll be fun getting a chance in the Original Six," he said. "A lot of history here."

Thomas figures to be sidelined for a week or less. "Very minimal," reported coach Claude Julien. "We anticipate short term."

The upside is that the 20-year-old Rask, who had played in only three games, will get several starts. "One of our concerns with Tuukka as backup was that he wasn't getting the game experience to develop," said Chiarelli. "The silver lining is that he is going to get into games at the NHL level."

Fernandez, who has played only four games, is on a conditioning loan to Providence. "We do not know how long he will be there," said Chiarelli, "and we are not sure if he is going to play a game."

Julien was pointing no fingers at Rask, who gave up the winning goal in overtime in New Jersey after coming off the bench cold when Thomas was injured with 1:10 left in regulation. "He was certainly not the guy to blame on that goal," the coach said. "It was a screened shot between the legs and it happened to go in. I think we could have played a lot better than that in front of him."

Getting better

Defensemen Andrew Ference (sprained knee) and Aaron Ward (sprained ankle) and wing Shawn Thornton (broken foot) didn't dress last night after skating in the morning, but should be back reasonably soon.

"They are definitely coming along," said Julien. "For all three of them . . . it is a day-to-day situation."

Fresh faces

To shake things up, the reeling Canadiens called up a couple of hungry minor leaguers for last night's game, bringing in forward Maxim Lapierre and defenseman Ryan O'Byrne from the Hamilton Bulldogs and sending down forward Mikhail Grabovski. "For sure it's a message to the other players that the party's over, it's time to play hockey," coach Guy Carbonneau told the Canadian Press. O'Byrne stepped up smartly, assisting on two goals, and Lapierre skated 16 shifts.