Pelletier will play favorites

Forward grew up a Canadiens fan

MONTREAL - For Pascal Pelletier, who was raised in Quebec City, the dream of playing against his province's home team first materialized when he traveled to New York Saturday for the first leg of the Bruins' two-game road trip.

"If I was going on the trip to New York, I'd probably be here," Pelletier said after yesterday's practice at the Bell Centre.

Reality hit when the team charter landed in Montreal Sunday evening. Tonight, with approximately 10 family members and friends in attendance, Pelletier will skate against the club he followed as a youth.

"I've always been following them," said Pelletier of the Canadiens, although he also watched the Nordiques. "I've always liked watching them. All my buddies are great, great fans of the Montreal Canadiens. But now, obviously, I'm on the other side of the fence."

Pelletier, recalled last Wednesday when Peter Schaefer was felled by flu-like symptoms, has been a welcome addition to the big club, skating on the third line the last two games with the Czech Mates, David Krejci and Vladimir Sobotka. In Sunday's 3-1 win over the Rangers, Pelletier skated a total of 12:38, giving the Bruins solid two-way play.

"When I came up, I was hoping that I would stay around here," said Pelletier. "I knew I could have gotten sent down after the first game. So I was just trying to go one day at a time and not look at the calendar. Now that I'm here, I'm very happy and just enjoying every moment."

Pelletier was born in Labrador City, Newfoundland, where he and his parents - his mother and father are natives of Gaspesie, Quebec - lived until he was 5. They moved to Quebec City and Pelletier began playing hockey, always a forward but idolizing Montreal goaltender Patrick Roy.

Through four years of junior hockey (three seasons with Baie-Comeau and one with Shawinigan), Pelletier racked up 112 goals and 176 assists, but he was never drafted. This season, he recorded 24 goals in 40 games for Providence before his recall.

With the P-Bruins, Pelletier never went more than two games without scoring a goal. Tonight will be his third game with the parent club, so when informed that he's due to score, Pelletier answered with a laugh and a knock on his wooden locker.

After all, things couldn't get much sweeter than scoring his first NHL goal against the Canadiens.

Asked about his first match in Montreal, in 1985, when he was playing for the Nordiques, Bruins coach Claude Julien said, "I just had shivers going through my whole body during warmups. I'm sure he'll be going through the same kind of feeling.

"I'm happy for him. He deserves it. He's still in the lineup because he's earned that right."

Murray joins in

For the first time in two weeks, Glen Murray skated with his teammates yesterday during practice.

"Not bad," said Murray, who's still slowed by a strained hip flexor. "It's only the first day and I sat out a few drills. But it's nice to be around the guys and get a good little sweat."

Murray has missed 12 games, last seeing action Dec. 20 against Pittsburgh. He had skated on his own the last few days.

Murray did not participate in three-on-three rushes or three-on-three battle drills yesterday. Instead, with feeds from assistant coach Craig Ramsay, Murray took shots on Alex Auld and Tim Thomas at the other end of the rink.

"He keeps getting better," said Julien. "He's at the next stage where he's skating a little more and participating with his teammates. He's still not around the corner yet. There's still lots of work to be done with him. Having said that, it's because we're being cautious."

While neither Murray nor Julien could say for sure, it's likely the right wing will miss the next two games and aim for a return after the All-Star break.

Production line

In the nine games Phil Kessel has played on the top line, the right wing has put up a 2-4 -6 line with a plus-3 rating, and added a shootout winner in Saturday's 4-3 victory over New York. In the 38 previous games, Kessel had been a team-worst minus-7. "I think everybody's noticed that he's been a lot better," said Julien. "That's what we've talked about. You need to be patient with young players. It means you don't give up on those guys. You need to be hard on them. You need to push them to get better. They have to be held accountable like everyone else, which we've done. He's responded well. Lately, I think he's been competing much better than we've seen him in the past. He's definitely getting better." . . . The Bruins are 0-5 against Montreal this season, having been outscored, 24-10. "From the previous games this season, we've given up a lot of shots," said Mark Stuart. "That's something we've got to remedy for sure. They have a lot of offensive talent." . . . Julien, an Ottawa native, pledged when he was playing junior hockey that he never would enter Montreal Forum unless he did so as a player. "First of all, I don't think we were rich enough for my parents to bring me here," said Julien with a laugh. "Then when I got to the age of junior, I said to myself that as a junior hockey player, you've got a chance to make it to the pros. That was my motivation - never step in here unless I'm playing."

Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com