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GLEN MURRAY Out 19 games |
WILMINGTON - At the end of practice yesterday at Ristuccia Arena, Marc Savard stood in the corner and flipped pucks to the slot for a familiar face to scorch off his even more familiar one-timers:
Glen Murray.
The veteran right wing, sidelined for nearly two months (19 games) with a strained hip flexor, made it through his second straight full practice without feeling the effects of his injury. The last two days, Murray skated with David Krejci and P.J. Axelsson on the third line.
Murray traveled with his teammates to Buffalo yesterday afternoon. He will participate in the morning skate today at
"We'll look at it closely [this morning]," said coach Claude Julien, who plans to huddle with Murray and trainer Don DelNegro before giving Murray the green light. "We'll make an educated decision at that time."
Since Murray's injury, Dec. 20 against Pittsburgh, the Bruins have gone 9-9-1, a far better run than the record they put up last season when he was out with a bad groin. In the 23 games Murray missed in 2006-07, the Bruins went 8-14-1, including a miserable 3-12-1 to close out the season.
With Murray out, Phil Kessel was promoted to the No. 1 right wing alongside Savard, and Marco Sturm has taken Murray's place as an alternate captain. Murray's injury has prompted an end to the trade rumors - not much of a market for an injury-prone 35-year-old making $4.15 million per year - that have dogged him the last two seasons.
"The team's been playing great," said Murray. "For the last five or six weeks, they've played some great hockey. We've lost two in a row, but besides that, they've played some great team hockey. The rookies have picked up their game and played well - skating, working hard. I think we just have to continue that these next two months."
The Bruins could use some juice from their offensive-minded winger. In the last two losses to Buffalo and Detroit, the Bruins scored only three goals, one coming in the last second of Tuesday's 4-2 setback to the Sabres off defenseman Mark Stuart's stick. The top line was held scoreless in both games. For Savard, it's only the second time this season he's been blanked in two straight matches.
During Murray's absence, the Bruins found the net 46 times (2.4 goals per game). When Murray was in the lineup, the Bruins scored 91 goals in 34 games (2.7 goals). Murray has 10 goals and nine assists this season.
"Just give him the puck and he scores," said Krejci, Murray's setup man in practice this week. "We don't have to cycle too much in the corners. He has that quick release. He doesn't need too much time to take a shot."
Even before he got hurt, however, Murray had been struggling to score. In eight games before straining his hip flexor, Murray scored only once. Earlier this season, Murray fumbled through a 13-game streak without a goal, a stretch in which he turned into a more effective checker than scorer while skating with Savard and Axelsson.
The Bruins are hoping the Murray who returns - if not tonight, then most likely tomorrow against Florida at TD Banknorth Garden - is the sniper who netted eight goals in nine games during a span from mid-November to early December. Murray took 27 shots in the nine-game run, sinking 29.6 percent of his attempts, including three on the power play.
If so, Murray could be the top-six forward the Bruins so desperately need. General manager Peter Chiarelli has said the asking price for offensive-minded forwards - presumably even struggling shooters such as San Jose's Jonathan Cheechoo and Montreal's Michael Ryder - is still too high for the Bruins to seek help via trade.
"Any time you can get a player like that back in the lineup, you're going to make it work," said Julien. "He's anxious to get back in the lineup. He's been like that for quite a while. You see him in practice and how hard he works. He wants to make it back so badly. When you get a guy like him back in the lineup, it's a great addition."
Yesterday, several minutes before he ducked into the dressing room, Murray parked himself in the slot. Assistant coach Doug Houda had placed a foot-high barrier in front of the cage to mimic a goaltender taking away the bottom of the net. Houda rapped pucks off the barrier, producing rebounds for Murray to lift into the cage. For the Bruins, it was a welcome sight.
Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com.
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
