WILMINGTON - Yesterday, as his teammates trudged into the dressing room after practice at Ristuccia Arena, Andrew Alberts strapped on his equipment and hit the ice sheet for a 15-minute session with assistant coach Doug Houda.
Alberts might have been going in an opposite direction from his teammates yesterday, but the defenseman is aimed the right way.
"Big difference," Alberts said of his injured neck. "I rarely get headaches anymore, which is good. I'm able to do basically everything. I'm working out now, so that's why we're bumping up the workouts a little bit."
Alberts, who hasn't played since Dec. 15, has been undergoing treatment on his neck while skating and working out off the ice. He is scheduled to be reevaluated tomorrow, and if he continues to make progress, the defenseman will pick up the intensity as he works his body into playing shape. Alberts is approximately 10 pounds lighter than his playing weight of 218, and said he's been monitoring his diet because he's not burning as many calories as he normally does.
Alberts did not travel with the team yesterday to North Carolina, where it plays the Hurricanes tonight. But if all goes well, he'll be under the watch of strength and conditioning coach John Whitesides for the rest of the week, lengthening his spins on the ice and increasing the weights he's been lifting. If he can ramp up his conditioning, a return to action by early March could be a possibility, although neither he nor his bosses have mapped out a timetable.
"We feel that we can get him back in our lineup the way it's going right now," said coach Claude Julien. "But saying that, there's absolutely no guarantee. That's what makes it tough when you look at what's going on right now. You're juggling your lineup saying he's coming back, and if he doesn't come back, it's two different scenarios."
Alberts (0-2 -2, plus-4, 37 penalty minutes in 32 games) could provide some depth for a blue line that's been scuffling lately. Since Jan. 22, Andrew Ference has dropped from a plus-1 rating to a minus-5. The play of Mark Stuart, according to Julien, has slipped recently. Bobby Allen hasn't dressed since Dec. 22, but Julien said he might turn to the depth defenseman.
"We've got some guys that are obviously struggling a little bit. I'm not going to deny it's going through my mind right now," Julien said of using Allen.
For the next few days, Alberts will go through a routine of bike work, lunges, and squats to complement his skating.
"I haven't done anything in two months," said Alberts. "I was out there doing some pivots [Sunday]. Obviously it takes some time to come back. But it feels good."
Trade talk
Yesterday was the first day of the general managers' meetings in Naples, Fla., where Boston's Peter Chiarelli is sniffing out fixes for his 2007-08 club and beyond. The Bruins have scored 149 goals, more than only four other clubs, underscoring their need for a top-six forward. Current asking prices, however, have been too steep. Meanwhile, the Bruins await next Tuesday's trade deadline (3 p.m.), wondering how their roster might change. Last season, Aaron Ward and Dennis Wideman arrived at the deadline. "It's the reality of the game," Julien said. "I know this is a time where players worry more than ever. But it could happen at any time of the year. We know there's probably going to be some action going on here in the next week."Getaway day
Peter Schaefer (shin contusion) went through his first full practice with contact yesterday, skating on the fourth line. He traveled to North Carolina but didn't think he'd be ready for any of the next three games. However, Schaefer sounded pleased to be leaving the whip of Whitesides behind. "Want to get away from Whitey," Schaefer said with a smile. "He's crazy, that guy." . . . Before Wideman scored his power-play goal Saturday against Toronto, the defenseman made an eye-opening play, diving at the blue line to keep a puck from trickling out of the zone while penalty killers Bryan McCabe and Nik Antropov were in his face. "At that point, I'm lying on my stomach and two guys are rushing up on me, I'm like, 'OK, I've got to pull something off or we're giving up a two-on-none,' " Wideman said. The defenseman said the safe play would have been to stay on his skates, and retrieve the puck outside the zone. "Nice goal, great play, but it could have easily gone the other way," said Julien. "But at this stage, we'll look at it positively."Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com.
