Chara shot fells Kobasew
Hit around ankle, winger forced out
TORONTO - About halfway through his second shift of the night, Bruins winger Chuck Kobasew was buzzing around Toronto goalie Vesa Toskala. Right place, wrong outcome.
The ex-Boston College winger, hoping perhaps to tip home a Zdeno Chara shot, instead was sent off for the night when Chara's blast drilled him above the right ankle.
Kobasew's line: 2 shifts, 1:27 of ice time, 1 big bag of ice.
The Bruins, in keeping with their KGB-like code of silence and state secrecy, would not reveal the nature or severity of Kobasew's injury. But it sure looked like he took the force of the shot above the outside of the ankle, and the club said he will be examined again today before or after its Wilmington workout.
For now, he is one more in a long line of Bruins suffering from an injured upper or lower something.
Top center Marc Savard (lower back injury) and veteran defenseman Andrew Ference (leg injury), as expected, missed last night's 6-2 victory.
Savard, who underwent a CT scan Monday at Massachusetts General Hospital, will be out at least until Saturday's matinee at home against the Senators, and Ference could be back for tomorrow's rematch with the Maple Leafs at the Garden.
Lashoff is a helper
Impressive night for Matt Lashoff, just recalled from Providence, who filled in for Ference and picked up two key assists. "It's games like this that you live and play for," said Lashoff, who played 15:46 and landed one of Boston's 29 shots . . . Chara led the club with six shots on net, one more than Marco Sturm, whose goal was his 25th of the season . . . Dennis Widemen led both sides in hits with five. Alexander Steen led the Leafs with four . . . The Bruins lost nearly two of every three faceoffs through the first two periods, but rallied to win 43 percent on the night. Best of the regulars at the dot: David Krejci, who won 12 of 22 (55 percent) . . . Tim Thomas, who likely will make all the starts in the Boston net the rest of the way, turned back 28 of 30 shots. The Leafs saw many of their best chances miss the net. "That's what I call good defense," said Thomas. "Our guys had sticks in lanes all night." . . . Aaron Ward, as he walked out of thePlaying in traffic
Before the game, rookie winger Milan Lucic had that glint in his eye that seemed to indicate he would be looking to add to his fight total vs. the Leafs. "I guess we have to keep things simple," said the rock-jawed son of a Vancouver longshoreman. "We haven't scored many goals lately, and I think to do that we have to get out there and create some traffic and confusion - and I know I'm one of the guys counted on to do that." Did that mean Lucic would be out to create more havoc than traffic? "Both," he said. "Part of my game is being physical, and that means I have to get to the net and cause some confusion. And we've been talking about getting in the goaltender's face - and I think that's going to be a big thing for us the rest of the season." Lucic, working the second power-play unit, helped set up Glen Murray's strike that gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead 3:57 into the game. He also stayed out of the penalty box all night.Morning people
Patrice Bergeron (Grade 3 concussion) and Andrew Alberts (concussion-like symptoms) worked out in the morning practice but remained on the sidelines. There remains no firm date as to when they will return . . . Peter Schaefer, although healthy (a rarity for the Bruins these days), was the spare forward . . . No fewer than 120 of the 150 agents certified by the NHL Players Association will meet here today with the union's new boss, Needham, Mass., attorney Paul Kelly. The rarely-seen-in-public Bobby Orr, who lives most of the time in Florida, is expected to attend the meeting - the first of its kind chaired by Kelly. Boston agents Steve Freyer, Jay Fee, and Matt Keator were among those in town last night . . . Leafs captain Mats Sundin (groin) remained out for a fifth straight game.