Duo hasn't been dynamic

Savard and Ryder have yet to click

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia - Up front, the magic starts when all three forwards are skating and flowing and hitting in tune.

More often, two of the three can create some chemistry.

Exhibit A: Marco Sturm and Patrice Bergeron, who, when healthy, have often skated together over the last three seasons.

"You see that on almost every team," said coach Claude Julien. "Like sometimes on line changes, it's almost always one guy [coming off] and the other two stay together, for the most part. You see guys like Sturmy and Bergy. Those are two guys that play well together and are a good twosome if you want. Then you try and find that missing link on the other side who's going to complement them the best."

Before the season opener against Colorado Oct. 9, Julien is hoping Marc Savard and Michael Ryder can start clicking as well.

Ryder, the Bruins' biggest free agent signing this summer, was brought in to serve as the No. 1 gunner, replacing the bought-out Glen Murray as Savard's wingman. Ryder is coming off a disappointing 14-goal season but is being counted on to double his production.

Savard and Ryder skated together Tuesday in the Bruins' 2-1 overtime loss to the Islanders. They were together again last night in a 4-3 loss to Detroit at the Halifax Metro Centre, although Julien hinted he might put Ryder with David Krejci later in the preseason.

"What we're trying out now is . . . different things," Julien said. "If it works, great. As we've mentioned, Savvy's a disher and the other one's a shooter. So on paper, it seems to be the perfect mix. But it doesn't necessarily mean that the chemistry exists with those players, even if their strengths work well together."

Last night, Julien put P.J. Axelsson with Savard and Ryder. Milan Lucic skated with Savard and Ryder Tuesday, and the threesome didn't generate many scoring chances.

Axelsson, who scored a power-play goal skating on the Savard line last night, has been given scoring-line responsibilities occasionally over the last two seasons. His production (24 goals over the last two seasons) underscores the fact that he's not a go-to gunner, but Julien and former coach Dave Lewis like his hockey sense and defensive game to complement linemates.

"Wherever you plug him in, he does the job," Julien said. "He's so versatile. That's always been his strength. If you want him to shut down the other team's top line, he's going to do it. If you want him to play on the top line and create some offense, he's capable of doing that too. When he's at his best."

Transition game

In the NHL's up-and-move landscape, Stephane Yelle is a relative throwback, having pulled on only one organization's jersey for the last five seasons. So it's natural that Yelle, who is playing for his third NHL team, is still feeling his way around new teammates and coaches.

"It's been good," said Yelle, who centered Lucic and Petteri Nokelainen in practice yesterday. "We've had some good practices. It's been nice to get to know the guys. They've been really good."

In terms of systems, Yelle said Boston's isn't as active as Calgary's. But he said there are some similarities between his new club and Colorado, where he spent his first seven seasons.

Yelle, considered one of the NHL's better shot-blocking forwards, is projected to be the fourth-line center and one of the most active penalty-killers. He didn't play last night, but got in front of a power-play shot by New York defenseman Chris Campoli Tuesday. Yelle recorded 30 blocked shots last season.

"He'll fit in well," said Julien. "The one thing last year that was tough for us was having to develop penalty-killers. When Bergy went down, that made us even thinner. I think we've molded some guys. But Yelle is another guy that steps into the lineup and does a lot like Axelsson. I put him in that category. Now I think we've got two of the best penalty-killers."

Bad break for Johnson

Blake Wheeler only played one year of college hockey with St. Louis Blues defenseman Erik Johnson at the University of Minnesota, but that was enough for the Boston prospect to learn that the defenseman was a highly skilled future NHLer. Johnson, the No. 1 pick in the 2006 draft, suffered a season-ending knee injury (torn ACL and MCL) last week while stepping out of a golf cart. "I want to give him a call," Wheeler said. "I'm sure he's feeling kind of down right now, so I'll wait a little bit. He was going to be one of their top guys.". . . Tim Thomas (36 saves) made his first preseason start last night. Jeremy Reich (first period), Martin St. Pierre (second), and Axelsson (third) scored tying goals before former Bruin Brad Stuart scored the winner . . . After practicing at Cole Harbour Place this morning, the Bruins will fly to Hanscom Field to drop off the players who aren't skating tonight, then travel to Detroit.