Bruins notebook

Kessel is out with mononucleosis

By Kevin Paul Dupont

Globe Staff / January 13, 2009

Text size – +

WILMINGTON - His torrid scoring touch gone tepid of late, Bruins right winger Phil Kessel yesterday was placed on the injured reserve list, felled by a case of mononucleosis.

"It's coming hard and heavy now, isn't it?" said general manager Peter Chiarelli, making note of the club's lengthy injured list. "The good news is, thus far we've been able to show our resiliency with our depth."

For now, the Bruins called up Martin St. Pierre from Providence, and the plucky pivot most likely will be in uniform tonight when they face the Canadiens at the Garden.

Chiarelli also recalled goalie Tuukka Rask, who most likely will fill the backup role tonight behind Tim Thomas. Manny Fernandez has been sidelined since Friday with what the club terms a minor injury (possibly a wrist).

Kessel complained of fatigue in recent days, according to Chiarelli. He underwent a blood test over the weekend, played in Saturday's 5-1 win over Carolina, and skated in the club's one-hour workout yesterday morning at Ristuccia Arena. Late in the afternoon, some five hours after the workout, the club announced that he had mono.

"The general assessment of mononucleosis is that a guy is typically out around a month," said Chiarelli. "That said, it could be longer, could be shorter, all based on how an individual recovers."

The Bruins will play 13 games over the next month.

Kessel, who missed 12 games his rookie season while receiving treatment for testicular cancer, has 41 points in 42 games this season, having played exceptionally well through November and December. As the new year approached, he looked as if he might be the first Bruin to pot 50 goals since Cam Neely in 1993-94. But in his last five games, Kessel's production dipped to 1-1 -2.

Kessel joins other key forwards on the injury list, including Patrice Bergeron (concussion), Milan Lucic (unspecified injury), and Marco Sturm (undergoing knee surgery today).

For now, Chiarelli has faith that the kids from Providence can help the Bruins maintain their standing atop the Eastern Conference.

"Before being hit by this epidemic, so to speak," said Chiarelli, "I had made a few calls and received a few calls. And even with the injuries to Marco and Bergy, we weren't on a full-scale search for help. We've got faith in the kids we call up, and in the meantime, we'll continue to assess."

Seeing is relieving

Shane Hnidy has seen better days, what with eight stitches around his left eyelid and the large, lingering bruise painted like a bulldog's blotch on that part of his face. The veteran defenseman took a puck to the eye last Tuesday vs. the Wild, and his initial fear, as he feverishly skated off the ice, was that the eye was seriously damaged.

"Once I was out in the hallway and settled down a little bit, I knew I could see OK," recalled Hnidy, who returned to practice yesterday. "Once I knew the vision was OK, I was fine."

Coach Claude Julien said Hnidy will meet with the club's medical staff today, and if given the OK, he'll be in uniform tonight. The odds of that increased yesterday when the Bruins returned Matt Lashoff to Providence.

Julien noted that he suffered a serious eye injury during his pro career, while playing in Europe, in an era when very few North American players opted for eye protection. According to Julien, he was fortunate not to lose the eye, and he briefly wore a visor upon returning, giving it up because he couldn't get accustomed to wearing it.

Hnidy wore a visor for yesterday's workout, and unless he changes his mind, he will wear it when he returns to game action. However, he is not convinced that he'll continue to wear it once everything has healed.

"I guess it's one of those things - whether it's all in my head or what - but I feel better out there not wearing it," said Hnidy. "I'll wear it for a while now, for sure. It's just a personal preference thing, I guess."

Manny being absent

Fernandez again was not in uniform yesterday and has not been seen since recording a win Thursday night against the Senators. A "minor issue," said Julien. Asked if that meant a minor injury, the coach answered in the affirmative.

However, as he left his daily media session, and was asked again about the goalie's condition, Julien added, "I'm trying to stickhandle here, guys, and I am not good at it."

OK, so what does all that mean? A check around the league yesterday turned up no talk of any Fernandez trade rumors.

Secret skater

Julien revealed that Bergeron, who remains in recovery from a Dec. 20 concussion (his second knock in 14 months), skated Sunday and yesterday. Yesterday's session was in the morning at Ristuccia, well before the prying eyes of the media customarily enter the building . . . According to Julien, Lucic and Andrew Ference also skated, but he offered no timeline on when any of the injured might return. The only player who didn't skate, said the coach, was Fernandez.

Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at dupont@globe.com.