Energetic adjustment

Axelsson is put back into helpful position

By Fluto Shinzawa, Globe Staff  |  March 11, 2009

COLUMBUS, Ohio - In the two seasons he's played for coach Claude Julien, P.J. Axelsson has skated on every line. He has been on the No. 1 power-play unit. He has been a go-to gunner in the shootout.

But with the Bruins nearly at full health and Mark Recchi arriving a week ago from Tampa Bay, Axelsson has returned to the role that appears to be the best fit: energy wing and penalty-killing specialist.

"The way he can be better for us is by not being put into all those situations," Julien said. "He's going to have more energy to do his other job that we define as his role. There's no doubt there. Part of it is that. Part of it is him committing to doing it better. It's a combination of both."

In last night's 2-0 loss to Columbus, Axelsson (18 shifts, 13:13 of ice time) was the left wing on the fourth line for the third straight game, skating alongside Byron Bitz and Shawn Thornton. As he sees it, Axelsson's job is to get pucks deep, be a physical presence, and create energy.

In last Saturday's 5-3 win over Chicago, Axelsson stripped Patrick Kane in the final minute and scored an empty-net goal. Earlier in the game, he barreled in on the forecheck and dumped defenseman Brian Campbell.

The following day, with regular penalty-killing partner Stephane Yelle on the shelf, Axelsson skated mostly with Patrice Bergeron in shorthanded situations.

"It's a checking line, an energy line," said Axelsson. "Just get pucks deep and go."

On Jan. 14, 2006, Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey fired Julien and stepped behind the Montreal bench. So on Monday, when Gainey turned the same trick on Guy Carbonneau, dismissing the coach and taking the reins, Julien felt sympathy for the man who served as his assistant during the All-Star Game in January.

"It's never fun to hear that one of your colleagues has been let go," Julien said. "When it comes to that, we're very supportive of each other.

"We obviously know what we're getting into. It's those kinds of situations where right now you see a quarter of the teams so far change their coaches. At the same time, I've never met a GM who enjoyed doing it, either. It's not a fun thing to do.

"For me, you feel for the coach because in this day and age, it's not easy to deal with teams. There's a lot of pressure on teams to produce and be where they are."

Julien and Carbonneau had their run-ins over the last two seasons. Julien didn't think much of Carbonneau's tactic of deploying tough guy Georges Laraque to hound Milan Lucic in a Nov. 22 game. Last season, Julien got into a shouting match with Carbonneau and Montreal assistant Kirk Muller, who believed the Boston boss had sent out Mark Stuart to deliver a beatdown to forward Sergei Kostitsyn.

The Blue Jackets are on the brink of qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. With last night's win, they are in sixth place with 74 points, 4 more than ninth-place Dallas.

"It's make-or-break until the 10th of April," said Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock. "The season's going to go down right until the very end. We had a great two weeks and made up 1 point. So we're going to be in this race right until the end."

Hitchcock, who was hired on Nov. 22, 2006, has turned the team into a structured club, preaching hard work and grit.

"We can compete with anybody," Hitchcock said. "The difference this year, for the first time ever, whether we win or lose, we know we can compete with anybody.

"We've had skill here before. But at this time of year, it's about how many competitive players you have. We've got enough competitive players to match up against anybody."

The Bruins were without Yelle for the second straight game. Yelle, who was injured Saturday against Chicago when he tumbled backward into the boards, didn't make the trip . . . After being belted into the boards by Blue Jackets defenseman Jan Hejda last night, Phil Kessel left the ice at 13:40 of the second period, favoring his left arm. Kessel remained in the dressing room for the rest of the period, but returned for the third. He finished the game with two shots in 15:34 . . . Today is Clear Day in the AHL, with teams having to set their 22-player postseason rosters. According to the AHL, Swedish prospect Carl Soderberg does not have to be on the Clear Day roster to be eligible for the playoffs. The Bruins are hopeful that Soderberg, acquired for Hannu Toivonen from St. Louis, will come to Providence this season.

Hitchcock had an unusual take on the 2008-09 Bruins, comparing them to the Canadiens of decades past. "They play the way Montreal played in the '70s and '80s," Hitchcock said. "They win because they play the right way. The defensemen defend, the forwards forecheck, the forwards are expected to work for the defensemen, and that's exactly the way the game should be played. That's why they're successful. They're well-coached. They have two guys [Julien and assistant Craig Ramsay] who know the Montreal-Buffalo system intimately. They play the game the right way."

Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com.