First intermission

After 20 minutes, Bruins with a 1-0 lead. Bruins with a 13-11 shot advantage.

17:35 (1). Mad scramble in front, with Tim Thomas ending up on his back to stop John Madden's shot.

16:20 (1). Strong board work by Johnny Boychuk on Marian Hossa. On several occasions, Boychuk muscled Hossa off the puck.

11:00 (1). Good kick save by Tim Thomas on Duncan Keith's long-distance shot.

9:22 (1). Bruins, 1-0. David Krejci follows up his initial shot and beats Antti Niemi. Blake Wheeler gets the helper. Not good work by Niemi.

7:13 (1). Good action so far by both clubs. Up-and-down play with scoring chances at both ends.

5:21 (1). As expected, Zdeno Chara and Derek Morris are hard-matching against Troy Brouwer, Jonathan Toews, and Patrick Kane.

2:43 (1). Two great scoring chances in front for Steve Begin. The fourth line continues to do the dirty work.

0:18 (1). Early havoc in front of the Boston net. Bruins sweep the loose puck away.

0:00 (1). Team Canada executive director Steve Yzerman is in attendance. Patrice Bergeron and Marc Savard are under consideration for Canada, as are Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Jonathan Toews, and Patrick Sharp.

Adam McQuaid is the healthy scratch.

Based on pregame warmups:

Marco Sturm	Marc Savard	Michael Ryder
Daniel Paille	Patrice Bergeron	Mark Recchi
Blake Wheeler	David Krejci	Byron Bitz
Steve Begin	Vladimir Sobotka	Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara	Derek Morris
Andrew Ference	Johnny Boychuk
Andy Wozniewski	Matt Hunwick

Tim Thomas

Tuukka Rask

* Antti Niemi (6-1-1, 1.50 GAA, .937 save percentage) will start in goal for the Blackhawks.

It's a good thing we don't visit Chicago very often. Otherwise, I'd be two things: broke and obese (or even more so than now).

Upon the recommendation of a Chicago native, dinner last night was at Keefer's, one of the city's many steak joints. Demolished, in the following order, a ribeye, side of asparagus, espresso, and warm chocolate cake. Excellent steak, liberally salted and peppered.

But even more exciting was my first visit this morning to Intelligentsia, just north of downtown. It's one of the more renowned coffee shops and roasters, and for good reason. The barista was working three Clovers -- about $45,000 worth of equipment for drip coffee. Left Intelligentsia with a pound of El Diablo Dark Roast.

For lunch, considered a return to Frontera Grill, but Comcast's Joe Haggerty sold me on a recommendation for Weber Grill Restaurant. Thumbs up -- a solid burger with Swiss and mushrooms.

Shame we have to leave Chicago tomorrow.

P.S. One note on steakhouses. Feel like I can come close to making a decent steak at home. I have a good butcher (John Dewar in Newton). I don't hold back on the salt and pepper. There's not much skill required to sear a steak for a few minutes, finish it in the oven, and let it rest -- all for a third of the steakhouse cost. Somehow, these places have to lower their prices.

Marco Sturm	Marc Savard	Michael Ryder
Daniel Paille	Patrice Bergeron	Mark Recchi
Blake Wheeler	David Krejci	Byron Bitz
Steve Begin	Vladimir Sobotka	Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara	Derek Morris
Andy Wozniewski	Andrew Ference
Matt Hunwick	Johnny Boychuk

Tim Thomas

Tuukka Rask

* Adam McQuaid should be the healthy scratch.

Tim Thomas was the first goalie off the ice this afternoon, indicating he'll get the start tonight against the Blackhawks.

Antti Niemi was the first goalie off the ice this morning, indicating he will get the start tonight against the Bruins.

UPDATE: Joel Quenneville confirmed that Niemi (6-1-1, 1.50 GAA, .937 save percentage) will start tonight. D Niklas Hjalmarsson will not play because he's sick.

CHICAGO -- Good morning from the United Center, where the Bruins will take on the Blackhawks. Puck drop is at 8:30 p.m. EST.

* Chicago is gunning for its third straight shutout. The Blackhawks blanked the Blues and Lightning in their last two games.

* Mark Stuart (sternum) has been placed on injured reserve. The Bruins have 22 players on their active roster. Stuart is not in a body cast.

* Don't expect much on the power play. The Bruins have the league's best penalty kill (86.2 percent). The Blackhawks have the second-best PK (85.5 percent).

* Tim Peel and Francois St. Laurent will be the referees. Mark Pare and Bryan Pancich will be the linesmen.

Years ago, Ray Bourque got the chance to take batting practice at Fenway Park.

Cranked four over the Green Monster, he said.

But what would he have said if someone that day had told him one day he'd go ice skating at Fenway Park?

"You're crazy," Bourque said Friday after being one of the first to go ice skating on the rink that has been constructed at Fenway for the NHL's Winter Classic on Jan. 1.

"But I really think the NHL has a great thing going here. Never would I have thought I would see a rink in the middle of Fenway Park," said Bourque, who played 1,518 games from 1979 to 2000 for the Bruins and had 1,506 points and 395 goals.
 
It was hockey weather indeed at the historic ballpark on Yawkey Way, and Bourque was one of many Bruins legends who donned sweaters with the spoked B and skates despite extremely chilly temps.

The lineup included Cam Neely, Ken Hodge, Terry O'Reilly, Rick Middleton, Bob and Don Sweeney, and Bobby Orr. A youth hockey team from Somerville also participated, and even Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek laced up a pair of loaners and tested the ice.

"It's nice. The ice is only going to get better," Bourque said. "It's a special place to play that game. I'm jealous."

The significance of the Winter Classic not only coming to Boston but involving two of the city's historic franchises was not lost on Neely, who played 525 games for the Bruins from 1986 to 1996.

"Two organizations that are kind of original within their respective sports, it's kind of neat to see them come together like this," Neely said.

Many players were asked if skating outdoors at Fenway brought back memories of playing outdoor hockey as youths.

"It's similar, but different," Neely said. "We're used to skating with a bunch of trees around you and you've got to watch out for leaves in the ice, but it does bring it back, skating outdoors."

One current Bruin, Milan Lucic, also attended, although he did not skate because he is still recovering from an ankle injury. However, he said he'll give his teammates -- who begin a three-game road trip tonight in Chicago -- some intel on the rink, including sun glare and other issues they may have to deal with on gameday.

CHICAGO -- Good afternoon from Johnny's Ice House, the practice facility just down the street from the United Center. Patrick Kane is currently on the ice, taking shots at both nets.

The Bruins are scheduled to hit the ice at 2 p.m. EST in preparation for tomorrow's game against the Blackhawks.


UPDATE: The Bruins have started practice, with all players present.

Marco Sturm	Marc Savard	Michael Ryder
Daniel Paille	Patrice Bergeron	Mark Recchi
Blake Wheeler	David Krejci	Byron Bitz
Steve Begin	Vladimir Sobotka	Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara	Derek Morris
Andy Wozniewski	Andrew Ference
Matt Hunwick	Boychuk/McQuaid

Tim Thomas

Tuukka Rask

All seven defensemen are cycling into drills, with no set pairings established.

PP1: Sturm, Savard, Ryder, Chara, Morris.

PP2: Wheeler, Krejci, Recchi, Bergeron, Boychuk/Hunwick.

The day before the B's began an interesting road trip, we chatted about goalies, trade possibilities and injury updates. Review the conversation here.

The hits just keep on coming for the Bruins. Defenseman Mark Stuart suffered a broken sternum in Monday's game against Philadelphia. Although Stuart finished the contest, on Tuesday it was diagnosed that his sternum was indeed broken and coach Claude Julien said he will be sidelined 4-6 weeks.

 

There were three defensemen missing at practice today at Ristuccia Arena. Dennis Wideman (undisclosed injury) was out and Julien said he wasn't going to be on the plane with the team to Chicago this afternoon but could join them on the trip at some point. Julien said the injury has nothing to do with the shots Wideman blocked against the Flyers.

 

Derek Morris (maintenance) took the day off but should be available for Friday's contest.  

Defenseman Adam McQuaid and Andy Wozniewski have been recalled from Providence on an emergency basis. Both will be present for tomorrow's practice at Ristuccia Arena.

This is McQuaid's first NHL recall. McQuaid, 23, has scored three goals and seven assists with 66 penalty minutes in 29 games this season. McQuaid is a defensive defenseman who can throw down when necessary.

Wozniewski, 29, has a 6-17--23 line in 29 games this year. Wozniewski has slightly more offensive touch than McQuaid.

ANALYSIS: Dennis Wideman missed the entire third period last night, so he is most likely not ready to practice tomorrow. Derek Morris might also be questionable. Morris missed some practice time last week.

• The Bruins placed Milan Lucic on injured reserve to make room for McQuaid and Wozniewski on the 23-man active roster.
  

Today, the Bruins are delivering the goodies they purchased earlier this month for their annual toy drive. There is no practice, and they will resume work tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. at Ristuccia Arena.

Here's the latest version of Plus/Minus:

Plus

+ The improved play of Zdeno Chara. Philly's No. 1 line of Daniel Carcillo, Mike Richards, and Jeff Carter didn't get too many offensive sniffs last night. Chara started the season slow, but he's re-established himself as the team's best defenseman.

+ The penalty kill. The Bruins PK, the best in the league (86.2 percent), turned aside a five-on-three Philly power play last night, with Dennis Wideman blocking everything in sight.

+ Tuukka Rask. With Tim Thomas's game a shade away from his Vezina Trophy-level from last season, the rookie has been a top-notch No. 2.

Minus

- Not much finish riding with Marc Savard. Blake Wheeler's play has dipped in the last few games. Byron Bitz does everything his coaches ask to do, but the right wing has NHL scoring limitations. Without a legitimate finisher on his line, Savard's dishes are being wasted.

- The inconsistency of Marco Sturm and Michael Ryder. Both should be candidates to ride with Savard. But both have their issues -- Sturm not burying his scoring chances, and Ryder not creating enough of them.

- Matt Hunwick's lack of confidence. Last season, the puck-moving defenseman was a valuable offensive weapon from the back end. The Bruins could use a confident Hunwick's skills to spark the offense.

Charles Krupa/AP

For the first time this season, the Bruins lost a game in which they held a lead after two periods. They are now 9-1-0 in games where they've led after 40 minutes.

"Losing battles. Losing races to the puck," Claude Julien said of his team in the third. "It's not a complicated game. You're not going to hear me get into the little details or X's and O's. It had nothing to do with that. They started coming at us."

• Tim Thomas was the hard-luck loser once again. Thomas couldn't do much to stop James van Riemsdyk's goal, which Julien said was a result of several lost puck battles. Thomas might have had time to readjust on Kimmo Timmonen's first goal, but the puck deflected off Blake Wheeler's glove. "I know he's not getting the breaks," Julien said. "It's mentally hard on him right now. At the same time, if you're just going to sit there and wait for the breaks to happen, it's not going to help."
• Looks like the Byron Bitz experiment might be over. Bitz couldn't bury a fabulous scoring chance in the first, and didn't have much offensive presence otherwise. Tough to criticize a grinder for not scoring, but as noted before, Bitz doesn't have the finish to have playing time alongside Marc Savard. "We're going to have to do something," Savard said. "Savvy is a guy that should lead our team in points. Somehow you have to get him guys that can put the puck in the net. We have a lot of guys who are not consistent in that area."
• Dennis Wideman didn't play in the third. Julien said Wideman's absence was not related to the shots he blocked in the first period.

STICK SALUTE: Jon Kalinski. Made the most of his 9:10 of ice time by winning races and entering the dirty areas.

SIN BIN: Rob Martell and Chris Rooney. Not the best refereeing in the first period.

***

All done at the Garden. Flyers, 3-1.

19:19 (3). Flyers, 3-1. Derek Morris rims the puck in, Kimmo Timmonen retrieves, and flings the puck into the empty net.

18:57 (3). Timeout Bruins.

18:57 (3). High stick on Scott Hartnell. One last PP chance for the Bruins to tie the game.

14:49 (3). Good down-low chance for Marco Sturm, but Brian Boucher covers. Flyers take exception to Shawn Thornton crashing the net.

10:28 (3). Flyers, 2-1. Kimmo Timmonen with a blast from the point. Looked like Timmonen's shot skimmed off Blake Wheeler's glove.

8:06 (3). Flyers turning up the heat on Tim Thomas. Danny Briere and Scott Hartnell applying pressure down low.

2:48 (3). Tied, 1-1. James van Riemsdyk takes a feed in front and goes upstairs on Tim Thomas. Not much Thomas could do to stop the rookie's attempt.

Elsa/Getty

0:00 (3). Dennis Wideman will not return tonight because of an undisclosed injury. Wideman looked to be hurt while blocking a second-period shot.

Second intermission

After 40 minutes, Bruins with a 1-0 lead. That's one goal for Vladimir Sobotka. Two unofficially.

• Looked like Mark Recchi might have had more than an equipment problem. Recchi was flexing his left leg on the bench for the last few minutes of the second. Recchi appeared to be shaken up when he collided with Jeff Carter while going off for a change.
• A Mark Stuart D-zone turnover almost led to a goal by the Flyers. Tim Thomas covered the puck. Stuart has to be more careful with his decision-making with the puck.

18:32 (2). Bruins, 1-0. Shawn Thornton whirls around the net and throws the puck out front. Vladimir Sobotka, stationed in the slot, gets a piece of his stick on Thornton's fling and beats Brian Boucher.

15:20 (2). Steve Begin takes a shift in place of Mark Recchi. Recchi is sitting on the bench with his back to the ice. Looks like an equipment issue.

9:29 (2). Dennis Wideman is back on the bench. Looked like he missed a shift or two.

5:49 (2). Michael Ryder all alone in front. Puck dribbles off the backhand.

5:00 (2). Zdeno Chara dangles into the slot and puts a shot on goal that Brian Boucher turns aside.

2:40 (2). Riley Cote gives Shawn Thornton an after-whistle poke. Zdeno Chara gives Cote the business.

First intermission

• With about four minutes remaining in the first, Marc Savard set up Byron Bitz for a glorious chance in front. Bitz shot it wide. I understand the concept of having Bitz with Savard -- big body, lots of hockey sense, defensively responsible, balances out the rest of the lineup -- but he doesn't have the hands to cash in his setup man's feeds.
• Daniel Paille has been skating on the No. 3 line with David Krejci and Michael Ryder. Vladimir Sobotka drops down to the fourth line with Steve Begin and Shawn Thornton.
• Not a good 20 minutes for refs Rob Martell and Chris Rooney. Sobotka should have been credited with a goal. They missed a Chris Pronger high-sticking on Marc Savard.
  
• Some heavy hitting during first intermission between the two youth hockey teams on the ice. More punches thrown during intermission than in the first period.

18:43 (1). Scott Hartnell and Vladimir Sobotka tagged with unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. Hartnell tried to get at Sobotka, but was intercepted by Mark Stuart. No gloves drop.

15:45 (1). Tim Thomas covers, ending the Philly PP. Excellent work by the penalty-killers.

15:00 (1). Stellar work by Dennis Wideman on the PP. Three consecutive blocks for Wideman.

13:38 (1). Mark Stuart to the box for cross-checking. Flyers with a 1:12 two-man advantage.

12:50 (1). Zdeno Chara to the box for roughing. Good job of agitating by Daniel Carcillo, but not much of a rough by Chara.

12:21 (1). Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron matching against Dan Carcillo, Mike Richards, and Jeff Carter so far this period.

7:23 (1). There goes the Philly PP. Brian Boucher gets called for delay of game for handling a dump-in outside the trapezoid.

4:05 (1). Sharp save by Tim Thomas on Scott Hartnell's close-range tip.

2:15 (1). No goal, says referee Rob Martell. Vladimir Sobotka had pushed a backhand shot through Brian Boucher. Play was ruled dead.

Matt Hunwick is the healthy scratch.

Based on pregame warmups:

Blake Wheeler	Marc Savard	Byron Bitz
Marco Sturm	Patrice Bergeron	Mark Recchi
Vladimir Sobotka	David Krejci	Michael Ryder
Daniel Paille	Steve Begin	Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara	Derek Morris
Andrew Ference	Dennis Wideman
Mark Stuart	Johnny Boychuk

Tim Thomas

Tuukka Rask

* Brian Boucher (3-7-0, 2.53 GAA, .903 save percentage) will start in goal for the Flyers tonight.

Carolina has placed ex-Bruin Aaron Ward on waivers. Ward, in Season No. 2 of a two-year, $5 million contract, might be claimed by another team on re-entry waivers. Any team that puts in a claim on re-entry would have to pay half of Ward's remaining salary, with the Hurricanes picking up the remaining 50 percent.

The 36-year-old Ward has no goals and six assists in 31 games this season. Ward is a minus-15, fourth-worst in the NHL.

The Bruins traded Ward to Carolina for Patrick Eaves and a 2010 fourth-round pick. 

Blake Wheeler	Marc Savard	Byron Bitz
Marco Sturm	Patrice Bergeron	Mark Recchi
Vladimir Sobotka	David Krejci	Michael Ryder
Daniel Paille	Steve Begin	Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara	Derek Morris
Andrew Ference	Dennis Wideman
Mark Stuart	Johnny Boychuk

Tim Thomas

Tuukka Rask

Tim Thomas was the first goalie off the ice this morning, indicating he will get the start tonight.

"This is our last home game until we play Atlanta just before Christmas," said Claude Julien. "We've got a tough road trip ahead of us. Without looking ahead, this is a must-win, if you want to put it that way. We need to make sure we win this one, because it's not going to get any easier as we move on here."

Good morning from TD Garden, where the Bruins will host the Flyers tonight in a Winter Classic tuneup.

* This is the first time the Bruins will play Philadelphia since the Flyers replaced John Stevens with Franklin native Peter Laviolette. The Flyers have won one game since the coaching change.

* As usual, Philadelphia leads the NHL in penalty minutes per game (17.8). The Philadelphia penalty kill is ranked No. 25 in the NHL (78.3 percent).

* Blair Betts (shoulder), Simon Gagne (groin), Ray Emery (abdomen), and Darroll Powe (shoulder) are injured.

* Rob Martell and Chris Rooney will be the referees. Steve Barton and Jean Morin will be the linesmen.

Islanders win it, 3-2, only 24 seconds into ovewrtime, Frans Nielsen finishing off a 2-on-1 break in against Andrew Ference. Blake Comeau picks of a Savard pass in the Islander end to begin the breakout.

All even, 2-2, after 60 minutes. Headed to 4-on-4 overtime.

Getting down to the final strokes of regulation. Still tied, 2-2, wtih Bruins allowing only one shot this period. Boston, 31-16, on shots with 3:00 to go.

Islanders credited with their first shot of the third period at 11:18. Bruins with 25-16 shot lead.

Boston foiled again on a power play. Bergeron squeezes off the only shot in the two minutes, Rolson turning back his wrister from the right circle. Still knotted, 2-2.

Bruins unable to take lead with early power play in the third period, but they do land three good attempts on Roloson. Best of the bunch: A Recchi snap shot from the left circle off of a Krejci feed.

Finished with 40:00 here at Nassau Coliseum. Tied, 2-2.

Islanders knot it, 2-2, when Moulson puts doorstep backhander by Thomas. Clever dish by Tavares, sending in backhander from behind goal line, near left post, after Okposo shuttles puck over from left corner. Goal No. 15 for Moulson, the former Cornell star who spent most of the last three seasons in Manchester (AHL).

Bruins move to 2-1 lead with 9:26 gone in second when Krejci knocks in forehander at right post off of sweet backhand dish across crease from Ryder. Sobotka begins play, bringing puck over at left wing on an Islander turn over. Ryder picks up puck along left wing wall, motors away from Meyer and threads pass by Witt at top of crease.

Lots of back and forth in the opening eight minutes of the second period but neither side able to generate a real scoring threat.

With 7:12 gone, Shawn Thornton attempted a stuff at the left post, carrying the puck off the rear wall. An alert Roloson made the block. And 1:06 later, Wheeler was set up in the mid-slot by a Savard feed, but his wrister was easily stopped by Roloson.

First period ends with clubs tied, 1-1.

With 1:41 left in the period, the Bruins put a second shot behind Roloson, but it is ruled no goal, Sturm swatting it in lacrosse-style with high backhander after Ference is first turned back on a short-range wrister. After a brief video review, the play stands as ruled on the ice--no goal.

14:23 -- Bruins tie it, 1-1, when Ryder snaps 30-foot wrister to top right corner aftrer gathering in soft backhand feed, slot to wing, from Krejci. Roloson too late flashing glove.

Wideman whistled off for roughing at 11:01. Not a good penalty. Wideman retaliated after taking a heavy hit from a charging Blake Comeau deep in the Boston end. Islanders continue to have territorial advantage after Boston caught with too many men on the ice early in the period.

With about 9:30 left in the period, Sim and Chara exchange heavy checks deep in the Boston end, with Sim able to gain uncharacteristic leverage against the Trencin Tower.

Good pace from the start. Bruins with a 2-0 shot lead when Boston charged with too many men on the ice at 3:31.

3:58 Islanders 1, Boston 0 -- Schremp puts touch to loose puck at right post after an Okposo shot from midslot pops loose in a goal-mouth pileup.

As expected, Tim Thomas is in the Boston net tonight, opposing former ULowell standout Dwayne Roloson.

Also as expected, Matt Hunwick is the scratch on Boston's backline.

Puck down here in about five minutes.