Back to work

WILMINGTON -- With Nashville on the schedule tomorrow at TD Banknorth Garden, the Bruins returned to practice at Ristuccia Arena this afternoon to kick off the unofficial second half of the season.

"It's a cliche, but every game means so much more," said Claude Julien.

All-Stars Zdeno Chara, Marc Savard, and Tim Thomas had the day off, as they were traveling back from Atlanta. Milan Lucic returned to Boston yesterday afternoon and also stayed off the ice.

* P.J. Axelsson skated on his own today and said his foot felt good. He didn't do much stopping and starting, but said he was pleased with his conditioning. No word on when Axelsson will return to the lineup.

* Glen Murray had an off-ice workout today and will skate tomorrow. Murray is most likely not as close as Axelsson to returning.

* Julien said Andrew Alberts's headaches are improving, but the defenseman has not been cleared to work out yet.

* With Thomas out, goaltending coach Bob Essensa manned the crease opposite Alex Auld.

* Petteri Nokelainen was given a personal day.

* At the end of practice, Glen Metropolit took batting practice against Aaron Ward. Metropolit stood in front of one net and waggled his stick, waiting for Ward to serve in pucks from the blue line. Metropolit took baseball swings and connected with several pucks. Perhaps that could be a move showcased in next year's breakaway challenge.