Circle game

In the third period, the teams will switch ends after the 10-minute mark because the faceoff circles were painted incorrectly on the west end of TD Banknorth Garden. The faceoff circles in the west end are 24 feet from the goal line instead of the regulation 20 feet.

According to the Bruins, the current sheet of ice was installed on Sept. 9 and the error was not noticed until this morning. Given the time of the discovery, replacing and/or modifying the marks on the ice was not possible.

“Of the many logistical tasks the Garden operations team is called upon to perform each season, painting and marking the ice sheet is one of the more routine and straightforward. Therefore, this oversight is simply an inexcusable and disappointing error for which we apologize to the Boston Bruins and the NHL at-large,” said TD Banknorth Garden president John Wentzell in a statement.