All done in Boston. Far better and tighter third period by Bruins. Dennis Seidenberg with game-winning muffin.

10:24 3d period: Bruins 4-3
Craig Anderson slams door. Partial break for Milan Lucic. But Anderson shuts down five-hole entrance.

7:09 3d period: Bruins 4-3
Dennis Seidenberg tees up shot from red line. Beats Craig Anderson clean as whistle. Merry Christmas.

2:20 3d period: 3-3
Another PPG. Craig Anderson gets a bead on Joe Corvo’s first shot. But Brad Marchand attacks and taps in rebound over Anderson’s glove.

20:00 2d period: Senators 3-2
Late life from Bruins. But Ottawa still controlled majority of second. Bruins need more determination in third to make this a game.

19:15 2d period: Senators 3-2
Milan Lucic takes pass from Rich Peverley and snaps a puck past Craig Anderson. Big goal. Good net drive by David Krejci to open up shooting lane for Lucic. Zdeno Chara starts rush with clearing pass to Peverley on right side.

13:28 2d period: Senators 3-1
Erik Karlsson and Chris go away on two-on-one rush. Karlsson takes Neil feed and wings a shot past Tim Thomas. Turnover by Brad Marchand at offensive blue line gives Senators numbers going other way.

12:36 2d period: Senators 2-1
Ottawa really rolling now. Bruins need to make sure this game doesn’t get out of reach now. Senators flying.

7:43 2d period: Senators 2-1
Senators go up ice with speed. Kyle Turris snaps shot high on Tim Thomas from left circle. Nice breakout and cross-ice pass from Daniel Alfredsson. Not sure why Gregory Campbell didn’t go for line change there.

3:40 2d period: 1-1
Craig Anderson stops Tyler Seguin. Several sniffs for Seguin during shift. Pass to Brad Marchand just off.

20:00 1st period: 1-1
Shots even, 12-12. Didn’t see Shawn Thornton on bench at end of first. Might have been getting right hand looked at. Was icing it in penalty box after fight with Chris Neil.

18:40 1st period: 1-1
Colin Greening on the rebound. Tim Thomas kicks out point shot. Big rebound to Milan Michalek, who finds Greening in front.

14:16 1st period: Bruins 1-0
Adam McQuaid vs. Zenon Konopka. Not sure how that started. Another big-time tussle. McQuaid loses hat in fight.

12:38 1st period: Bruins 1-0
Shawn Thornton vs. Chris Neil. Neil scrapes off Thornton’s helmet early. Thornton comes back strong. Heavyweight tilt.

11:57 1st period: Bruins 1-0
Zdeno Chara with left-point PP slapper. Good net-front presence by Milan Lucic. Completes good work by both units.

10:09 1st period: 0-0
Brad Marchand hooked down. PP coming up. Good legs for Marchand so far.

8:54 1st period: 0-0
Another great chance for Benoit Pouliot. Dangles through traffic, dings backhand off left post.

6:18 1st period: 0-0
Good chance for Benoit Pouliot off Zdeno Chara shot. Craig Anderson standing tall.

3:40 1st period: 0-0
Decent heat by second line. All starts with Zdeno Chara rubbing out Milan Michalek deep in Boston zone.

0:00 1st period: 0-0
Nathan Horton (concussion) out for second straight game. Andrew Ference (suspension) banished for third and final game.

@GlobeFluto

Based on pregame warmups:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Rich Peverley
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Zach Hamill
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Steven Kampfer-Adam McQuaid

Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

* Craig Anderson (25-16-4, 2,90 GAA, .910 save percentage) will start in goal for the Senators.

@GlobeFluto

Hello again from Causeway Street, where tonight the Bruins return from the NHL's All-Star break and face the Ottawa Senators. It's the start of three straight at the Garden. The Canes will be here on Thursday night, followed by the Penguins on Saturday.

The guess here is that Tuukka Rask, well rested while Tim Thomas fulfilled All-Star obligations in Ottawa over the weekend, will be in net, most likely opposed by Craig Anderson. Following the morning skate, both goalies left the ice simultaneously, with Thomas one stride ahead of the Thin Finn.

With such a heavy schedule from now until the start of the playoffs, said Bruins coach Claude Julien, both goalies should see a healthy amount of playing time. But that does not necessarily mean a straight rotation. ''If they're both hot, they're both playing.'' And if one isn't.....

Nathan Horton, still working his way back from a concussion, remains out of the Black-and-Gold lineup. Andrew Ference tonight will serve the third and final game of his three-game suspension for his dangerous hit Jan. 21 on the Rangers' Ryan McDonagh.
Puck drop: 7:05 p.m. EST

Record: Bruins, 31-14-2; Senators, 27-19-6.

TV/radio info: NESN (Jack Edwards, Andy Brickley, Naoko Funayama), 98.5 The Sports Hub (Dave Goucher, Bob Beers)

Projected lineup:
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Rich Peverley
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Zach Hamill
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Steve Kampfer-Adam McQuaid

Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas

Healthy scratches: Andrew Ference (suspended).
Storylines: If Thomas gets the start, no telling how the crowd will react in the wake of the former US Olympic goalie opting not to attend the club's White House visit last Monday. It's the club's first Garden appearance since making what turned into a controversial visit to Pennsylvania Ave...The Bruins picked up one power-play goal in each of their two games prior to the ASG break, but are a squirt-gun-like 5-for-34 (14.7 percent) over their last 10 games. They were blanked on the man-advantage in five of those 10 games. Five different forwards scored those PPGs...The last Boston defenseman to score on the man-advantage was Zdeno Chara, who connected in the 6-0 smackdown of the Flyers on Dec. 17. Six weeks is a long time to go without any PP pop from long-distance...Defensemen Ference and Adam McQuaid were the only Bruins to score in the 3-2 loss to the Rangers on Jan. 21...Team captain Chara was uncharacteristically animated following the morning skate when discussing how often equipment manufacturers change their stick specs....Brad Marchand, aka The L'il Ball o' Hate, was also called ''Squirrel'' for a while during his AHL days. More on that in tomorrow's Boston Globe...The referees tonight are Rob Martell and Dan O'Rourke; Linesmen are Andy McElman and Tim Nowak. Brendan Shanahan remains the long arm of the law.

The Bruins got back to work this afternoon with a 2 p.m. practice at TD Garden.
Coach Claude Julien made it back from Ottawa in time for the workout but goaltender Tim Thomas, defenseman Zdeno Chara and forward Tyler Seguin were excused because they participated in the NHL's All-Star Weekend.
Another person who was absent was Nathan Horton, who continues his recovery from a concussion suffered on January 22.
``He is getting better,’’ said Julien. ``He’s still at the point where he hasn’t ridden the bike yet but he is getting better believe it or not. When you have a concussion, it’s about headaches and everything else and everything is kind of going in the right direction right now. Until he is symptom-free, he can’t do anything. It will probably be at least two days and possibly three before he starts being symptom-free. We just kind of keep our fingers crossed and hope that he gets better quickly but it’s something that not even our medical staff can predict.’’

OTTAWA – As usual, Zdeno Chara has won the hardest shot contest. With his second whack, Chara gunned a slap shot timed at 108.8 m.p.h. to make a mockery of his old record. Last year, Chara hit 105.9 m.p.h.

“I was kind of surprised myself,” Chara said of the result. “Before every All-Star hardest shot, I try to do my best and improve. It worked.”

Shea Weber connected with a 106.0-m.p.h. shot to claim second place once again.

@GlobeFluto

OTTAWA -- During today's All-Star Game media availability, Tim Thomas made his most in-depth comments regarding his decision not to attend the White House on Monday.

Thomas stressed he acted as an individual and not as a member of the Bruins.

“I think it should. I think it should,” Thomas said when asked if the controversy should go away. “I think it’s all media-driven right now. It has been from the start. Everything I said then was as an individual. It wasn’t as a representative of the Boston Bruins. All it has to do is with me. It’s separate from hockey. That’s my personal life. Those are my personal views. Those are my personal beliefs. It has nothing to do with hockey. It has nothing to do with this All-Star Game.”

@GlobeFluto

The All-Star Game player draft is over. After taking Pavel Datsyuk with his first pick, Zdeno Chara drafted Tim Thomas.

With his second-to-last pick, Chara tabbed Tyler Seguin. The two hugged after Chara announced Seguin's name.

"Definitely getting hot back there," Seguin said with a smile of the wait. "I don't know if it was the lights. Little nervous. All four of us were when we were on the stage. Not embarrassed, because everybody was having a good time."

The All-Star Game is Sunday at 4 p.m. at Scotiabank Place.

@GlobeFluto

GATINEAU, Quebec -- Tim Thomas has made his first public comments following his decision not to attend the Bruins' White House ceremony on Monday.

After being selected by Zdeno Chara for Sunday's NHL All-Star Game, Thomas spoke with TSN.

"I followed my conscience," Thomas said. "I'm extremely grateful for all the support I've gotten from my teammates, fans, and friends. I said in my statement that was the only time I'd be addressing that topic. We're here in Ottawa to celebrate the game of hockey. I'm extremely excited to be part of that."

After the draft, Thomas reiterated he had no interest in specifying his issues on his decision.

"Everything I said in my statement, I believe to be the absolute truth," Thomas said. "I don't believe I need to revisit something I stated so clearly."

@GlobeFluto

All done in DC. Dennis Wideman with game-ending ENG.

7:18 3d period: Capitals 4-3
Hat trick for Mathieu Perreault. Scores on rebound of Roman Hamrlik point shot. Second straight opposing hat trick.

6:47 3d period: 3-3
Alex Semin goes wide on partial break. Bad turnover by Adam McQuaid.

20:00 2d period: 3-3
Bruins with 25-18 shot advantage. Good push by second-liners.

17:42 2d period: 3-3
Brad Marchand with the short-range PPG. Great stops by Tomas Vokoun on Patrice Bergeron and Dennis Seidenberg. But no help from teammates on Marchand?s bid.

14:23 2d period: Capitals 3-2
Bad turnover by Johnny Boychuk. Mathieu Perreault picks pocket and goes high blocker on Tuukka Rask.

12:21 2d period: 2-2
Tyler Seguin picks off John Carlson pass and goes high on Tomas Vokoun. Bad turnover by Carlson. Good work by Seguin at end of shift.

2:55 2d period: Capitals 2-1
Give-and-go between Mathieu Perreault and Alex Semin. Nice fake shot and dish by Semin.

2:14 2d period: 1-1
Tuukka Rask stops Cody Eakin's shot. But puck rolls over Rask's right arm and over the line.

0:00 2d period: Bruins 1-0
David Krejci is present for the start of the second.

20:00 1st period: Bruins 1-0
With David Krejci unavailable, Bruins now without two-thirds of first line.

17:46 1st period: Bruins 1-0
Makeshift line punches through. Rich Peverley, skating with Patrice Bergeron and Milan Lucic, scores off Karl Alzner's stick.

15:15 1st period: 0-0
David Krejci not on ice nor on bench. Took John Carlson slapper off right foot earlier in first.

14:18 1st period: 0-0
Caps buzzing. Handful of excellent scoring chances. Bruins defense leaky.

11:46 1st period: 0-0
Tuukka Rask tall on Mathieu Perreault close-range shot. Rask sharp so far.

8:35 1st period: 0-0
Tuukka Rask kicks out short-distance Matt Hendricks chance.

6:49 1st period: 0-0
Bruins with 5-1 shot advantage. Best chance was David Krejci in tight. Glove save by Tomas Vokoun.

0:00 1st period: 0-0
First line starting for Bruins.

@GlobeFluto

Based on pregame warmups:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Rich Peverley
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Zach Hamill
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Adam McQuaid
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Steven Kampfer-Johnny Boychuk

Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas

* Tomas Vokoun (19-12-0, 2.55 GAA, .917 save percentage) will start in goal for the Capitals.

@GlobeFluto

The Bruins have completed their morning skate. They are attempting to move past Tim Thomas's decision yesterday to not participate in the White House ceremony.

"I think our group is all mature enough to look past that," Claude Julien said. "Our group was very proud, honored, and privileged to have gone to the White House. We don't mix politics with hockey. In this dressing room here, our job is to win hockey games and win hockey games as a team. That's what we are."

Thomas did not attend the White House event. On his Facebook page last night, Thomas said he declined to attend because he believes the federal government has grown out of control. Thomas was not available for comment today.

Over the last two months, GM Peter Chiarelli had several conversations with Thomas regarding his attendance. Chiarelli said he could have suspended Thomas, but elected not to do so. Thomas could also have been fined $2,500.

"We were honored and we went," Julien said. "Everybody makes their decisions. He chose not to come. Whether we support him or don't support him, that has nothing to do with hockey. What we are is a team and we'll continue to be a team."

The Bruins chose not to have Thomas attend the team's charity appearance at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Washington. Director of communications Matt Chmura said Thomas's appearance might have distracted from the charity event.

Steven Kampfer was the only other American on last year's roster. Kampfer, a University of Michigan graduate, said he enjoyed the ceremony.

"It's Timmy's decision. It's his beliefs," Kampfer said. "It's his right to do what he wants. We all had a great time going there and seeing the White House. For myself, it was a dream come true because I studied it in school. I was a political science major. To get to go to the White House yesterday and shake the President's hand was awesome. That's something I'll never forget. It was exciting."

@GlobeFluto

WASHINGTON ? Good morning from the Verizon Center, where the Bruins will play their last game before the All-Star break tonight against the Capitals.

Washington will be without Alex Ovechkin, who was suspended last night for three games. Ovechkin was called for charging on Sunday on Pittsburgh?s Zbynek Michalek.

Andrew Ference will serve the second-game of his three-match suspension tonight. Nathan Horton is doubtful because of a suspected mild concussion.

Puck drop: 7 p.m.

TV/radio info: NESN (Jack Edwards, Andy Brickley, Naoko Funayama),98.5 The Sports Hub (Dave Goucher, Bob Beers)

Records: Bruins 31-13-2, Capitals 25-19-3

Projected Bruins lineup:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Rich Peverley
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Zach Hamill
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Steven Kampfer-Adam McQuaid

Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas

Healthy scratch: none

Storylines: Rich Peverley will most likely replace Horton on the first line. Peverley skated in Horton?s place in the third period of Sunday?s 6-5 shootout win over the Flyers? No telling if Tim Thomas will care to explain yesterday's actions. On his statement last night, Thomas said he does not plan on discussing it again... Ovechkin might pull out of the All-Star Game today. Given the game?s irrelevance, Ovechkin is making the right move? Old friend Dennis Wideman is leading the Washington defensemen in scoring (8-25?33). Wideman is an unrestricted free agent at year?s end? Chris Lee and Don VanMassenhoven will be the referees. Steve Miller and Greg Devorski will be the linesmen.

@GlobeFluto

Nathan Horton is most likely suffering from a mild concussion, said GM Peter Chiarelli. Horton, who attended today's White House ceremony, was hurt in yesterday?s second period when he was hit from the side by Philadelphia's Tom Sestito.

Horton is doubtful for tomorrow's game against Washington, Chiarelli said.

@GlobeFluto

WASHINGTON -- Tim Thomas, one of two Americans on the roster, chose not to attend today's ceremony at the White House, according to GM Peter Chiarelli.

"We're like a family. We have our issues," Chiarelli answered when asked if Thomas's decision overshadowed the visit. "You deal with them, move on, and try and support everyone. It may or may not. If it does, I hope it doesn't. The guys seemed to enjoy it. I enjoyed it."

UPDATE: Thomas has issued the following statement: "I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People. This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government. Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a Free Citizen, and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an INDIVIDUAL."

Shortly after Thomas released his statement, Bruins president Cam Neely issued his own.

"As an organization we were honored by President Obama's invitation to the White House," Neely said. "It was a great day and a perfect way to cap our team's achievement from last season. It was a day that none of us will soon forget. We are disappointed that Tim chose not to join us, and his views certainly do not reflect those of the Jacobs family or the Bruins organization."

All other players were in attendance. Chiarelli said attendance today was not mandatory. Steven Kampfer is the other American player from last year's roster.

"I can require someone to attend a team event. If they don't, I can suspend him," Chiarelli said. "I'm not suspending Tim. Whatever his position is, it isn't reflective of the Boston Bruins nor my own. But I'm not suspending him."

Mark Recchi, Tomas Kaberle, and Shane Hnidy attended the event. First-year Bruins Joe Corvo and Benoit Pouliot did not participate in the East Room ceremony.

@GlobeFluto

JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images

The Bruins visited the White House today and were greeted by President Barack Obama, who made some brief remarks about the players and was given a black-and-gold hockey jersey with No. 11 on the back.

"I am happy to welcome the Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins to the White House," Obama said. ?I?m sure they are wicked happy to be here."

Obama noted the recent championships won by the Bruins, Patriots, Red Sox, and Celtics. Obama is a Chicago fan.

"Enough already, Boston," said Obama.

Obama singled out playoff hero Brad Marchand.

"The Little Ball of Hate shrugged off the rookie jitters," said Obama, then turned to the left wing. "What's up with that nickname, man?"

Click the Full Entry button to read the full text of Obama's remarks.

Globe reporter Fluto Shinzawa and Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Sam Carchidi provide their thoughts following the Bruins' shootout victory over the Flyers yesterday in Philly.

All done in Philly. David Krejci and Tyler Seguin score in shootout.

5:00 OT: 5-5
Shootout time. Bruins can't do anything with overtime PP.

20:00 3d period: 5-5
Overtime for second straight game. Bruins will take the point. Flyers better team today.

10:38 3d period: 5-5
Matt Carle with PP blast from point. Looks like Max Talbot with the tip.

9:11 3d period: Bruins 5-4
Chris Kelly slow to get up. Put down by Scott Hartnell, who comes in with high shoulder. Shawn Thornton challenges Hartnell.

8:11 3d period: Bruins 5-4
Nathan Horton will not return. No reason given.

4:59 3d period: Bruins 5-4
Daniel Paille with wraparound. Gregory Campbell gets a piece from in front.

3:21 3d period: 4-4
Nathan Horton neither on ice nor bench.

1:19 3d period: 4-4
Rich Peverley with long-distance flip. David Krejci appears to get a piece.

19:13 2d period: Flyers 4-3
Bruins outshot, 15-6, in second period. Three straight goals by Scott Hartnell, all assisted by Claude Giroux. Bruins completely outclassed in second.

19:13 2d period: Flyers 4-3
Both teams have left ice. Remaining time will be added onto start of third period.

19:13 2d period: Flyers 4-3
Hat trick for Scott Hartnell. On power play, snaps one-timer past Tim Thomas. Another slick dish by Claude Giroux. Magic connection.

7:28 2d period: 3-3
Shawn Thornton vs. Jody Shelley off draw. Mostly lefts by Thornton. Have to believe Thornton asked.

7:25 2d period: 3-3
All tied up. Scott Hartnell high blocker on Tim Thomas. Heavy forechecking heat by Flyers. Thomas might have been screened by Adam McQuaid.

3:23 2d period: Bruins 3-2
Scott Hartnell wings PP shot past Tim Thomas. Good setup by Claude Giroux, nice shot by Hartnell, typical ill-advised Nathan Horton penalty to put Bruins down.

20:00 1st period: Bruins 3-1
Good to see Steven Kampfer return after getting clobbered. Thought he'd be hearing tweetie birds for next month.

14:36 1st period: Bruins 3-1
Steven Kampfer back on bench.

12:43 1st period: Bruins 3-1
Roughing on Ilya Bryzgalov. Took a swipe at Brad Marchand after collision.

12:30 1st period: Bruins 3-1
Milan Lucic cuts to middle and beats Ilya Bryzgalov high blocker.

9:37 1st period: Bruins 2-1
Steven Kampfer groggy. Walloped by Brayden Schenn as he came around the net. Chris Kelly challenges Schenn. Kampfer to locker room. Kampfer, who had hit Tom Sestito earlier in shift, has concussion history. Unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Kelly.

9:01 1st period: Bruins 2-1
Bruins finally break through on power play. Patrice Bergeron wins puck battle behind net. Dishes to Tyler Seguin in front.

2:05 1st period: 1-1
Own goal by Dennis Seidenberg. Nice tip of a Maxime Talbot cross-ice feed intended for Jakub Voracek. Tough luck.

1:24 1st period: Bruins 1-0
Milan Lucic vs. Tom Sestito. Sestito with the pre-draw inquiry, Lucic accepts. Lucic feeds Sestito with successive rights. Hard to believe Sestito stayed on skates after that flurry.

0:50 1st period: Bruins 1-0
Patrice Bergeron over Ilya Bryzgalov's glove. Nice cross-ice feed from Brad Marchand. Good net drive by Bergeron.

0:00 1st period: 0-0
Zach Hamill is the healthy scratch.

@GlobeFluto

Based on pregame warmups:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Rich Peverley
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Adam McQuaid
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Steven Kampfer-Johnny Boychuk

Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

* Ilya Bryzgalov (18-10-3, 2.94 GAA, .896 save percentage) will start in goal for the Flyers.

@GlobeFluto

Andrew Ference will not play today against the Flyers. Ference has been suspended for at least one game for his charging penalty yesterday on Ryan McDonagh.

UPDATE: Ference has been suspended for three games.

"You never want to see a player suspended," Claude Julien said. "At the same time, there's rules in place. It's a game that's played on the edge. What's pretty clear is that Ference is not a dirty player. Ference is one of those guys that supports what the league is trying to do in regards to that. Not every time a player is suspended is it meant intentionally."

"Sometimes guys are going into the boards at a fast speed,'' Julien said. ""Then they're off-balance. It's a game on the edge. It just goes to prove that it doesn't always have to be a dirty play and meant intentionally. [Zdeno Chara] got hit from behind yesterday. If Z was 5-foot-10, he probably would have stayed down on the ice. It's a lot about what comes out of those kinds of hits, the injuries and everything else, that the league seems to be looking at. You respect what they're trying to do and you move on."

Steven Kampfer will play for the first time since Dec. 14.

@GlobeFluto

PHILADELPHIA – Good morning from Philadelphia, where the Bruins will face off against the Flyers this afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center. This will be the second straight week the Bruins appear in a friends-and-family game (Hi Mom!), as most viewers will no doubt be tuned to pigskins instead of pucks. Curious why NBC didn’t pick Bruins-Flyers, and an earlier faceoff, over Capitals-Penguins.

The Bruins will most likely be without Andrew Ference today. Ference will have a disciplinary call with Brendan Shanahan this morning. If Ference is unavailable, Steven Kampfer will dress as the No. 6 defenseman.

Puck drop: 3 p.m.

TV/radio info: NESN (Jack Edwards, Andy Brickley, Naoko Funayama),100.7 WZLX-FM (Dave Goucher, Bob Beers)

Records: Bruins 30-13-2, Flyers 28-14-4

Projected Bruins lineup:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Rich Peverley
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Steven Kampfer-Adam McQuaid

Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

Healthy scratch: Zach Hamill

Storylines: The Bruins pasted the Flyers in their last meeting, 6-0. Tim Thomas was in goal for the win, as he should be this afternoon… The Flyers are coming off a 4-1 road win over New Jersey yesterday… Philadelphia, as usual, is reeling with injuries. Danny Briere (concussion), Jaromir Jagr (groin), and Zac Rinaldo (upper body) were injured yesterday. The Flyers are also without Chris Pronger and James van Riemsdyk because of concussions… During their last game, Milan Lucic drilled Rinaldo from behind. Lucic was suspended for one game because of the hit… Chris Rooney and Dan O’Halloran will be the referees. Brian Murphy and Brad Kovachik will be the linesmen.

@GlobeFluto

By Fluto Shinzawa, Globe Staff

The first meeting between the top two clubs in the NHL’s Eastern Conference was 3.6 seconds shy of a shootout today. Nobody would be surprised if the next three clashes — to say nothing of seven more possible showdowns in May — produced similar extra-time results.

Both teams have excellent goaltending. They play rugged, big-boy hockey. They don’t give up many scoring chances. When their forechecking is crisp, opponents find them both to be handfuls.

‘‘I thought our whole team played a real good game,’’ said Bruins coach Claude Julien after a 3-2 overtime loss to the Rangers before 17,565 at TD Garden. ‘‘Just one of those games where, unfortunately, it takes a winner and it takes a loser.

‘‘It’s a 3-point game. That’s probably the way it should have ended, the way both teams played. The only downside was that we were hoping to be on the winning side of it.’’

At the end, Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask made two breathtaking glove saves, first on Ryan Callahan, then on Brad Richards. But Rask, down and out after the two show-stoppers, couldn’t recover in time to get in front of Marian Gaborik’s third bid at 4:56 of overtime. After breaking his stick on the net, Rask hustled off the ice.

‘‘What [stinks] the most is three seconds,’’ said Rask, who made 30 saves. ‘‘Somebody liked it, I guess. Pretty thrilling end. Not for me, though.’’

The goal came during a five-minute power play for the Rangers. At 1:50 of overtime, Andrew Ference was tagged with a five-minute charging major and a game misconduct for running Ryan McDonagh into the boards from behind. McDonagh was injured on the play.

Ference might not be available for tomorrow’s game against the Flyers because of the hit. While he has never been suspended, he had to participate in two disciplinary hearings during last year’s first playoff round against Montreal. Ference was fined $2,500 for making an obscene gesture at the Bell Centre crowd, and he got a second call after connecting with Jeff Halpern’s head in Game 7.

Steven Kampfer would get the nod if Ference can’t play Sunday.

Ference’s hit marred this heavyweight bout of a game, which featured a fight within the fight when Shawn Thornton challenged Mike Rupp at 2:44 of the second period.

The blue-collar hue made it a beautiful game. For almost 65 minutes, both clubs greased each other with tooth-rattling hits and threw their bodies in front of pucks. The Rangers were credited with 27 hits to the Bruins’ 12. New York blocked 22 shots, including seven by McDonagh.

It was a lunchpail effort from both teams, who proved why they’re 1-2 atop the Eastern Conference.

‘‘Not a lot of surprises,’’ Thornton said. ‘‘We were aware they’re very well-structured defensively. They work hard. They have good goaltending.

‘‘They work extremely hard, actually. They have a lot of depth. No real surprises. It was kind of the game we expected. I think the game showed that. It could have gone either way.’’

At 1:31 of the second, Callahan struck first. After serving a tripping penalty, he stepped out of the box and pulled away for a two-on-one rush with Brandon Prust against Dennis Seidenberg. From the left faceoff dot, Callahan snapped a puck that beat Rask low blocker to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead.

Less than two minutes later, the Bruins evened the score. After a perfect breakout, the Bruins hurtled into the offensive zone with speed.

Milan Lucic gave David Krejci a cross-ice pass, then broke for the net. By driving toward the goal, Lucic forced Dan Girardi to go with him. In turn, that opened up a passing lane for Krejci to find Ference joining the rush. Ference beat Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist with a short-range backhander at 3:28.

A bad-bounce goal gave the Rangers the lead at 14:30 of the second. Seidenberg blocked Carl Hagelin’s shot, but the puck landed on the stick of Gaborik. As soon as Gaborik settled the puck, the sharpshooter blasted a half-slapper past Rask to make it 2-1.

The Bruins punched back when McQuaid, Ference’s partner on the third defense pairing, netted his second goal of the season. The Bruins executed a set faceoff play with Chris Kelly beating Brian Boyle on an offensive-zone draw. From the left-side wall, Rich Peverley spotted McQuaid open on the other side.

McQuaid snapped a shot that deflected off Boyle and sailed past Lundqvist (32 saves) at 19:11 of the second to tie the game at 2-2.

‘‘We needed them to support the attack,’’ Julien said of his defensemen. ‘‘We needed them to move the puck well through the neutral zone and get it in. They did a great job of that.’’

The only major shortcoming was the power play. The Bruins were 0 for 4 on the man-advantage. During eight minutes of one-up play, Lundqvist was asked to stop only two pucks because of how tenaciously the Rangers blocked shots and busted up passes with their sticks.

‘‘Anybody who doesn’t think we played well tonight needs to reevaluate how he looks at the game of hockey,’’ Julien said. ‘‘It was a great game played by both teams. It’s certainly what this league is looking for.’’

Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeFluto.

OVERTIME

All over here with 3.6 second left in OT. Gaborik the goal. Backhand lift, doorstep, loose puck. Rangers take it, 3-2.

17 seconds from shootout.

1:50 -- Ference 5m charging. Bad hit on McDonagh. Game misconduct. Good chance Ference will be having chat with league disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan.

THIRD PERIOD

60:00 done. Tied, 2-2. On to OT.

1:00 to go

Now 2:40 away from OT.

15:29 -- Kelly off for trip. Second NYR PP.

NYR with only one shot on PP. Near shorthander for Bruins on a Peverley-Marchand attempt, 2-on-1.

10:46 -- Krejci trips Boyle. Rangers first power play.

Bruins now 0-for-4 on PP. Bad overall run, 3-for-27.

2:22 -- Prust off for boarding Chara. Partial face plant into glass by Chara. But remains out for man left point, PP1.

Still 2-2. Rangers yet to have crack at man-advantage.

Underway.

SECOND PERIOD.

40:00 in books. Tied, 2-2. Bruins with 24-21 shot lead. Better legs should win it. Bruins rolled up four goals, 3P, in 4-1 win Thurs. at New Jersey.

19:11 -- Bruins, 2-2. McQuaid snaps in wrister from outer edge of right wing circle. Kelly at right post for screen. Ference picks up second point of day with second assist.

15:26 -- Rask loses helmet/mask on Richards shot. Tough room to work, Rodney.

14:30 -- Rangers, 2-1. Gaborik drives in one-timer, left circle, walks into gift bounce off Seidenberg.

Marchand wrister at 11:52. Bruins ahead, 11-5, on shots this period.

10:06 -- Corvo and Prust each off minor penalties. Corvo for tripping. Prust for faking. Refs need to call out the fake artists more often.

Peverley hits post at 9:30 mark. Pouliot-Kelly-Peverley with good pressure in NYR end.

Lundquvist turns back Bergeron from LW faceoff dot at 8:52. Bruins ahead on shots, 15-12.

7:52. Video board shows Marc Savard in luxury booth he has donated to Children's Hospital.
Savvy likely retired. Too many blows to head.

3:28 -- Bruins tie, 1-1. Ference rushes slot on transition, collects pass off right wing by Krejci, provides quick backhander to beat Lundqvist. Obvious jump from Thornton-Rupp fight.

2:44-- Fight. Thornton vs. Rupp. Took a little longer than I expected after dull P1. Rupp huge. Thornton handles self well, per usual. Tussle ends when Rupp loses footing.

1:31 -- Rangers, 1-0. Callahan nails in wrister, left wing circle, short side on Rask. Soft goal by today's standards. Rask should have had it. Caught cheating into middle, fearing pass.

Underway. Second verse same as first?

FIRST PERIOD

Period over. No score. Classic New NHL Go-kart hockey. Lots of back and forth, speed, little puck control, lots of hitting.

One good scoring chance, Gaborik turned back by Rask at 1127. Clubs tied in shots, 8-8. Look for a fight early in second period. Game in need of a brick through picture window.

Varstiy game. Heavy hits along boards. No one lingers in scoring areas. Shooters beware.

4:00 to go -- Still no score. Crowd fairly quiet.

Bruins again scoreless on PP. Nothing happening for them with extra man. Began day 3-for-23 in last 7 games.

PP1 has Horton out with Krejci and Lucic.

12:33 -- Boston with second PP chance. Gabroik brings down Chara, minor penalty.

Richards, only one goal in light eight games, turned back on harmless shovel at right post. Rangers with 5-4 shot lead.

Big save by Rask, 11:27. Gaborik with 20-foot one-timer in slot.

9:00 gone -- Still no score.

Slight wrinkle on Boston PP2. Marchand,not Horton, skates with Krejci and Lucic.

5:46 -- Boston with first chance on PP. Dubinsky off for roughing.

Peverley and Dubinsky rough each other up before opening draw. No calls.

Rask in net for Bruins. Lundqvist for the Blueshirts.

Puck about to drop here at the Garden. Light snow out on Causeway Street. Gallery Gods finishing their last draught at the Iron Horse.

Based on pregame warmups:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Rich Peverley
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid

Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas

* Henrik Lundqvist (20-10-4, 1.93 GAA, .936 save percentage) will start in goal for the Rangers.

@GlobeFluto

Marc Savard remains hopeful that his condition will change and allow him to attempt a comeback. But Savard, who is visiting TD Garden today, acknowledged such a future is a longshot.

“Right now, the way I’m still feeling and the daily issues I’m having, it’s tough to see a bright future right now,” Savard said. “It’s tough. I still have my tough days.”

Savard’s symptoms include headaches and memory loss. Savard said he is not dealing with depression currently.

Savard is serving as an assistant coach for son Zachary’s midget team.

Savard was shut down after being hit last year by former teammate Matt Hunwick. Savard said that hit added to the jolt he received from Deryk Engelland the previous week.

Savard is not expected to retire. He is signed through 2016-17 at a $4,007,143 annual cap hit. If Savard retires, he would not be eligible to receive his pay.

“When I sit back and look at it right now, if I don’t ever play again, I’m happy,” Savard said. “I’m on the Stanley Cup. I got a ring. Lot of credit to Peter Chiarelli and the organization for doing that for me. That was unexpected. I had a decent career if I don’t play again. I enjoy what I’m doing right now.”

@GlobeFluto

Good morning from TD Garden, where the East’s top two clubs will square off this afternoon. Expect Tuukka Rask to get the nod against Henrik Lundqvist.

Puck drop: 1 p.m.

TV/radio info: NESN (Jack Edwards, Andy Brickley, Naoko Funayama),98.5 The Sports Hub (Dave Goucher, Bob Beers)

Records: Rangers 29-12-4, Bruins 30-13-1

Projected Bruins lineup:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Rich Peverley
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Adam McQuaid
Andrew Ference-Joe Corvo

Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas

Healthy scratch: Zach Hamill

Storylines: Dennis Seidenberg will appear in his 500th game today. Hard to believe the dependable defenseman has played for five organizations… The Rangers have the second-worst road power play in the league (9.5 percent)… The Bruins will travel to Philadelphia after the game. They will face off against the Flyers tomorrow, then commute by train to Washington… Dave Jackson and Tom Kowal will be the referees. Scott Cherrey and Brian Murphy will be the linesmen.

@GlobeFluto

By Michael Vega, Globe Staff

WILMINGTON --- It could be a primer of things to come in the playoffs, perhaps a glimpse of the Eastern Conference finals.

Whatever the cirmcumstance, Bruins coach Claude Julien said after Friday's practice at Ristuccia Arena his team was excited about hosting the New York Rangers in a matchup of the Eastern Conference's top two teams Saturday afternoon at TD Garden.

"I don't think there's any doubt that they've played well and been a good, consistent team all year,'' Julien said of the Rangers, who lead the Bruins by one point (62-61) in the Eastern Conference standings. "It's going to be a tough game against them. There's certainly some excitement from our team and looking forward to the matchup and I'm sure it's the same from their side.''

Julien said there were some similarities between both teams.

"Same thing, when you look at their fourth line, they've got some good depth,'' Julien said. "That's why they're able to roll four lines as well. Goaltending is not an issue with them also and so there is some similarities.

"They're a team that likes to play a heavy game also,'' Julien said. ``So it'll be an interesting matchup.''

The Bruins enter the game on the heels of a 4-1 victory at New Jersey, in which the Black and Gold erased a 1-0 deficit in the third period with three goals in a span of 4:44 and an empty-netter by Chris Kelly, who was absent from practice for what Julien called ``a maintainence day.''

"Even though the first two periods we didn't generate much offense, I thought our compete level was better, our energy level was better,'' Julien said. "Our physical part of the game and a lot of the battles were a lot better. It just seemed like once we scored our first goal, all of a sudden the offensive part of our game came back as well.

"Hopefully we can carry that third period into tomorrow's game right from the get-go and continue to build on that.''

In other Bruins news:

• Julien was pleased with the return of Brad Marchand from a five-game suspension. Asked how Marchand looked, Julien replied, "Good. For a guy who hadn't played in over a week -- a week and a half -- I thought he played well, he played with some energy. As he said after the game, when you haven't played in a while, you think you're skating a lot, and you think you're keeping yourself in shape, but there's nothing like playing the game.''

• On why Julien went with Tim Thomas as his goaltender against the Devils, after he absorbed a 5-3 loss in Tampa Tuesday: "Because I know Tim bounces back well and we needed him to bounce back. I didn't want him to drag that game with him because we asked the rest our team not to, so we needed a much better effort in New Jersey and we wanted him to be part of that group. He responded well and I thought he seemed more comfortable. As I've often said, we're not used to seeing Timmy have an average game and when he does it seems to bring some attention and that's to his credit because he's been that good to us.''

• Right winger Jordan Caron and defenseman Steven Kampfer were sent to Providence, but Julien said he expected one or both could be called up in the near future . . . It will be an interesting weekend for the Bruins with back-to-back matinees against the Winter Classic combatants: vs. the Rangers Saturday and at the Flyers Sunday before making a trip to the White House Monday, where the Stanley Cup champions will be honored by President Obama. Julien confirmed he had already been given his security clearance. ``Now if I was from France, I might be in trouble,'' he joked.

WILMINGTON, Mass. --- Good morning (afternoon?) from Ristuccia Arena where the Bruins have taken the ice to conduct a practice for Saturday afternoon's matinee against the New York Rangers.

The Bruins enter the game having scored an impressive 4-1 victory Thursday night in New Jersey. The Bruins tallied three goals in 4:44 of the third period to rally from a 1-0 deficit, then got an empty-netter from Chris Kelly.

Jordan Caron and Steven Kamper were sent to Providence

We'll have more when practice concludes.

THIRD PERIOD

Over here. Strong comeback win for Bruins, 4-1, after doing next to nothing through two periods

47 seconds to go --Bruins, 4-1. Kelly empty-netter.

1:05 to go -- Time out Devs. Brodeur left net with 1:45 to go.

2:00 to go. Bruins have turned Rock into a luxury suite.

4:30 to go. Bruins in control with 3-1 lead.

Devils have gone dormant. Trailing by two goals, wihtout a shot halfway through period.

7:45 -- Boston, 3-1. Campbell knocks in rebound of Thornton shot at end of excellent shift. Three goals in span of 4:44.

7:10-- Boston, 2-1. Krejci pass from right circle ends up in net. Lucic credited with goal on PA, but it was Horton who knocked it home. PPG.

5:37 - Clarkson off for hooking. Boston's first power play of the night. PP1 with Pouliot, Bergeron and Seguin. With Seidenberg, Corvo at points

3:01 -- Bruins, 1-1. Ference rips in one-timer off Thornton pass that ricochets off left wing wall. Rare goal by Boston defense. First for Ference since Nov. 21.

2:10 -- Brodeur glove robs Pouliot at doorstep after Bruins winger receives slap pass from Ference.

1:10 -- Ex Providence Friar Mark Fayne rings post. Score remains 1-0.

Back in biz at the Rock.

SECOND PERIOD

First 40:00 closed. Devs, 1-0. New Jersey with nearly double shot total, 23-12.

With 1:15 to go, Thomas gloves Clarkson rebound shot from in close after Foster blast from up high stays hot.

13:28 -- Thomas holds fort with Kovalchuk, Parise and Mills jamming crease after Fayne fires from RW circle.

Two squads exchange ringing posts. Zalewski at Boston end at 11:18. Pouliot at Devils end at 11:30.

Halfway through P2. Seidenberg gets rare shot through from high above RW circle. Brodeur holds. NJ wtih 19-11 shot lead. Bruins with little action.

6:25 gone. NJ still with 1-0 lead and now with 17-8 shot lead.

Underway again at Rock.

FIRST PERIOD.

First 20:00 a wrap. Devs, 1-0, on strength of 10-6 shot lead. Bruins with minimal presence in attack zone.

18:29 -- Devils, 1-0. Sykora quick forehand pop from slot after Zubrus wins 1/1 battle vs. Seidenberg behind net. Six seconds after faceoff to Thomas' right.

Finally, some fog on the mirror here. Mills and Campbell fight. Thought it would be Thornton and Janssen, who lined up for same faceoff at 14:31.

Still 0-0 with 5:32 to go in first.

7:18 -- Horton misfires high with 20-footer from slot, set up by Krjeci feed.

6:48 gone, still no score. Bruins look more likes selves with return of Marchand, Peverley.

Great chance by Kelly at 4:22, but Brodeur turns back his doorstep backhander--feed off right side by Peverley. No. 1 shot of game.

Squirrely start for Bruins. Horton sent off for tripping Kovalchuk at 1:18.

Less than 15 minutes to go before puckdrop, Bruins vs. Devils at the Rock.

Tim Thomas back in net for the Bruins.

Scratches: Jordan Caron, Zach Hamill and Steven Kampfer.

Coach Claude Julien will open with the Marchand-Bergeron-Seguin trio.

NEWARK -- The Bruins, a little rough around the edges in their last three games (1-2-0), are back in business here tonight when they take on the surging Devils (5-1-0 in their last six games) at the Rock.

Brad Marchand, who sat out the last five games because of a suspension, will be back at left wing on his familiar line with Patrice Bergeron (C) and All-Star Tyler Seguin (RW). Rich Peverley also will be back at right wing, riding with Messrs. Benoit Pouliot (LW) and Chris Kelly (C). Peverley, dealing with personal issues, was dismissed from the Mon.-Tues. games in Sunrise and Tampa, FL.

Look for Tuukka Rask to be Boston's starter in net, likely to oppose Devils icon Marty Brodeur. Rask picked up the win Monday night vs. the Panthers, when the Bruins' overall play was unkempt, and workhorse Tim Thomas often looked awkward and out of position in Tuesday's loss in Tampa.

Update: Thomas was the first goalie to exit the morning practice, typically an indication that he will start.

Now in the thick of a grueling schedule, in which they play six games in nine days, the Bruins are in need of a solid effort here to get back on track. They are displaying classic signs of mid-season doldrums. With 39 games left to go before the playoffs, they could go .500 the rest of the way and finish with 93 points. The Rangers picked off the No. 8 playoff seed in the East last season with 93 points. The Canes, with 91 points, were DNQs.

Puck drop: 7:05 p.m. EST

Record: Bruins, 29-13-1; Devils, 26-17-2.

TV/radio info: NESN (Jack Edwards, Andy Brickley, Naoko Funayama), 98.5 The Sports Hub (Dave Goucher, Bob Beers)

Projected lineup: Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Rich Peverley
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid

Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas

Healthy scratches: Zach Hamill, Jordan Caron, Steve Kampfer

Storylines: The Bruins need to revive their sputtering power play. Peverley is expected to man the right point again on PP1, with fellow point man Zdeno Chara....It's possible that coach Claude Julien (''We're not playing the way we should.'') will opt not to roll out his Lucic-Krejci-Horton line for PP1. Horton emerged from his offensive funk on Tuesday, popping in a pair of goals against the Bolts, but the line was on the ice for three Tampa goals. Julien could elect to go with the Marchand-Bergeron-Seguin trio, or perhaps fashion a hybrid line out of his top six forwards....The Devils easily dismissed the Jets, 5-1, here on Tuesday night...The ever-reliable Patrik Elias tops the New Jersey scoring charts (17-27--44), followed by a megamillionaire Ilya Kovalchuk (19-21--40)....Brodeur, who will be 40 years old in May, is carrying rather pedestrian numbers (14-10-1) 2.82 goals against and a .895 save percentage....The Devils have scored as many goals as they have allowed (126)...The Bruins still own the best goal differential, 156-88, in the Original 30.

Former Senator Zdeno Chara will be one of the two All-Star captains later this month in Ottawa. Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson will wear the other “C” during the All-Star Game.

Chara and Alfredsson will be responsible for drafting players for their respective rosters on Jan. 27. This is the second time such a format will be used. Last year, Eric Staal and Nicklas Lidstrom served as captains.

@GlobeFluto

All done in Tampa. ENG for Steven Stamkos.

17:01 3d period: Lightning 4-3
Pad stop by Mathieu Garon on Milan Lucic. Big save.

16:15 3d period: Lightning 4-3
Dominic Moore fires a slapper high glove on Tim Thomas. Heck of a shot.

10:53 3d period: 3-3
Daniel Paille on the PK. Slows down, backhander upstairs on Mathieu Garon. Finally buries his opportunity.

10:00 3d period: Lightning 3-2
Sharp kick save by Mathieu Garon on Daniel Paille slapper.

4:58 3d period: Lightning 3-2
Dominic Moore gets piece of puck in front of net. Rattles around Tim Thomas before going in. Joe Corvo turnover to Nate Thompson, who finds Moore in front.

1:27 3d period: 2-2
Breakaway for Daniel Paille. Glove save by Mathieu Garon.

20:00 2d period: 2-2
Big save by Tim Thomas on Teddy Purcell shot to close out second. Bruins will have 1:24 remaining to kill on Dennis Seidenberg’s penalty.

16:48 2d period: 2-2
Nathan Horton wings in rebound of Andrew Ference point shot. Two goals for Horton. Starts with David Krejci faceoff win.

14:11 2d period: Lightning 2-1
Tim Thomas stops Steve Downie. But Tom Pyatt in position for the rebound.

12:33 2d period: 1-1
A rare varsity for Bruins. Good looks for Johnny Boychuk and Patrice Bergeron. Mathieu Garon gloves puck to settle things down.

9:42 2d period: 1-1
Three-on-one for Lightning. Steven Stamkos’s shot gets by Tim Thomas but doesn’t cross line.

5:34 2d period: 1-1
Replay shows Tim Thomas stopping Brett Connolly’s shot with mask.

4:28 2d period: 1-1
Nathan Horton taps home own rebound. Did it all on same play – took puck off wall, dragged into slot, took shot, banged in rebound. Guess Horton got the message.

20:00 1st period: Lightning 1-0
Tampa with 11-6 shot advantage. Only one decent scoring chance in final minute for Bruins. Not much going through 20 minutes.

13:14 1st period: Lightning 1-0
Zero presence on second power play. Bruins out of synch. Step behind too often.

7:40 1st period: Lightning 1-0
Tampa with 9-2 shot advantage. Bruins remain in a cloud.

7:11 1st period: Lightning 1-0
Vincent Lecavalier scores with Tim Thomas out of position. Nice look by Matt Gilroy backdoor. Johnny Boychuk had a chance to clear but couldn’t. Starts with block in Tampa D-zone.

3:59 1st period: 0-0
One shot for Bruins on power play. Not enough heat.

0:00 1st period: 0-0
Steven Kampfer is the healthy scratch.

@GlobeFluto

Based on pregame warmups:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Benoit Pouliot-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Jordan Caron-Chris Kelly-Zach Hamill
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Adam McQuaid
Andrew Ference-Joe Corvo

Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

* Mathieu Garon (11-13-2, 3.03 GAA, .899 save percentage) will start in goal for the Lightning.

@GlobeFluto

TAMPA – Good morning from the Tampa Bay Times Forum, where the Bruins will play the Lightning tonight. The Bruins are coming off a 3-2 shootout win over Florida last night.

Tim Thomas should get the start tonight.

Puck drop: 7:30 p.m.

TV/radio info: NESN (Jack Edwards, Andy Brickley, Naoko Funayama),98.5 The Sports Hub (Dave Goucher, Bob Beers)

Records: Bruins 29-12-1, Lightning 17-23-4

Projected Bruins lineup:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Benoit Pouliot-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Jordan Caron-Chris Kelly-Zach Hamill
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Adam McQuaid
Andrew Ference-Joe Corvo

Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

Healthy scratch: Steven Kampfer

Storylines: Rich Peverley is not expected to play tonight because of a personal matter. Peverley should be available on Thursday against New Jersey, when the Bruins conclude their four-game roadie… Should be interesting to see how Nathan Horton responds tonight. Claude Julien had pointed words for Horton after last night’s flat-line performance. Horton needs to play with bite to be effective… The Lightning have yet to win in 2012… The Bruins juggled their defensive pairings last night. Adam McQuaid saw time with Dennis Seidenberg. By game’s end, Seidenberg was with Zdeno Chara… The Bruins have an optional morning skate… Eric Furlatt and Brad Meier will be the referees. Steve Miller and Mark Shewchyk will be the linesmen.

@GlobeFluto

All done in Sunrise. David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron with the shootout goals.

5:00 OT: 2-2
Shootout time. Great chance for Kris Versteeg at end. Dennis Seidenberg hustles back. Puck gets through Tuukka Rask, but Zdeno Chara there to hold the line.

0:36 OT: 2-2
Patrice Bergeron to the penalty box for hooking. Great chance for Panthers.

20:00 3d period: 2-2
Overtime. Bruins will take the point.

19:00 3d period: 2-2
Michael Repik goes just wide on the breakaway.

10:12 3d period: 2-2
Great chance for Gregory Campbell on the doorstep. Scott Clemmensen holds the line.

5:56 3d period: 2-2
Tuukka Rask gloves Mikael Samuelsson’s slapper.

20:00 2d period: 2-2
Better execution by Bruins in second period. Need to keep up pressure in third.

15:54 2d period: 2-2
Shawn Matthias steps out of box, gets behind Andrew Ference, and goes five-hole on Tuukka Rask. All tied up. Terrific pass by Tomas Kopecky to spring Matthias.

14:40 2d period: Bruins 2-1
Patrice Bergeron redirects a Tyler Seguin feed. Nice high curl by Seguin to find Bergeron in front. Second strike of the night for Bergeron.

13:58 2d period: 1-1
Huge stop by Scott Clemmensen on Patrice Bergeron’s net-front PP chance.

12:42 2d period: 1-1
Ed Jovanovski done for night with upper-body injury.

12:42 2d period: 1-1
Finally some offensive pressure by Bruins. Penalty on Panthers.

8:28 2d period: 1-1
Jason Garrison winds up from left point. Hits something in front of Tuukka Rask and rolls over the line. Panthers winning battles in Boston zone. Not a good shift for Joe Corvo.

20:00 1st period: Bruins 1-0
Excellent work by Tuukka Rask in final minute to keep net clear of pucks. Tough save on point shot, then desperation save while on ice. Not much offensive pressure from Bruins.

17:09 1st period: Bruins 1-0
Daniel Paille vs. Ed Jovanovski. Temper, temper. Paille didn’t like Jovanovski’s elbow. Both remove hats and go at it. Took guts for Paille to challenge the bigger Jovanovski.

7:46 1st period: Bruins 1-0
Tuukka Rask with the stop on Shawn Matthias’s breakaway. Andrew Ference caught up the ice. Panthers with 9-1 shot advantage.

1:20 1st period: Bruins 1-0
Long-distance Patrice Bergeron wrister beats Scott Clemmensen. Soft goal.

0:00 1st period: 0-0
Steven Kampfer is the healthy scratch.

@GlobeFluto

Based on pregame warmups:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Benoit Pouliot-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Jordan Caron-Chris Kelly-Zach Hamill
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Adam McQuaid
Andrew Ference-Joe Corvo

Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas

* Scott Clemmensen (5-2-3, 2.90 GAA, .904 save percentage) will start in goal for the Panthers.

@GlobeFluto

Rich Peverley will not play tonight. Peverley returned to Boston yesterday because of a personal matter. According to coach Claude Julien, Peverley will most likely not be available tomorrow against Tampa Bay. The Bruins expect Peverley to return on Thursday against New Jersey.

Zach Hamill, a healthy scratch for the last two games, will replace Peverley on the No. 3 line.

@GlobeFluto

SUNRISE, Fla. – Good morning from the BankAtlantic Center, where the Bruins will play the Panthers tonight. Expect Tuukka Rask to get the nod in goal.

Puck drop: 7:30 p.m.

TV/radio info: NESN (Jack Edwards, Andy Brickley, Naoko Funayama),98.5 The Sports Hub (Dave Goucher, Bob Beers)

Records: Bruins 28-12-1, Panthers 21-14-8

Projected Bruins lineup:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Benoit Pouliot-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Jordan Caron-Chris Kelly-Rich Peverley Zach Hamill
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid

Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas

Healthy scratches: Zach Hamill, Steven Kampfer

Storylines: The Panthers have all kinds of injured players, including Jose Theodore and Jacob Markstrom. Old friend Marco Sturm is also on the shelf, which isn’t much of a surprise… This will be the fourth game of Brad Marchand’s suspension. Marchand will sit out tomorrow’s game against Tampa Bay, then be eligible to play against New Jersey on Thursday… Brad Meier and Brian Pochmara will be the referees. Steve Miller and Mark Shewchyk will be the linesmen.

@GlobeFluto

SUNRISE, Fla. – The Bruins have been given today off. They will hit the ice tomorrow at the BankAtlantic Center for the morning skate prior to their game against the Panthers.

Here’s the latest version of Plus/Minus:

Plus

+ David Krejci finding his rhythm. There’s no secret why Krejci is riding an 11-game scoring streak. Krejci is back to doing everything that makes him a handful – skating and shooting as well as passing. Krejci nearly had a goal last night when he one-timed a shot off the left post. Krejci has regained his title as the team’s No. 1 offensive-minded center.

+ Tim Thomas’s sharpness. No blaming Thomas on any of the goals last night. The first goal hit two bodies. Thomas was screened on the second and third goals. Thomas remains on top of his game.

+ Shutdown style of Zdeno Chara. Eric Staal scored an empty-netter last night, but was otherwise very quiet. That’s because Chara was matched against Staal for most of the night. Chara elevates his game against the best opponents.

Minus

- Light sticks. Unusual to see heavy players like Gregory Campbell and Dennis Seidenberg lose puck battles. Might have something to do with fatigue. But the Bruins better get used to it. After the All-Star break, their schedule will be a grind for the rest of the season.

- Not enough dirty work in front of Thomas. The Bruins have to be better at moving bodies and winning pucks in the net-front area. Thomas can’t stop what he can’t see.

- The sobbing for Patrice Bergeron not making the All-Star Game. Bergeron is the team’s best forward and third-most important player behind Thomas and Chara. Bergeron is a significant reason why Tyler Seguin is leading the team in scoring. But the All-Star Game is a joke on every level. Far more important for Bergeron to rest for five days instead of participating in a zero-meaning event.

@GlobeFluto

All done in Raleigh, Eric Staal with ENG to finish it off.

18:30 3d period: Hurricanes 3-2
From the left point, Jay Harrison beats Tim Thomas. Lots of traffic in front. Good grinding by Carolina.

13:58 3d period: 2-2
Good goal, upon review. Justin Faulk hits slapper from right point. Faulk credited with goal. Guess Jiri Tlusty didn't get a piece. Good work by Tim Brent to force turnover with forecheck.

4:51 3d period: Bruins 2-1
Don DelNegro tending to Adam McQuaid on bench. Looked like McQuaid took puck off right arm.

1:55 3d period: Bruins 2-1
Bad Jamie McBain turnover leads to Daniel Paille chance. Cam Ward bails out his boy.

1:21 3d period: Bruins 2-1
Milan Lucic goes high blocker on Cam Ward. David Krejci assists to stretch scoring streak to 11 games.

20:00 2d period: 1-1
Both goalies sharp. Will be hard to beat either cleanly in third.

13:09 2d period: 1-1
Milan Lucic hits the crossbar. Second iron strike for first line this period.

10:30 2d period: 1-1
Brandon Sutter with the shot from the point. Hit something on the way in. Patrick Dwyer credited with goal.

8:47 2d period: Bruins 1-0
Another rebound off Johnny Boychuk ripper. Cam Ward gets a piece of David Krejci’s followup bid.

7:51 2d period: Bruins 1-0
Big Tim Thomas stop on Brandon Sutter. Bad turnover by Rich Peverley at offensive blue line leads to rush.

6:13 2d period: Bruins 1-0
Cam Ward stops Johnny Boychuk’s point blast. But Patrice Bergeron, driving to net, puts in rebound. Good work by Bergeron to muscle off Bryan Allen.

0:59 2d period: 0-0
David Krejci one-times puck off left post.

20:00 1st period: 0-0
Not a good first for either club. Bruins dusting puck. Giving viewers few reasons not to change channels to Patriots.

18:00 1st period: 0-0
Point-blank chance for Alexei Ponikarovsky. Not sure how that puck didn’t go in.

14:25 1st period: 0-0
Sharp stuff from Cam Ward. Stops Johnny Boychuk point shot, then Benoit Pouliot on rebound.

8:41 1st period: 0-0
Nothing doing on two power plays for Bruins. Little heat on Cam Ward.

0:00 1st period: 0-0
Zach Hamill and Steven Kampfer are the healthy scratches.

@GlobeFluto

Based on pregame warmups:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Benoit Pouliot-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Jordan Caron-Chris Kelly-Rich Peverley
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid

Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

* Cam Ward (15-16-6, 3.12 GAA, .901 save percentage) will start in goal for the Hurricanes.

@GlobeFluto

RALEIGH – Good morning from the RBC Center, where the Bruins will kick off a four-game road swing against the Hurricanes tonight. This should be the friends-and-family game, considering that little football game that will commence an hour after puck drop.

Puck drop: 7 p.m.

TV/radio info: NESN (Jack Edwards, Andy Brickley, Naoko Funayama),100.7 WZLX (Dave Goucher, Bob Beers)

Records: Bruins 28-11-1, Hurricanes 15-23-7

Projected Bruins lineup:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Benoit Pouliot-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Jordan Caron-Chris Kelly-Rich Peverley
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid

Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas

Healthy scratches: Zach Hamill, Steven Kampfer

Storylines: David Krejci brings a 10-game scoring streak into tonight. Krejci has five goals and 10 assists during the streak… Jeff Skinner and Joni Pitkanen are on injured reserve. Both are sidelined with concussions… The Hurricanes have a pair of wins over the Bruins this season. Carolina always plays the Bruins tough… This will be Boston’s first look at Carolina under Kirk Muller, who is undoubtedly relieved his paychecks aren’t signed by the Molsons anymore… Steve Kozari and Marcus Vinnerborg will be the referees. Brian Murphy and Jay Sharrers will be the linesmen.

@GlobeFluto

By Michael Vega, Globe Staff

WILMINGTON --- While his players offered dissenting opinions on the nature of PK Subban's hit on David Krejci in Thursday night's 2-1 win over the Canadiens --- Krejci thought it was "a clean hit''; teammate Andrew Ference did not, judging by his swift response -- Bruins coach Claude Julien said the team was not likely to push for an NHL review of the questionable hit.

Subban was hit with an elbowing minor when he appeared to catch Krejci in the head at 12:17 of the third period. Ference jumped to his teammate's defense, rag-dolled Subban around the ice, and drew a roughing double minor. The Canadiens scored their only goal of the night on the following power play.

''We'll have to let the league look at it and see how they define it,'' Julien said after today's practice at Ristuccia Arena, where the Bruins took to the ice to prepare for Saturday night's game vs. the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, N.C.

"You could look at it either way,'' Julien said. "Is it that bad of a hit? Was there an elbow involved? I didn't waste too much time dissecting it, because the league's going to make a decision whether it's worthy or not.

"So, as I said before, we don't lobby,'' Julien said. ``So we're just going to move on here and let them take care of business.''

Asked if he was aware if the league had notified Subban of a pending review of the play, Julien said, "I don't know, I have no idea.''

Citing a league source, Francois Gagnon of Le Presse in Montreal reported today that Subban was not going to be subject to any further disciplinary action.

Krejci, who declined to talk after Thursday night's game, addressed the matter with the media after today's practice.

When asked if he was OK, Krejci replied, "That's why I didn't want to talk [Thursday night], because I didn't want people to ask me if I was OK. I didn't want to talk about Subban. It was a clean hit and I want to leave it at that, that's all.''

Ference, however, did not agree with his teammate on that point.

"I didn't think it was super-clean,'' Ference said. "It was on Krech, one of our top players and he's got a marked up face to prove that it was pretty high. So I thought it was a little high.

"It's one of those things that's good about our sport, if you're going to play a certain style and hit other teams' top players like [Krejci], you don't have to fight every time,'' Ference said. "If you do it enough times ... I don't know about turtling going against the other team's smallest defenseman.

"He can play however he wants, it's none of my business,'' Ference said. "But I'm was just saying that if it were a guy on our team it would probably be frowned upon.''

Krejci was appreciative of Ference's reaction on his behalf.

"That's our team,'' Krejci said. "When one guy's down, the rest of us comes in and tries to help him out. Andy did that for me and, obviously, I thank him for that. We like each other here. If we didn't, we wouldn't do it. We all get along and you can see that on the ice, too.''

WILMINGTON --- Good morning from Ristuccia Arena where the Boston Bruins, fresh off Thursday night's 2-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens, are back on the ice to conduct a practice before traveling to Raleigh, N.C., to face the Carolina Hurricanes Saturday night at 7 p.m.

For the record, Steven Kamper, who was a healthy scratch along with Zach Hamill Thursday night, was first on the ice.

The Bruins will head out for a 4-game road trip over the next six days at the end of which Brad Marchand will be eligible to return from his five-game suspension Jan. 19 at New Jersey.

Lenny Neslin, Boston.com Staff

Before the Bruins edged the Canadiens at TD Garden, Zdeno Chara, Tyler Seguin and the Bruins coaching staff were selected for the All-Star Game at the end of the month.

Chara and coach Claude Julien were happy with Seguin's improvement and selection.

"It's an honor for him and anybody who is selected," Chara said. "There's a lot of top players from different teams in the league all get together and hopefully he'll learn from them and carry it with him. He's come a long way from last year."

Seguin already has nearly doubled last season's point output in about half the games, as he had 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists) last year while this season he has 38 points (17, 21). Seguin, 19, participated in the skills contest last year but did not make the team.

"It's a great experience for him," Julien said. "Last year was even more so because he wasn't in the lineup every night. This year he goes back again with a bit more confidence because he's accomplishing more."

Julien added that he thought more Bruins could have made the team, but acknowledged the advantage of giving his players rest.

"It's a double-edged sword. You're glad that your guys are getting some rest, but at the same I think a lot of our players are worthy to go there -- [Patrice Bergeron] comes to mind with the year he's had," Julien said. "There's other players, but at the same time there's 30 teams in the league. They had to fill some spots, gotta give players on other teams an opportunity, you gotta kinda share the spotlight with other teams."

Bergeron is second on the team with 36 points (11, 25) and in his eight years in Boston has never been selected to the All-Star Game.

The game is scheduled for 4 p.m. Jan. 29 in Ottawa, Ontario.

Lenny Neslin, Boston.com Staff

A 2-1 victory over the Canadiens at TD Garden wasn't enough for Bruins coach Claude Julien.

He credited goalie Tim Thomas for bailing his team out, and harped on the team's sloppy play and turnovers several times.

"You can't just be happy with wins, you gotta be happy with the way you play," Julien said. "Tonight, I'd have to say we didn't play well, not well enough. They're a smaller team than we are but yet they won more battles than they should have."

Milan Lucic, who scored the game-winning goal in the third period, admitted the team didn't get the job done despite earning two points in the standings.

"It seemed like both teams weren't really that sharp with their passing, the puck was spinning all over the place, and it was jumping off everyone's sticks," Lucic said. "A lot of blocked shots, and shots that missed the net. I don't think it was our best effort but we found a way to win."

The Bruins took a lead 1:23 into the game when Johnny Boychuk sent the puck along the boards. Lucic said the puck hit a divider of the glass and it bounced directly to Jordan Caron, who had an empty net to shoot at with goaltender Carey Price looking to control the puck along the boards.

"Both goals, ugly goals, but we'll take 'em," Lucic said.

David Krejci assisted Lucic's goal, giving him a career high-tying 10-game point streak, which is also the longest point streak in the NHL this season.

Thomas stopped 33 pucks, only allowing a third-period, power-play goal to Yannick Weber. Thomas said he was screened by Canadiens left wing Erik Cole.

"I felt like if I saw the puck tonight there was no way that they were gonna score," Thomas said, "so that's why I was angry, a little frustrated after I got scored on."

The Bruins begin a four-game road trip in Carolina Saturday night.

"We certainly have to pick up our game a little bit on the road if we want to have some success," Julien said.

17:57 3d period: Bruins 2-1
An amazing kick save by Carey Price to give his team a chance to tie it in the closing minutes. Both teams really going at it on the backcheck.

17:28 3d period: Bruins 2-1
Some great defense by Benoit Pouliot to help Tim Thomas keep a one-goal lead.

12:46 3d period: Bruins 2-1
The Canadiens cut the deficit in half, and snap the shutout, on Yannick Weber's power-play goal. The final 6 minutes should be intense and feature some good hockey.

12:17 3d period: Bruins 2-0
A fight sends Andrew Ference and P.K. Subban to the box.

10:09 3d period: Bruins 2-0
The Bruins almost just put the Canadiens right back in it. The puck hit off a Bruins player's leg and Tim Thomas had to dive on top of the puck to secure the save.

7:43 3d period: Bruins 2-0
A power-play goal here for the Bruins would likely put this game out of reach.

3:43 3d period: Bruins 2-0
Milan Lucic received a pass from Nathan Horton in front of the net and, after almost losing his balance, backhanded the puck into the net. Two goals probably looks like a mountain to the Canadiens with Tim Thomas in net, eying his fifth shutout of the season.

David Krejci picked up an assist on the play, giving him a 10-game point streak which is a career best as well as the longest such streak in the NHL this season.

2d intermission: Bruins 1-0
The Bruins are 0-for-2 on the power play tonight and are at 18.8 percent for the season. Pretty clean, and quiet, game.

END of 2d period: Bruins 1-0
Bruins still clinging to a 1-0 lead heading into the final frame. The Canadiens are outshooting the Bruins, 22-20, and that odd bounce in the game's opening minutes is the difference. Sorry about the delay, technical difficulties.

12:35 2d period: Bruins 1-0
Bruins with a strong 2-on-1 scoring chance, but the shot sailed wide. An insurance goal would be huge the way this game is going.

15:05 2d period: Bruins 1-0
Great series of stops by Carey Price. Looks like this one could be a low-scoring affair with these two hot goaltenders.

1st intermission: Bruins 1-0
It's unusual to see Patrice Bergeron go 0-for-5 on faceoffs.

END of 1st period: Bruins 1-0
Tim Thomas had a monster 1st period with 16 saves. His counterpart, Carey Price, stopped 12. It would be an even game if it weren't for a random hop off the boards early on.

2:19 1st period: Bruins 1-0
Finally, we have a penalty. The Bruins go on the power play after Lars Eller gets called for holding.

2:30 1st period: Bruins 1-0
Big stop by Tim Thomas after Andrei Kostitsyn intercepted a Dennis Seidenberg pass. Best scoring chance for the Canadiens so far, and Thomas deflected it away.

3:45 1st period: Bruins 1-0
Another pair of players exchanging words, but no escalation. Shawn Thornton and Lars Eller, this time. Still no penalties.

8:42 1st period: Bruins 1-0
Daniel Paille just put a nice check on Canadiens left wing Max Pacioretty. It looked like the two exchanged words after before going to their benches.

8:42 1st period: Bruins 1-0
Daniel Paille just put a nice check on Canadiens left wing Max Pacioretty. It looked like the two exchanged words after before going to their benches.

10:47 1st period: Bruins 1-0
The Bruins may have a slight edge in good scoring opportunities, but it's a pretty even game at this point. No penalties yet for either team. Hard not to feel lucky about their early goal.

18:37 1st period: Bruins 1-0
Johnny Boychuk sent the puck down the boards and as Canadiens goaltender Carey Price went to stop it, it took a funny bounce right to Jordan Caron, who put it in easily.

20:00 1st period: 0-0 Welcome from TD Garden. We'll provide in-game updates and analysis in this post tonight. Puck is set to drop in just a few minutes. Some pregame notes:

• Tonight's lineups
• Zdeno Chara, Tyler Seguin named All-Stars

Based on pregame warmups:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Benoit Pouliot-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Jordan Caron-Chris Kelly-Rich Peverley
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid

Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

* Carey Price (15-15-7, 2.46 GAA, .913 save percentage) will start in goal for the Canadiens.

@GlobeFluto

Zdeno Chara and Tyler Seguin have been added to the NHL All-Star Game roster. Chara and Seguin will join Tim Thomas in Ottawa along with Claude Julien, Geoff Ward, Doug Houda, and Doug Jarvis.

Chara has seven goals and 18 assists to lead Boston defensemen in scoring. Chara is averaging 24:29 of ice time per game, most on the team.

Seguin leads the Bruins in scoring with 17 goals and 21 assists. This will be Seguin’s first All-Star Game appearance. Seguin participated in last year’s skills contest.

The game will take place on Jan. 29.

@GlobeFluto

The Canadiens are the 12th-ranked team in the Eastern Conference, seven points out of a playoff spot. The Flying Frenchmen they’re not.

In Montreal, Mike Cammalleri is taking heat for comments he made yesterday to RDS and NHL.com in which he said the Canadiens play with a “losing attitude.”

“We’re not in a winning position right now. It was some pretty impressive journalism to make all that out of that,” Cammalleri said sarcastically after Montreal’s morning skate. “That’s what it was from me. This group in here knows we’ve got to do better. It’s no secret.”

P.K. Subban may have few friends in the Boston dressing room. But Subban was complimentary toward the Bruins when asked about their approach.

“They’re in your face,” Subban said. “They’ve had a lot of success over the year. They’re the Stanley Cup champions. They’re playing some good hockey this year. Whatever they’re doing, they’re doing something right. Whenever you play them, you know they’re going to be in your face. They’re going to finish their checks. They’re going to work hard. For our team, coming into this building, it’s going to be our work ethic that’s going to determine what the outcome of the game is going to be.”

@GlobeFluto

Good morning from TD Garden, where the Bruins will take on their second-most hated rival (at least these days) tonight.

The Bruins have recalled Jordan Caron from Providence. Caron will participate in the morning skate and most likely be the healthy scratch tonight. Caron will join the team on its three-game road trip to North Carolina, Florida, and Tampa.

Puck drop: 7 p.m.

TV/radio info: NESN (Jack Edwards, Andy Brickley, Naoko Funayama), 98.5 The Sports Hub (Dave Goucher, Bob Beers)

Records: Canadiens 16-19-7, Bruins 27-11-1

Projected Bruins lineup:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Benoit Pouliot-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Chris Kelly-Zach Hamill -Rich Peverley
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid

Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

Healthy scratches: Jordan Caron, Steven Kampfer

Storylines: The sad-sack Canadiens got some bad news earlier this week. Brian Gionta is sidelined after undergoing biceps surgery. Gionta joins Andrei Markov and Ryan White on injured reserve… David Krejci has five goals and nine assists in the last nine games… Marc Savard is scheduled to appear at the Garden this afternoon. No telling, given his French heritage, whether Savard is being considered as a future Montreal coach… Mike Hasenfratz and Mike Leggo will be the referees. Steve Barton and Michel Cormier will be the linesmen.

@GlobeFluto

Bruins forward Marc Savard will donate his luxury suite at TD Garden for every Bruins home game to patients at Children's Hospital Boston who are recovering from head trauma, the team announced today.

Savard, who has not played for the Bruins this season as he continues to recover from the effects of a 2009 concussion, purchased a suite through the 2013-14 season.

Teammate Patrice Bergeron runs a similar program called "Patrice's Pals."

WILMINGTON – The Bruins ran through a brief, crisp late-morning practice at Ristuccia Arena in preparation for tomorrow night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens at TD Garden.
Coach Claude Julien, whose team hopes to wrap up the four-game homestand with a victory before embarking on a four-game road trip, said the Habs continue to present a challenge despite the fact that Boston won the last two meetings after dropping the first two.
``They come at you well,’’ said Julien. ``The one thing they seem to do is give us good games all the time just like certain teams match up better against others. They feel confident when they play against us and they play a style that gives us some issues and we have to really battle hard to beat those guys.’’
The Bruins will be without forward Brad Marchand again as he is serving a five-game suspension.

Last night's Bruins-Jets game at TD Garden was the first time in Boston's franchise history it faced and took a penalty shot in the same game.

Shawn Thornton converted his chance in the first period after goalie Tuukka Rask denied Chris Thorburn earlier in the period. Watch both Rask's save and Thornton's shot in the NESN video above. He also fought former teammate Mark Stuart, leaving him an assist shy of a Gordie Howe hat trick.

Thornton capped his night (can we call it a Shawn Thornton hat trick?) by taking on Vancouver columnist Tony Gallagher on a segment on Comcast's "Sticks and Stones" program after the game.

Entertaining stuff. Eric Wilbur has the details on the postgame tiff in the Boston Sports Blog.

All done at Garden. Bruins bust through for three in third.

13:05 3d period: Bruins 5-3
Bruins’ experience and depth showing in third. Winnipeg running out of gas.

6:41 3d period: Bruins 5-3
Benoit Pouliot whacks in second attempt on PP. Rich Peverley sets up with speed through center ice.

3:06 3d period: Bruins 4-3
Tyler Seguin approaches with speed and beats Ondrej Pavelec with a backhander. Excellent chip by Patrice Bergeron to spring Seguin.

0:08 3d period: 3-3
Nathan Horton buries dish from David Krejci on doorstep. Immediate impact by Krejci line.

20:00 2d period: Jets 3-2
Better second for Bruins. Not as many good scoring chances for Jets as they had in first. Need more from David Krejci’s line. Quiet second period.

16:35 2d period: Jets 3-2
Glove save by Tuukka Rask on Tim Stapleton PP one-timer. Good save.

11:11 2d period: Jets 3-2
Eric Fehr sharp-angle wrister through Tuukka Rask. Turnover by Joe Corvo. Might have skimmed off something.

10:17 2d period: 2-2
Shawn Thornton vs. Mark Stuart. Not even close. Thornton tunes up ex-Bruin and former Charlestown neighbor. Thornton good friends with Stuart. Tough business.

5:16 2d period: 2-2
Penalty shot Shawn Thornton. Fake forehand, lifts backhand high blocker. Chance out of box. Hooked by Tim Stapleton.

4:38 2d period: Jets 2-1
Andrew Ference off for hooking. Five-on-three for 28 seconds.

2:30 2d period: Jets 2-1
Zach Hamill centering fourth line.

0:37 2d period: Jets 2-1
Gregory Campbell between Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley. Looks like Zach Hamill’s off that line.

0:31 2d period: Jets 2-1
Tobias Enstrom floats shot from left point. Looked like Blake Wheeler got a piece of the shot.

20:00 1st period: 1-1
Important late goal for Bruins. Winnipeg controlling pace for most of first period.

19:40 1st period: 1-1
Milan Lucic with cross-crease pass to Nathan Horton for easy tap-in. Perfectly executed breakout. Clever dish by David Krejci to spring Lucic.

16:53 1st period: Jets 1-0
Zach Bogosian point shot tipped by Andrew Ladd. Jets dominating Bruins in offensive zone and center ice.

16:14 1st period: 0-0
Jim Slater rattles a slapper off the post. Tanner Glass off for repairs. Cut over left eye after slamming into glass.

16:00 1st period: 0-0
Tuukka Rask giving up big rebounds. Bruins in good position to clear pucks away.

9:27 1st period: 0-0
Tuukka Rask stops Jim Slater and Chris Thorburn in tight. Jets getting very good looks on Rask.

5:55 1st period: 0-0
Tuukka Rask closes door on Chris Thorburn penalty shot. Tried to go backhand. Rask slides left to right for save. Thorburn hooked on partial breakaway.

3:31 1st period: 0-0
Dennis Seidenberg hammers PP one-timer. Stop by Ondrej Pavelec. Benoit Pouliot sniffing for rebound.

0:00 1st period: 0-0
Steven Kampfer is the healthy scratch.

@GlobeFluto

Based on pregame warmups:

Benoit Pouliot-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Chris Kelly-Zach Hamill -Rich Peverley
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid

Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas

* Ondrej Pavelec (15-13-5, 2.88 GAA, .909 save percentage) will start in goal for the Jets.

@GlobeFluto

Brad Marchand will begin serving his five-game suspension tonight. Marchand will be eligible to return on Jan. 19 against New Jersey.

“I’m obviously a little disappointed,” Marchand said. “I wasn’t expecting as many games as I got. That’s the decision. Now I just have to move on.”

Marchand said he spoke with Brendan Shanahan earlier this season regarding such hits to clarify what was and what wasn’t a penalty. Based on the conversation, Marchand said he was informed that such hits were legal when applied toward self-protection.

Shanahan ruled that Marchand threw a predatory hit on Sami Salo.

“It’s clear that I’m not allowed to do that,” Marchand said. “Guys in the league aren’t allowed to do that. I think they’ve tried to make that clear. I have to do something else next time.”

@GlobeFluto

Good morning from TD Garden, where the Bruins will take on the Jets tonight.

Brad Marchand will begin serving his five-game suspension tonight. Benoit Pouliot will replace Marchand alongside Patrice Bergeron and Tyler Seguin. Zach Hamill will center the third line.

Puck drop: 7 p.m.

TV/radio info: NESN (Jack Edwards, Andy Brickley, Naoko Funayama), 98.5 The Sports Hub (Dave Goucher, Bob Beers)

Records: Jets 20-16-5, Bruins 26-11-1

Projected Bruins lineup:

Benoit Pouliot-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Chris Kelly-Zach Hamill -Rich Peverley
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid

Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas

Healthy scratch: Steven Kampfer

Storylines: Tyler Seguin missed the last Bruins-Jets game. Seguin was benched for that game because of missing a team breakfast and meeting earlier in the day… Hamill must pass through waivers if he is assigned to Providence. Hamill has exceeded the 30-day limit for an NHL recall… Greg Kimmerly and Stephen Walkom will be the referees. Steve Barton and Brian Murphy will be the linesmen.

@GlobeFluto

By Michael Vega, Globe Staff

Brad Marchand was hit with a five-game suspension today after drawing a five-minute major and game misconduct for clipping Sami Salo in the second period of Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks Saturday at TD Garden.

Marchand, who conducted a hearing via teleconference at 12:30 p.m. with Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli and NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan, tried to plead that he was protecting himself from an imminent check along the boards when he ducked and up-ended Salo, causing him to suffer a concussion when he landed hard on the ice on the back of his head at 18:47 of the second period.

But Shanahan, the NHL's senior vice president for player safety and hockey operations, saw it differently and characterized Marchand's hit as being neither instinctive nor as an act of self-defense but as a ``predatory low-hit'' by a repeat offender who had been suspended last March for elbowing Columbus's R.J. Umberger in the back of the head.

He was also fined $2,500 for slew-footing Pittsburgh's Matt Niskanen on Dec. 5, but was not suspended.

"As the video shows, Marchard skates toward Salo along the boards,'' Shanahan said on NHL.com. "Rather than deliver a shoulder-to-shoulder check, Marchand drops down dangerously low into Salo's knee area, propelling Salo up and over and causing an injury.''

Shanahan cited Marchand's hit was in violation of NHL rule No. 44, Clipping, which states, ``Clipping is the act of throwing the body from any direction, across or below the knees of an opponent. A player may not deliver a check in a `clipping' manner or lower his own body position to deliver on or below an opponent's knees.''

Said Shanahan: "While we understand that in certain instances a player may duck or bail instinctively to protect himself from an imminent dangerous check, we do not view this play as defensive or instinctive. Rather, we feel this was a predatory low-hit delivered intentionally by Marchand in order to flip his opponent over.

"Further, Salo was not coming at Marchand with great speed, nor in a threatening posture,'' Shanahan said. "He does nothing to indicate that Marchand will be hit illegally or with excessive force.

"To be clear, we do not consider this to be a defensive act, where there were no other options available to Marchand,'' Shanahan said. "As a matter of fact, this near identical scenario played out 16 seconds earlier where Marchand was able to deliver and absorb a clean, shoulder-to-shoulder check with Salo.

"In spite of the fact that this first hit was a clean play, Marchand shows clear frustration following the hit,'' Shanahan said. "While this may have led Marchand to believe that Salo might later seek retribution, it is not a defense for clipping a player.''

Shanahan said consideration was given to the nature of Salo's injury and to Marchand's status as a repeat offender in meting out the five-game suspension on the Bruins' feisty forward, which will begin with Tuesday night's home game against the Winnipeg Jets. Marchand, who will be eligible to return Jan. 19 at New Jersey, will forfeit $152,439 in salary which will go to the NHL players' emergency assistance fund.

"While we respect the process that the Department of Player Safety took to reach their decision regarding Brad?s hit on Sami Salo, we are very disappointed by their ruling,'' Chiarelli said in a released statement

"While we understand that the Department of Safety is an evolving entity,'' Chiarelli said. "It is frustrating that there are clear comparable situations that have not been penalized or sanctioned in the past.''

Chiarelli alluded to a similar low-hit Marchand suffered at the hands of Vancouver's Mason Raymond in last year's Stanley Cup Finals.

"It is equally disappointing that Brad sought the counsel of the Department this past fall for an explanation and clarification regarding this type of scenario so as to adjust his game if necessary,'' Chiarelli said. "He was advised that such an incident was not sanctionable if he was protecting his own safety.

"Given our feeling that Brad was indeed protecting himself and certainly did not clip the player as he contacted the player nowhere near the knee or quadricep,'' Chiarelli said, "today's ruling is not consistent with what the Department of Player Safety communicated to Brad."

By Michael Vega, Globe Staff

Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli, angered over the ``propaganda campaign'' waged by the Vancouver organization in an attempt to portray Brad Marchand as a ``dirty player'' before his hearing today with NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan, defended his feisty forward in the aftermath of inflammatory comments made Sunday in Vancouver by Canucks coach Alain Vigneault.

When Vigneault was asked about a post-game remark Bruins coach Claude Julien made, saying the hit Marchand made on Sami Salo that resulted in a five-minute major for clipping and a game misconduct, was merely an act of self-preservation on Marchand's part, the Canucks coach lashed out at his Boston counterpart.

Here's what Vigneault had to say in response to Julien:

That's stupid. That's a stupid comment. You know, what Marchand did there, you can end a player's career doing that. I've never seen Sami Salo take a run at any player in the NHL. All I've seen Sami Salo do is play with integrity and play the right way. Marchand, this is just my feeling on this, some day he's going to get it. Someday, somebody's going to say enough is enough and they're going to hurt the kid, because he plays to hurt players. In my mind, if the league doesn't take care of it, somebody else will.

Julien said Vigneault was being hypocritical in his criticism.

"Sometimes you got to look in your backyard,'' Julien said. "We all know he's got the same type of players on his team. They've all done the same thing. You just have to look at [Alexandre] Burrows putting his blade in [Shawn] Thornton's throat.

"It's hypocritical and we're stupid and we're idiots and they're the smartest team in the league,'' Julien said. "I guess we need to listen to all the gab they have to say.''

Chiarelli, however, wasn't going to stand idly by without firing back at the Canucks for going after Marchand.

"He's no dirtier than maybe two or three of their players,'' Chiarelli said after today's practice at TD Garden. ``After a game like [Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Canucks], you see all the high-handed propaganda, you feel the need to respond. Whether it's from GMs, coaches or players, I don't like to hear that kind of stuff.

"Certainly, there's a lobbying element to it and I feel the league does a real good job in these hearings and I don't think, it's necessary to have that out there,'' Chiarelli said. "It's about protecting yourself. This is what this is all about.

"We generally try to take the high road when it comes to this stuff, but when it comes at us like that, we have to respond,'' Chiarelli said. "That's our position.''

Chiarelli said no matter the outcome of today's hearing, he did not expect Marchard -- or the rest of the team, for that matter -- to alter his style of play.

"Look, we're a physical team, and we're going to be under the microscopee for beingg that,'' Chiarelli said. "Our players are generally clean. Every team has players that do dirty things -- or illegal things. It just happens. That's why penalties are in place and that's why suplemental discipline is in place.

"He was protecting himself and we're going to tell our players to protect themselves.''

Chiarelli said the Bruins were prepared to deal with any suplemental punishment Marchand receives from the league.

"But the lobbying, I call it `propaganda' that came out [Sunday] in advance of the hearing, I think it's distasteful,'' Chiarelli said. "And I'm friends with Mike [Gillis, Canucks GM] and I'm friends with Alain, but I don't like the way that it's come out and I have to respond.''

Chiarelli took to task Vigneault for his not-so-veiled threat on Marchand, saying, ``That's a inappropriate comment. That's a real inappropriate comment. It's an unprofessional comment.

"There's a carryover effect from the playoffs; it's a big game, it's a hyped up game and there's probably a lot of pent up emotion that was behind that comment,'' Chiarelli said. "Having said all that, they shouldn't say stuff like that.''

Good morning from TD Garden where the Bruins are on the ice, all present and accounted for, and conducting a lively practice in preparation for Tuesday night's home game against the visiting Winnipeg Jets.

Brad Marchand, who will have a hearing this morning with NHL disciplinary czar Brendan Shanahan as a result of the clipping major and game misconduct he was hit with in Saturday's 4-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks, was back skating with linemates Patrice Bergeron and Tyler Seguin.

We'll update you with the outcome of Marchand's hearing once we learn more.

Bruins coach Claude Julien, perhaps seeking a different perspective, took in practice from on high in the Legends Club section along with GM Peter Chiarelli and team president Cam Neely.

Brad Marchand will have a disciplinary hearing via phone tomorrow with Brendan Shanahan. The topic of discussion will be Marchand’s clipping penalty yesterday. The incident resulted in a five-minute major and a game misconduct for Marchand. Sami Salo was injured on the play. According to Vancouver GM Mike Gillis, Salo suffered a concussion.

Because the hearing will take place via phone, any suspension would be five games or less.

Marchand said he saw Salo approaching and was defending himself against a possible hit. Based on reviews of the replay, Marchand believed his point of contact was above Salo’s knees.

“I did go under him,” Marchand said. “But I felt the base contact was about his hip point. That’s usually a pretty legal hit from what I’ve seen in the past. I have no idea how the league feels about it. I guess we’ll see.”

Marchand said he’s thrown similar hits as an NHLer. In the Stanley Cup Final, Marchand upended Daniel Sedin in a similar fashion. Marchand was not penalized then.

Marchand is considered a repeat offender. Marchand was fined $2,500 for slew-footing Matt Niskanen earlier this season. Marchand was not suspended. Last year, Marchand drew a two-game suspension for elbowing R.J. Umberger in the back of the head.

Marchand expressed remorse that Salo was injured.

@GlobeFluto

The Bruins have been given today off. They will resume work tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. at Ristuccia Arena.

With no practice and no media availability, here’s the latest version of Plus/Minus:

Plus

+ Full engagement from Nathan Horton. In 15:04 of spirited ice time yesterday against Vancouver, Horton showed he’s a handful when playing with bite. Horton ripped off four shots, landed one hit, and participated in a big-time dustup with Dale Weise. Horton is a ghost when he’s not engaged. Yesterday was a different story.

+ Solid even-strength play. Cory Schneider had to make the tougher saves in five-on-five situations. Bruins put good heat on the Canucks. But Vancouver is too talented when it comes to the man-advantage.

+ Two important home games coming up. Easy to have a letdown after yesterday’s five-alarm tilt. But the Bruins have Winnipeg on Tuesday and Montreal on Thursday. The Jets snapped the Bruins’ streak of 15 games without a regulation loss. The Bruins never have trouble gearing up for the Canadiens.

Minus

- Tough day at the office for Don VanMassenhoven and Dan O’Rourke. Can’t be easy to sort everything out after the first-period mayhem. There’s a fight to one side and a full-blown riot – in front of a bench, of all places. Six Bruins are on the ice. Seven Canucks are on too before Henrik Sedin heads to the bench. The referees erred in throwing Milan Lucic out for leaving the bench. But it was dubious to give Vancouver a two-man advantage for two minutes following the blowup (minors to Lucic and Shawn Thornton).

- Role of the rats. Alex Burrows taps Daniel Paille, then jabs Thornton in the throat with his stick. Brad Marchand goes low and wipes out Sami Salo. Chirping is one thing. Cheap shots are another, especially when The Code (and the instigator penalty) prevents undersized guys from getting what they deserve.

- No miked-up players. Oh, to hear some of the naughty words flowing yesterday. Thornton, Weise, and Maxim Lapierre were chatting for most of their time in their respective boxes. Former Florida teammates Horton and Keith Ballard were going at it all day. Don’t think things were rosy between the two in Sunrise either.

@GlobeFluto

Watch Globe hockey reporters Kevin Paul Dupont and Fluto Shinzawa discuss the key story lines that emerged from the Canucks-Bruins game at TD Garden, the first meeting of the teams since Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals in June.

By Fluto Shinzawa, Globe Staff

After today’s latest installment of Bruins-Canucks craziness, which resulted in a 4-3 Vancouver win before 17,565 at TD Garden, there is only one chapter that can come next: another Stanley Cup Final showdown.

It would only be justice.

Recent history already included a bite, tire pumping, and finger waggles. Saturday, the enemies added an alleged stick to the throat, a pig pile, a legal line change that was considered otherwise, and a low-bridge clipping call that could result in a suspension for Brad Marchand.

More, please.

‘‘Let’s not kid ourselves here. These are two teams that don’t like each other,’’ said Bruins coach Claude Julien. ‘‘So what do you expect?

‘‘The buildup from last year is still there. It was only a 2-point game. That’s how we had to approach it. There’s a lot that happened in last year’s playoffs that carried over to today’s game. As much as referees tried to control it at times, it became a challenge.’’

The spark that set the game ablaze took place early in the first period. As Daniel Paille completed his shift and retreated to the bench, Canucks forward Alex Burrows — who bit Patrice Bergeron’s finger in last year’s playoffs — tapped the left wing on his foot with his stick.

Linemate Shawn Thornton spotted the exchange and slashed Burrows to let him know that he saw the infraction. According to Thornton, Burrows responded by jabbing his stick in his throat. Thornton blew his top and charged at Burrows. In turn, seemingly the entire province of British Columbia jumped Thornton in front of the Vancouver bench.

‘‘I’m a big boy. I can handle that,’’ Thornton said of the WWE-like pileup, capped by Maxim Lapierre’s off-the-turnbuckle leap. ‘‘I’m more upset by the spear to the throat.

‘‘I don’t lose my cool for no reason. I fancy myself a pretty honest player. But I’m not going to let somebody spear me in the throat. I’m also a man. I stand up for myself.’’

In the mayhem that followed at 3:54 — the main bout was Nathan Horton vs. Dale Weise in a long, punch-filled throwdown — Milan Lucic was tagged with a roughing minor and a game misconduct. Referees Don VanMassenhoven and Dan O’Rourke believed Lucic left the bench to join the scrap.

However, Lucic had replaced Paille, who had completed his shift. Lucic was not available for comment after the loss.

‘‘I’m not blaming them,’’ Julien said of the referees. ‘‘They’re in the middle of a scrum there.

‘‘Looch was on the ice already. It wasn’t an illegal change. He didn’t come off the bench. There’s no issues there. In my mind, it’s clear.

‘‘What’s unfortunate is that we lost a pretty good player early in the game. That’s more what’s disappointing. It’s a guy who was looking forward to playing this game. He’s from Vancouver. He gets tossed out and actually doesn’t do anything wrong.

‘‘We’ll let the league take care of that stuff. Nothing more we can do.’’

The Canucks had a five-on-three power play for two minutes because of the minors to Lucic and Thornton (roughing, slashing). The Bruins were six seconds away from killing the penalties, but after Chris Kelly blocked a Sami Salo shot, Ryan Kesler scored on the rebound at 5:41 to give the Canucks a 1-0 lead.

It was the first of four power-play strikes for Vancouver. In the second period, with the Bruins holding a 2-1 lead (goals by Marchand and Rich Peverley), Tyler Seguin was nabbed for tripping at 14:47. Thirty-four seconds later, a Cody Hodgson shot deflected off Burrows and skimmed past Tim Thomas, making it a 2-2 game.

At 18:47, Marchand got the gate for clipping Salo. Marchand saw Salo approaching, crouched, and took out the defenseman’s knees. Salo went down hard and didn’t return.

Marchand, who returned for the Bruins after missing Thursday’s win because of flu-like symptoms, could face supplemental discipline. If he is suspended, Benoit Pouliot would most likely replace him alongside Seguin and Bergeron. Zach Hamill, a healthy scratch Saturday, would skate on the third line.

Julien didn’t criticize the call. He said he coaches his players to defend themselves against oncoming hits.

‘‘I always told my players they need to protect themselves,’’ Julien said. ‘‘The last thing I want my players to do is get hit and end up with a concussion. They have to protect themselves. Whether it’s the right way or the wrong way, it will depend on how the league looks at it.

‘‘I’d rather have a guy take a two-minute penalty than turn his back to the play, stand up straight, then get his face knocked through the glass and be out the rest of the year with a concussion. Or maybe end a career like [Marc] Savard.’’

The Canucks and their top-rated power play torched the Bruins twice during the five-minute major. At 19:47 of the second, Henrik Sedin redirected Alex Edler’s slap-pass past Thomas.

At 1:09 of the third, after racing down the right wing, Hodgson hammered a slap shot under the crossbar. Forty-two seconds later, David Krejci made it a 4-3 game by tucking the rebound of a Joe Corvo blast behind Cory Schneider.

But the damage was done. The Bruins had allowed too many man-advantage opportunities (11) to a skilled club that thrives on power-play action.

‘‘I don’t think we’re going to point the finger at the other team, because they didn’t do anything wrong,’’ Julien said. ‘‘They played the game the way they feel they have to play it.

‘‘They scored some power-play goals. They did the right things.

‘‘We didn’t do enough to win the hockey game. Let’s be man enough to admit it and move on.’’

Bruins coach Claude Julien on Milan Lucic's questionable line change: "I’m not blaming [the referees] – they’re in the middle of a scrum there – but Looch was on the ice already. It wasn’t an illegal change; he didn’t come off the bench. There are no issues there in my mind; it’s clear. What’s unfortunate is that we lost a pretty good player early in the game."

Bruins forward Shawn Thornton on fighting: "I was more upset with the spear to the throat. I thought, I mean I don’t lose my cool for no reason. I’m a pretty… I see myself as a pretty honest player. But, I’m not going to let someone spear me in the throat. I’m also a man so I stand up for myself."

Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa on fighting: "I don’t think we really wanted to go head to head with them, but we are certainly not going to back down from them. We showed that from the beginning and we stood our ground. You know, big fight by Weise. And, Max (Lapierre) is a character guy, and if somebody asks him to fight, he is going to fight and stick up for himself. He did a great job there. After that we played hockey. I think hockey wise we are a better team than them."

Bieksa on Brad Marchand's big hit: "We play hard, but we are a disciplined team. That’s what separates us from them. They obviously play hard, but they tend to do stupid things. The Marchand hit was a pretty stupid thing and I’m sure he’ll be getting a phone call for that one. There is no reason for that."

Bruins goalie Tim Thomas: "It was the second time in three games that we started out a game and got down on a five on three within three minutes of opening the game. When you put yourself down right off the bat it makes it harder."

Bruins forward Daniel Paille on his penalty shot: "I tried to go just over the pad but it was just unfortunate that it didn’t go in I had a lot of pressure on it and I thought I felt good with it but sometimes they go in, this time it didn’t."

Canucks goalie Cory Schneider on saving Paille's penalty shot: "I’ve seen him rip it glove side a couple times, so I kept it high and just presented it to try to take it away early and he kind of cut across and fortunately I had it in a good spot."

By Lenny Neslin, Boston.com Staff

Today was the first time Cory Schneider took the net at TD Garden since his days as Boston College's netminder from 2004-2007.

"It was a great feeling," Schneider said of playing on familiar ice. "As a college player I didn't know if I would ever get the chance to play here again, so to be able to come back and have this opportunity in front of a lot of friends and family and people at home watching, it was really cool."

Schneider was a part of two Frozen Four finals teams before forgoing his senior season to enter the NHL draft.

But today most of the crowd wasn't on his side. Throughout the game fans chanted, "We want Luon-go," referring to Roberto Luongo, the Canucks' usual starter.

"Different vibe but we got a good taste of it last year so it's nothing new. It was a great atmosphere to play in. It was fun for me to play in front of people who have grown up cheering for me and supporting me my whole life."

Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault didn't share his reasoning on choosing Schneider over Luongo.

Schneider was able to block out the distractions in a game filled with 32 penalties and several delays for fights, stopping 36 shots in the Canucks' 4-3 victory. He said, as a goalie, he couldn't get involved with any of the fighting.

"I have to worry about stopping the puck so I don't want to get distracted and get caught up in that stuff," Schneider said. "As a goalie it's not my place to be grabbing guys and jumping guys unless I have to and/or their guy gets in there."

By Lenny Neslin, Boston.com Staff

Bruins goalie Tim Thomas didn't see any dirty plays from either squad, just high emotion levels.

"Let's not kid ourselves here: These are two teams that don't like each other, so what do you expect?" Bruins coach Claude Julien said.

Both teams were charged with 15 penalties and spent more than 50 minutes in the penalty box.

But it was the Canucks who capitalized, converting on four of 11 power plays while the Bruins scored three even-strength goals and missed seven chances with a man advantage.

Julien credited the Canucks' power play, ranked best in the NHL, rather than placing blame on his team's penalty kill.

"Two of those power-play goals were good goals," Julien said. "You've got to give them credit. We killed 1:40, around that amount of time, five-on-three. I thought we did a great job, and when they scored, it was because we blocked a shot and it went on their sticks, so what can you do about those kind of things?

Thomas admitted it was tough to get in rhythm with the high number of penalties and play stoppages.

"Every time we started to get momentum we have a power play or a long power play to kill," he said. "You know I think we were really coming back there in the second period and I thought we were going to take the game over.

"Five-on-five we dominated play."

It wasn't pretty, but a sellout crowd of 17,565 saw the Bruins fall to the Canucks, 4-3, in a Stanley Cup Final rematch.

The Canucks converted on 4 of 11 power-play opportunities, while the Bruins failed in all seven tries. Rich Peverley, David Krejci and Brad Marchand scored for the Bruins.

More from the locker rooms coming up.

Third period

19:10, Canucks, 4-3: The Bruins pulled Tim Thomas from net to try and send this game into overtime with a 6-on-5 advantage.

12:40, Canucks, 4-3: Minimal fighting this period, as it seems both teams care more about what the scoreboard says than what each other is saying.

1:51, Canucks, 4-3: David Krejci answered Hodgson's goal 42 seconds later on a second-effort rebound goal.

1:09, Canucks, 4-2: Hodgson gave Vancouver a two-goal lead on a slap shot from the point off the pipe. That's two goals in an 81-second span for the Canucks.

Second period

The Bruins have spent more minutes in the box (53-46) and the Canucks are making them pay. The frequent man-advantage has allowed the Canucks to get more opportunities, too, as they lead in shots, 26-20.

Bruins left wings Brad Marchand and Milan Lucic won't play in the third period.

19:48, Canucks, 3-2: Henrik Sedin gave the Canucks a 3-2 lead on another power-play opportunity. Alexandre Edler slap-passed it to Sedin, who tipped it past Thomas. Sedin is now the NHL's leader in points (49).

15:21, 2-2: Canucks center Cody Hodgson beat Tim Thomas on a wrister from the point to even the score, again. Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg was directly in Thomas's line of sight. Update: Alex Burrows deflected Hodgson's shot and was credited with the power-play goal. Hodgson picks up an assist instead.

7:12, Bruins, 2-1: Center Rich Peverley scooped up a loose puck and quickly shot it past Schneider from the point. Left wing Benoit Pouliot was credited with an assist.

2:55, 1-1: Fight 3: Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid and Canucks right wing Jannik Hansen scuffled behind the Bruins' net. McQuaid (roughing), Hansen (high-sticking), and Canucks left wing Mason Raymond (high-sticking) were penalized.

0:23, 1-1: Henrik Sedin tripped up Daniel Paille, and Paille was awarded a penalty shot. Schneider kept the score even with a glove save on Paille's wrist shot.

First period

Twenty minutes of hockey, 18 penalties dished out by the referees. Unsurprisingly, it's a playoff atmosphere at TD Garden and tension levels are at the max. The opening frame took nearly one hour to unfold.

The Bruins have fought 29 times this season, twice in the first period, which is second to the Rangers, who the B's trailed by three points in the Eastern Conference heading into today's action.

14:57, 1-1: Marchand faked Canucks goalie Cory Schneider, then slipped it under his pads on a backhand to even the score. A fight between Maxim Lapierre and Gregory Campbell broke out minutes later.

5:41, Canucks, 1-0: Ryan Kesler put the Canucks up early on the power play following the fight, assisted by Sami Salo and Daniel Sedin.

3:54, 0-0: Not even five minutes into the game and 10 players' gloves are off. Nathan Horton and Dale Weise fought individually while the other eight brawled on the ice near the benches. Referees are discussing the potential penalties now.

Unsurprisingly, Marchand is in the starting lineup.

Pregame

Welcome to TD Garden. The Bruins and Canucks are about to square off in a Stanley Cup Final rematch that you'll only see once this regular season.

There is still plenty of season left on the schedule, but both teams have jumped to the top of their respective conferences after recent surges. The Bruins (26-10-1), winners of nine of their last 10, host the Canucks (25-13-3), who are 7-2-1 in their last 10.

Canucks coach Alain Vigneault made a surprise move by going with Marblehead native Corey Schneider in net over Roberto Luongo, who had difficulties -- to say the least -- at TD Garden during the seven-game series. Bruins coach Claude Julien said the move is "their business."

"I think they choose to run their team the way they want, and as far as I know, I think they feel the same way we do about our goaltending tandem," Julien said.

Julien will go with Conn Smythe Trophy winner and this year's All-Star Game starter Tim Thomas, who shut out the Canucks in Vancouver in Game 7. But Julien trusts his backup, too.

"To be honest with you, I would have no issues with putting Tuukka Rask in net today with the way he's played," said Julien, referring to Rask's five-game winning streak and three shutouts in his last 11 starts.

Lots of fighting (photos) in the first period at TD Garden in the Stanley Cup Final rematch.

Update: Soon after Brad Marchand tied the score at 1, Bruins center Gregory Campbell and Canucks center Maxim Lapierre dueled with their gloves off on ice. Both got five minutes for fighting, while Shawn Thornton and Dale Weise each served two minutes in the penalty box for unsportsmanlike conduct.

---
Not even five minutes into the game and 10 players' gloves are off.

Nathan Horton and Dale Weise fought individually while the other eight brawled on the ice near the benches.

Penalties roundup:

Vancouver
Maxim Lapierre -- 2 minutes for roughing, 2 minutes for slashing
Dale Weise -- 5 minutes for fighting

Boston
Milan Lucic -- 10 minutes for game misconduct, 2 minutes for roughing (served by Tyler Seguin)
Shawn Thornton -- 2 minutes for roughing, 2 minutes for slashing
Nathan Horton -- 5 minutes for fighting

By Lenny Neslin, Boston.com Staff

Brad Marchand, who missed Thursday's drubbing of the Flames, is a game-time decision, Bruins coach Claude Julien said.

"He's feeling better," Julien said, "so we'll give him the opportunity to go into warm-ups and make sure he's 100 percent."

Marchand is in fact skating during warm-ups.

The 23-year-old had 19 points in the playoffs last season, and already has 31 points this season.

Based on pregame warmups:

Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Rich Peverley
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid

Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

* Cory Schneider (8-5-0, 2.16 GAA, .931 save percentage) will start in goal for the Canucks.

@GlobeFluto

Good morning from TD Garden, where the Bruins will square off against the Canucks this afternoon.

Brad Marchand, out because of flu-like symptoms on Thursday against Calgary, is expected to play today. If Marchand can play, Zach Hamill will be the healthy scratch.

Cory Schneider will be in goal for the Canucks. Roberto Luongo will be manning the pumps on the bench.

Puck drop: 1 p.m.

TV/radio info: NESN (Jack Edwards, Andy Brickley, Naoko Funayama), 98.5 The Sports Hub (Dave Goucher, Bob Beers)

Records: Canucks 25-13-3, Bruins 26-10-1

Projected Bruins lineup:

Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Rich Peverley
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid

Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

Healthy scratches: Zach Hamill, Steven Kampfer

Storylines: As usual, Vancouver has the league’s best power play. Part of their undoing last year was their inability to score on the power play when the Bruins were sent to the box… Should be interesting to see whether Dan Hamhuis and Kevin Bieksa, Vancouver’s top shutdown pairing, skate against Patrice Bergeron’s line or David Krejci’s threesome. The guess is the former… A much hoped-for bout: Gregory Campbell vs. Maxim Lapierre. No love lost between the two… Don VanMassenhoven and Dan O’Rourke will be the referees. Brad Kovachik and Derek Nansen will be the linesmen.

@GlobeFluto

The Canucks announced that Marblehead native Cory Schneider will start tomorrow against the Bruins. Roberto Luongo is coming off a shutout against Minnesota on Wednesday.

The former Boston College standout is 8-5-0 with a 2.15 GAA and a .931 save percentage this season. Luongo is 17-8-3 with a 2.38 GAA and a .917 save percentage.

The Bruins shredded Luongo at TD Garden during the Stanley Cup Final. Luongo allowed 15 goals on 66 total shots in three losses in Boston.

@GlobeFluto

The Bruins opted to keep Brad Marchand out of today’s practice. But Claude Julien said Marchand is feeling better today and will most likely be available tomorrow against the Canucks.

Marchand will skate on his own later today. If Marchand can play, Zach Hamill will be the healthy scratch.

* Julien and assistants Geoff Ward, Doug Houda, and Doug Jarvis will coach one of the two All-Star teams later this month in Ottawa. This will be the second All-Star Game Julien will coach.

@GlobeFluto

WILMINGTON – Good morning from Ristuccia Arena, where the Bruins are practicing in preparation for tomorrow’s afternoon tilt against Vancouver at TD Garden.

“We have to approach it as the next big game for us,” Patrice Bergeron said after last night’s 9-0 greasing of the Flames. “That’s the way we’ve been approaching every game all year. It’s just the same thing again.”

Brad Marchand is not present for practice. Marchand didn’t play last night because of flu-like symptoms.

Today’s lineup:

Benoit Pouliot-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Zach Hamill-Chris Kelly-Rich Peverley
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid
Steven Kampfer

Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

@GlobeFluto

Final: Boston Bruins 9, Calgary Flames 0

Anticipating Saturday's matinee versus the Vancouver Canucks, the Bruins pounded the Calgary Flames, 9-0, before a sellout TD Garden crowd of 17,565.

The Bruins erupted for six goals against Leland Irving, who was chased from the game in the second period after giving up back-to-back goals to Nathan Horton, and three more against Mikka Kiprusoff.

Tuukka Rask, meanwhile, turned away all 25 shots he faced, earning his third shutout in his last four games.

Bring on the Canucks.

Third period

Bruins 9, Flames 0, 8:43, SHG

After Gregory Campbell was sent off for a tripping minor at 6:57, Daniel Paille made the Flames pay dearly when he tallied an unassisted short-handed goal, walking in on Kiprusoff for the Bruins' ninth goal of the night. Can we just stop it now? Brent Sutter needs to declare ``No mas!'' and throw in the towel. His team is taking a savage pounding and is utterly defenseless against the Bruins, who have now scored 15 goals in their last six periods of hockey. To make matters worse, Bruins fans started chanting, ``We want ten! We want ten!''

Bruins 8, Flames 0, 5:49

The producers of NBC Sports Network's ``NHL 36'' missed the boat on this one. They should've had their cameras rolling on Patrice Bergeron last night. The Bruins' alternate captain tallied his second goal of the night and 11th of the season when he wheeled and dealed from the goalmouth after getting pinched down low by Flames defenseman Chris Butler (minus-6). Tyler Seguin (20) and Benoit Pouliot (6) were credited with assists.

Second intermission: Bruins 7, Flames 0

In the immortal words of Globe colleague Dan Shaughnessy: ``What...a...beating!''

Calgary completely flamed out in the second period after the Bruins erupted for four goals, including a pair of back-to-back tallies by Nathan Horton at 14:31 and 4:15, the first of which chased goaltender Leland Irving from the game.

Patrice Bergeron opened the floodgates with his tally at 1:19 which was followed 47 seconds later by Chip Kelly's chip-in at 2:06. By the end of the second period, the Bruins had eight multi-point scorers with Horton (2 goals, 1 assist) and David Krejci (1 goal, 2 assists) nursing 3-point nights.

Flames defenseman Chris Butler, meanwhile, was smarting from the ugly minus-5 beside his name on the score sheet.

Second period

Bruins 7, Flames, 0, 14:31

This game is officially out of control. Nathan Horton, who obviously is looking forward to playing the Canucks (watch out Aaron Rome), tallied his 12th goal of the season and second of the game when he swatted home a rebound of Dennis Seidenberg's blast from the left point. David Krejci was also credited with an assist giving him and Horton three-point nights: Krejci (1 goal, 2 assists); Horton (2 goals, 1 assist).

Bruins 6, Flames, 0, 4:15

What is this? The Orange Bowl? Are the Bruins playing the role of the West Virginia Mountaineers? Seemed to be the case when Nathan Horton swept in and chipped home rebound of Milan Lucic's goalmouth bid, chasing Leland Irving from the game. He was replaced by Mikka Kiprusoff. Zdeno Chara initally put the puck on net to record his 300th career NHL assist. With their sixth goal tonight, the Bruins have now tallied 12 goals in their last five periods of hockey.

Bruins 5, Flames 0, 2:06

Chip Kelly scores on a rebound of Andrew Ference's blast from the left circle. It came 47 seconds after Bergeron made it 4-0. It marked the 13th time this season the Bruins have struck for a pair of goals in less than a minute.

Bruins 4, Flames, 0, 1:19

OK, it's official. We can start looking ahead to Saturday's Stanley Cup Final rematch with the Vancouver Canucks. Patrice Bergeron did the honors when he tallied his 10th goal of the season on a pretty centering pass.from Tyler Seguin.

First intermission: Bruins 3, Flames 0

The Bruins took a commanding three-goal lead into the dressing room after peppering Calgary netminder Leland Irving with 15 shots, including goals by Tyler Seguin (16th, 1:14), Milan Lucic (14th, 3:17) and a power-play tally by David Krejci (9th, 8:49). Tuukka Rask, meanwhile, turned away all 10 shots he faced. The Bruins have now scored nine goals in their last four periods of hockey, including Wednesday night's 6-1 victory at New Jersey.

First period

Bruins 3, Flames 0, 7:40

The Bruins capitalized on their first power-play opportunity of the night when David Krejci (9) tallied on the man-advantage, beating Flames netminder Leland Irving backdoor by potting Rich Peverly's pretty cross-ice feed from the right circle. Zdeno Chara was also credited with an assist, giving him 299 for his NHL career.

Bruins 2, Flames 0, 7:40

Bruins go on the power play for the first time in the game after Calgary's Tom Kostopoulos is sent off for tripping.

Bruins 2, Flames 0, 3:17

In just his second shift on the ice, Milan Lucic was the beneficiary of some puck luck when he bounced a self pass on the boards, attempted to center a pass from the right circle, and had his shot bounce off Olli Jokinen for his 14th goal of the season. Linemates Nathan Horton and David Krejci were credited with assists, extending Krejci's point streak to seven consecutive games.

Bruins 1, Flames 0, 1:14

The Bruins waste little time getting on the board when Tyler Sequin (16) pots an even-strength goal on a nifty back-of-the-net feed from Patrice Bergeron. Benoit Pouliot was also credited with a helper.

Pregame

Greetings from TD Garden where the Bruins are moments away from taking the ice for tonight's game against the visiting Calgary Flames. The game comes on the heels of Boston's 6-1 victory at New Jersey Wednesday night and represents the fourth of 13 overall back-to-back sets the Bruins will play this season. Tuukka Rask (8-4-1, 1.61 GAA) will be in net for the Bruins and will be opposed by Leland Irving (1-0-2, 2.23 GAA).

Brad Marchand was a late scratch due to flu-like symptoms. Benoit Pouliot will take his place on the Bruins' second line with Patrice Bergeron and Tyler Sequin.

Based on pregame warmups:

Benoit Pouliot-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Zach Hamill-Chris Kelly-Rich Peverley
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid

Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas

* Leland Irving (1-0-2, 2.23 GAA, .942 save percentage) will start in goal for the Flames.

@GlobeFluto

By Matt Pepin, Globe Staff

Fans chose the first six players for the game (three forwards, two defensemen, one goalie), which will be held Jan. 29 in Ottawa. The Senators had four players named -- defenseman Erik Karlsson, and forwards Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Milan Michalek -- and the Maple Leafs one, defenseman Dion Phaneuf.

The remaining players will be chosen by the NHL's hockey operations staff later this month.

It will be Thomas's fourth All-Star Game.

Alfredsson was the top forward in fan voting, and Karlsson had the most overall votes with 939,591. See the final vote totals on the NHL's web site.

Good morning from TD Garden, where the Bruins will take on the Flames tonight. The Bruins are coming off a 6-1 road win over New Jersey last night.

Because of last night’s game and travel back to Boston, the Bruins will not skate this morning.

Puck drop: 7 p.m.

TV/radio info: NESN (Jack Edwards, Andy Brickley, Naoko Funayama), 98.5 The Sports Hub (Dave Goucher, Bob Beers)

Records: Flames 18-18-5, Bruins 25-10-1

Projected Bruins lineup:

Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Rich Peverley
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid

Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas

Healthy scratches: Zach Hamill, Steven Kampfer

Storylines: The Flames will be without Rene Bourque. The Calgary forward was slapped with a five-game suspension for elbowing Washington’s Nicklas Backstrom in the head. Bourque has 13 goals and three assists… Tuukka Rask has allowed one goal in his last 216:08 of ice time… Jay Bouwmeester leads Calgary with 26:08 of average ice time per game. Bouwmeester is one of the comparables for Dougie Hamilton, whose World Junior Championship run for gold was halted in the semifinal by Team Russia… Assistant GM John Weisbrod was formerly Boston’s director of collegiate scouting… Calgary is only one of two teams without a shorthanded goal. The Bruins are the only club that hasn’t allowed a shortie… Steve Kozari and Wes McCauley will be the referees. Derek Nansen and Tony Sericolo will be the linesmen.

@GlobeFluto

THIRD PERIOD

Over here at the Rock. Bruins win it, 6-1.

14:23 -- Boston, 6-1. Thornton connects with help from Paille.

4:50 -- Boston, 5-1. Krecji deflects in long wrister by Seidenberg. Lucic has assisted on last two goals.

2:13 -- Boston, 4-1. Alone in slot, Bergeron drills in short-range one-timer off clean feed into middle by Marchand.

Back in action.

SECOND PERIOD

Bruins win 24 of 31 faceoffs in first two periods, for impressive 77 percent efficiency. Krejci goes 12-for-15, 80 percent. Patrik Elias a woeful 1-for-10. Adam Henrique 1-for-8. Might be better just to try to kick puck.

40:00 in the books. Bruins, 3-1.

Bruins do little with two power play in period. Not much offense mounted by either side. Bruins doing strong job at faceoff circle.

4:02 -- Bruins, 3-1. Bergeron pots unassisted goal, after breaking out alone when rookie Larsson fans on shot at opposite blue line.

And away we go.

FIRST PERIOD

End 20:00. Bruins, 2-1, and picked up shot pace in last five minutes. Devils with 16-11 lead.

13:17 -- Boston, 2-1. Horton with forehand pot at left post, off Krecji pass by Parise and Fayne. PPG. Horton with only 4 points in previous 11 games.

Bruins cobbled together only 20 shots Saturday in Dallas. Only two in first 10 min.s here. Devils with eight.

8:15 -- Bruins, 1-1. Ference slapper from above left wing circle deflects by Brodeur off of Campbell's skate. Second Boston shot on net.

4:24 -- Devils, 1-0. Clark snaps wrister to top right corner off rush. Breaks in, 2-on-1, with Parise for PPG.

Thornton and Janssen drop gloves at 2:07 and exchange a load of big right hands to one another's kissers. Good bout. Not much relevance so early, but good shots.

Underway.

The Bruins and Devils are on the ice here at the Rock for their pre-game warmup. New Jersey will have Martin Brodeur in its net, with Tim Thomas between the pipes for the defending Stanley Cup champs.

Steve Kampfer and Zach Hamill are on the ice for the Bruins in the warmup. Both will be scratches.

Faceoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.

The Bruin are back at work tomorrow night with the Calgary Flames on Causeway Street. The Flames are 18-18-5 and currently not among the top eight seeds in the Western Conference.

By Matt Pepin, Globe Staff

Bruins goalie Tim Thomas is the leader at his position and the Bruins and three other teams each have six players on the ballot. The top six vote-getters (three forwards, two defensemen, one goalie) are guaranteed spots at the All-Star game, which will be Jan. 29 in Ottawa.

The other Bruins on the ballot are defenseman Zdeno Chara and forwards Patrice Bergeron, Nathan Horton, David Krejci and Milan Lucic. Fans can also write-in candidates.

The fan selections to the All-Star game will be announced tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m. Phil Kessel of the Maple Leafs was the overall vote leader on the latest standings released by the NHL. Tyler Seguin, as a write-in candidate, was the leading Bruins forward (28th overall), and Chara was the top Bruins defenseman (4th overall).

Click here to go to the NHL's voting page.

NEWARK -- Some sad news to report from the Bruins' extended famly. Anne Bucyk married to Bruins' Hall-of-Fame winger John Bucyk these last 53-plus years, died today in Topsfield after a brief illness.

Bucyk, who was in her 70s, was diagnosed last year with a rare form of colitis, according to a family friend, and in recent weeks resided in a Topsfield rehabilitation center in hopes of gaining enough strength to return to the family's home in nearby Boxford.

John Bucyk, 76 years old and these days the club's coordinator of road services, returned home to Boston from here earlier today to be at his wife's bedside. The Bruins face the Devils here tonight at the Prudential Center.

Anne is also survived by three adult children: Jo-Anne Laroche of Raymond, N.H., Larry Bucyk of Newton, N.H., and Michael Bucyk of Beverly, Mass., and eight grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements are still being finalized.

NEWARK -- Greetings from the outer-outer west side of Manhattan, where it's a chilly 14 degrees this morning, some 10 hours before the Bruins face the Devils here tonight at the Prudential Center.

The Bruins are in action for the first time in the new calendar year, hoping to kickstart their game after a fairly listless 4-2 loss Saturday night in Dallas, where they cobbled together only 20 shots against Michael Ryder and friends. Five of the Black-and-Gold forwards did not land a single shot on net in Big D.

After a torrid November and December, when the Bruins were the NHL's hottest team over the course of nine weeks, they begin the new year parked in second place in the Eastern Conference with a 24-10-1 record and 49 points. For all their good work recently, they have but a six-point cushion over the likes of Winnipeg and Toronto, both of whom would be DNQs if the playoffs began today.

The Bruins have 47 games remaining on the '11-'12 sked. They could lose every game in OT the rest of the way and still make the playoffs with 96 poiints.

Puck drop: 7:35 p.m. EST

Record: Bruins, 24-10-1; Devils, 21-15-2

TV/radio info: NBC Sports Network (cable), 98.5 The Sports Hub (Dave Goucher, Bob Beers)

Projected lineup:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Rich Peverley
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid

Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

Healthy scratches: Steve Kampfer

Storylines: Out of the playoffs last season for the first time since 1995-'96, the Devils (21-15-2) trail the Bruins by only three wins in the victory column and are tied with the Caps for the No.7 spot in the East....Aged winger Patrik Elias leads the way for New Jersey with a 13-21---34 line...The Devils have a bonafide Rookie-of-the-year candidate in 21-year-old pivot Adam Henrique. The second-year pro, chosen 82nd overall in the '08 draft, enters tonight's action with 10 goals and 28 points.....Guess work at this point in the day, but the probable starters in net are Tim Thomas for the Bruins and Martin Brodeur, No. 1 on the all-time win list (636 and counting) for the former Colorado Rockies....Tonight begins a hardest-working-team-in-show-business stretch for the Bruins during which they play 12 games in 21 days. Serious digging, a pace of better than a game every other night....Russian money merchant Ilya Kovalchuk stands 12-18--30 through 33 games. He is still delivering considerably south of the megacontract he signed here prior to last season....Sophomore Tyler Seguin still leads the scoring chart (15-17--32) for the Bruins, with linemates Brad Marchand (30 points) and Patrice Bergeron (28) close on his speedy heels...Sputtering Boston power forward Nathan Horton has only 2 goals and 4 points over his last 11 games, a drag on linemates David Krejci and Milan Lucic. He also has landed but seven shots on net in his last seven games. Lucic is 3-0--3 in his last four games, collecting 8 shots, while Krejci is 2-4--6 in his last five games, landing 10 shots. Clearly, they need Neutralized Nathan to be more engaged in the entire offensive process.

WILMINGTON --- Jordan Caron, who was called up Monday from Providence, was sent back down after skating with the Bruins in today's practice session at Ristuccia Arena.

Caron, as a result, did not join the team on its trip to Newark, N.J., for Wednesday night's game against the New Jersey Devils.

"Obviously, he came in and the decision was made last night,'' said Bruins coach Claude Julien. "We felt better for him, for the time being, that he play more. It's not fair for a young player like him to be watching games."

When he was called up, Caron had made appearances in 13 games, averaging just 9:51 minutes of ice time. with 1 goal and 2 assists and nine shots.

"He's been fortunate enough this year to be fairly healthy,'' Julien said. ``So he'll be a better player for us when he plays and right now that place is in Providence.''

Here are a few other items Julien addressed:

• On Rich Peverley's undisclosed injury that kept him out of the last two games: "It's something that we'll manage as we move along here. It's definitely nothing that will get any worse. Rest will help him get a little better. It's an injury we'll have to manage all year and we'll try to utilize him as much as we can. We don't see it being a major issue and that's where it stands.''

• On Wednesday night's game against the Devils, who rank fourth in the Atlantic Division and seventh overall in the Eastern Conference: "They're a pretty heavy team. Size-wise, they play a pretty heavy game. We've seen that quite a bit, but they're another team that makes it hard to get to their net. When we played them here this year, I thought they played a real good game and I thought they had us for quite a while until we finally started scoring some goals [in a 4-3 victory at TD Garden Nov. 15]. They've been good at home lately and they're certainly going to give us a good game after losing a tough one in overtime [Monday night]. I expect them to want to bounce back the same way we do."

• On bouncing back from a lackluster 4-2 loss at Dallas Saturday night: "I think this whole week is about that. We've got [the Devils], then we got Calgary the next day and, obviously, Vancouver at the end of the week, so it represents a real challenge for the the whole team. It's going to be a tough week for us, and it'll be important to respond to it.''

WILMINGTON --- Good morning from Ristuccia Arena, where the Bruins have taken the ice to begin practice for Wednesday night's road game vs. the New Jersey Devils.

Defenseman Joe Corvo was the first to take the fresh sheet of ice at around 10 a.m., and was soon joined by several teammates, who engaged in some pre-practice drills down low.

The Bruins will travel to New Jersey following today's practice. It will begin the first of a 12-game crucible over the next 18 days, which will include three back-to-back games. After facing the Devils on the road, the Bruins return to TD Garden to host the Calgary Flames Thursday night.

WILMINGTON – Good morning from Ristuccia Arena, where the Bruins have started practice. Jordan Caron, recalled from Providence today, is participating in the session.

“We worked on our forecheck a little bit,” Claude Julien said after the practice. “We need to get that back on track where we can get some more scoring chances. Scoring chances have gone down a little bit lately. So we’ve got to touch that up a little bit.”

Today’s lineup:

Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Rich Peverley/Zach Hamill
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton/Jordan Caron

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid
Steven Kampfer

Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

@GlobeFluto