I’m a baseball fan; a BIG baseball fan. And as I continue to watch the Red Sox battle through a multitude of injuries this season, I continue to find myself thinking, “Haven’t I seen this before?” Well, as a matter of fact, I have…while watching the Bruins last season.

Watching the Red Sox play a good chunk of games this season without guys like Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Victor Martinez and Josh Beckett is similar to watching the Bruins play without Marc Savard, Milan Lucic, Mark Stuart and Andrew Ference. It has instilled the same “wait until we get healthy” mentality that I seemed to have while watching the B’s drop the gloves with the injury bug last season.

The Red Sox have probably been more affected by the injuries. After all, they may miss the playoffs entirely because of them. But injuries also played a significant role in the eventual playoff downfall of the Bruins.

Savard didn’t look the same, Dennis Seidenberg’s blue line presence and Sturm’s speed and athleticism were missed, and the Bruins were essentially escorted out of the postseason by David Krejci’s dislocated wrist.

Injuries are simply a part of the game. It’s cliché but true.

There are few measures that teams can take to avoid such a lack of luck, but as NESN.com’s Douglas Flynn points out, spending a little extra money on fourth-liners could go a long way towards easing the pain when injuries or fatigue begin to take a toll – which is almost a certainty throughout an NHL season.

Flynn discusses the Bruins’ likely fourth line this season of Shawn Thornton, Gregory Campbell and Daniel Paille, and their just-under $3 million cap hit combined. None of these guys are going to light up the scoreboard or be highly regarded throughout the league as prominent players, but they comprise a formidable fourth unit that undoubtedly fits the “tough to play against” mold that Peter Chiarelli has constantly preached.

Paille even saw time on the first line last season, showing the confidence that Chiarelli and Claude Julien have in him. Throw in the penalty kill reputation of both Paille and Campbell, and Thornton’s ability to wear down opponents, and it’s clear why Chiarelli preferred to go a little bit beyond the NHL minimum to round out the Bruins roster.

Rather than boast a top-heavy team salary-wise, with veteran minimum salaries and entry level contracts filling the final spots, the Bruins are going against the NHL norm and taking on what Flynn called a “balanced approach.”

Hey, if you can put quality players on the ice every shift and minimize the team’s weaknesses, it certainly sounds like a solid recipe. However simple or logical such a strategy sounds, it is often overlooked. But by giving a few extra bucks to players outside of what could be regarded as the “nucleus,” the Bruins should be –as Chiarelli puts it – tough to play against this season, no matter how they end up resolving their current salary cap issues.

Ricky Doyle writes for CausewayCrowd.com and currently interns at NESN.com – Follow Causeway Crowd on Twitter

As some of you may already know, Milan Lucic will be hosting a softball game Wednesday night at LeLacheur in Lowell, which is home of the Lowell Spinners. The event is expected to be attended by many Boston area athletes and celebrities, including Lucic and Shawn Thornton. The two were able to take a few cuts on the Fenway Park field field this week, and here is a video that I thought I would pass along from NESN.com. Lucic not only discusses the event and the opportunity to take aim at the Green Monster, but also his road back from a wrist injury, the Bruins’ upcoming trip to Prague, and the additions of Nathan Horton and Tyler Seguin.

http://www.nesn.com/2010/08/milan-lucic-feeling-healthy-takes-aim-at-fenway-parks-green-monster.html

This one is worth checking out as well; if for no other reason than to see how the two stack up in size. Ortiz looks a bit larger than Lucic in these videos, mostly in height.

http://www.nesn.com/2010/08/david-ortiz-serves-as-milan-lucics-personal-hitting-coach.html

Here is the real tale of the tape, according to the team websites, which reveals that the two are nearly identical.

Milan Lucic- 6’4”, 220 lbs
David Ortiz- 6’4”, 230 lbs

Also, I just want to tip my hat to Shawn Thornton. For what it’s worth, the guy always seems to be in the middle of every Bruins charity event. I mean, I can’t say I blame the guy. Why would you not want to bowl in the Beckett Bowl or play in a softball game on a nice Summer night? But I’m sure the guy obviously has a busy schedule, so it is definitely a testament of the kind of character player that he is. I am shocked, though, that he’s never swung a bat before.

Let’s hope Lucic and Thornton will at least take it a little easy in tonight’s charity game. We don’t need any fluke injuries (see former Patriots running back Robert Edwards)

Ricky Doyle writes for CausewayCrowd.com and currently interns at NESN.com – Follow Causeway Crowd on Twitter

While I am extremely optimistic about the production that newly-acquired forward Nathan Horton can bring to the Bruins this season, the acquisition comes with a risk.

Horton can either become the 40-goal scorer that most Bruins fans are hoping for, or he could become another former-first-round pick that the Bruins unnecessarily coveted.

While Horton arrives in Boston with a far more impressive track record, having started in the NHL since he was an 18-year-old rookie and already with five 20-plus goal seasons under his belt, it’s tough to shake the thought of the Bruins’ 2008 signing of Blake Wheeler when talking about the Horton acquisition.

Wheeler was selected 5th overall by the Phoenix Coyotes in 2004, a year after Horton was selected at No. 3 by the Florida Panthers. He never made an impact for the Coyotes, though, electing to finish out his college career at the University of Minnesota. After graduating following the 2007-2008 season, Wheeler was a free agent and Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli immediately signed the former-highly-touted prospect.

After scoring in his NHL debut on October 9, 2008, earning MVP honors in the 2009 NHL Young Stars Game and scoring 21 goals in his first season in the NHL, Wheeler seemed destined to breakout in 2009-2010. The stars seemed aligned; he was already productive, the rookie jitters were out of the way and he had a solid team around him. The sky seemed like the limit for the 6-foot-5 winger.

But like most Bruins players in regards to individual stats, the 2009-2010 season threw Wheeler a curveball. Rather than breaking out like he was supposed to, the 23-year-old took a step back, only tallying 18 goals and 38 points, despite playing in all 82 regular season games.

Wheeler was criticized for his lack of physicality and many fans called for him to be scratched heading into the Flyers series. This offseason, many fans have even called for the Bruins to get rid of the still-young forward, seemingly giving up hope that he will ever reach his maximum potential.

On the flip side, Bruins fans are welcoming former-Panthers winger Nathan Horton with open arms.

Horton has certainly been far more productive on an NHL level than Wheeler has yet to be, and arrives to Boston with much more hype than when Chiarelli signed Wheeler as a free agent in ’08, but he has still underachieved compared to his draft status.

A No. 3 selection is expected to be a superstar, much like Tyler Seguin is expected to be after being drafted at No. 2. Yet, Horton’s highest single-season point total has been 62 points, which he recorded on two separate occasions.

Horton likely would have surpassed that mark this past season, but he missed 17 games due to a fractured tibia, after missing 15 games the season before.

So if Horton’s inability to live up to the hype and questions of character weren’t enough to raise a red flag for the B’s, injury concerns could have been.

Then there is history, which is also not on the Bruins’ side.

Over the past decade, the team has had a tendency to try to rejuvenate former-first round picks and help them reachtheir maximum potential, a technique that has failed on multiple occasions.

Aside from Wheeler, the Bruins also acquired another 2004 first round draft pick in Petteri Nokelainen. Nokelainen was acquired by the Bruins from the New York Islanders for Ben Walter and a second round draft pick prior to the 2007-2008 season. He had previously been the 16th overall selection in 2004.

Nokelainen went on bounce back-and-forth between Boston and Providence, while posting pedestrian numbers in a season and a half with the club. He was then shipped to Anaheim for rental defenseman Steve Montador at the 2009 trade deadline.

Stanislav Chistov and Chuck Kobasew were 2001 first round picks that the Bruins have experimented with, but have since moved on.

Chistov was one of Chiarelli’s first acquisitions, coming over in a 2006 trade that sent a third round pick and future considerations to Anaheim. In 2001, Chistov had been the 5th overall pick, selected ahead of both Mikko Koivu and Ales Hemsky.

In black and gold, though, Chistov’s career was short-lived. He tallied only 13 points in 60 games, which remains the last time he has appeared in the NHL.

Kobasew, the 14th overall selection in that draft, saw much better days during his time with the Bruins, but has also departed. After being acquired along with Andrew Ference in 2007 for Brad Stuart, Wayne Primeau and a fourth round draft pick, he notched two 20-goal seasons with the Bruins.

After 158 games with the team and multiple battles with injuries, he was shipped to Minnesota on October 18 of last year.

Even prior to the Chiarelli days, which began on May 26, 2006, the Bruins experimented with former-first round picks and came up with little to show for it.

The team acquired defenseman Jeff Jillson in a 2003 trade that sent seven-year Bruins veteran Kyle McLaren to San Jose. Jillson had been the 14th selection in the 1999 draft. He only played in 50 games with the Bruins, though, before being traded for another former-first round pick Brad Boyes.

Boyes, of course, is mostly known for flourishing with the St. Louis Blues upon being traded for Dennis Wideman in 2007. Before that, Boyes was a first round pick in 2000, and was acquired by the Bruins in 2004.

Boyes showed flashes of brilliance for the B’s, totaling 69 points and earning a spot on the NHL’s All-Rookie 1st team in 2006. But the Ontario native was shipped to St. Louis the following season, and went on to score 43 goals in 2007-2008.

So while these instances are all different and have no bearing whatsoever on the fate of Nathan Horton, they still resonate in the mind of a long-time Bruins fan.

Horton comes to Beantown with the most hype of any of the other former-first round picks acquired by the Bruins, which also means the potential for the most disappointment should he not live up to it.

We won’t know the impact of the big, gritty forward until the puck is finally dropped in October, which seems like an eternity, but we must hope that his success is more sustained than any of the aforementioned players.

Love Wideman or hate him—the consensus usually being the latter—he was a solid two-way defenseman prior to last season and could resurrect his career in Florida. If he does so, and Horton struggles, Bruins fans could be singing a different tune in regards to the trade.

Nevertheless, Horton’s unique combination of size and skill validates the Bruins’ decision to once again throw caution to the wind and hope for a breakout. For all of the reasons I mentioned—failure to live up to the hype, character issues, injury concerns, history, lack of defensive depth—this trade seems like a major gamble for the Bruins.

But when you haven’t won a Stanley Cup in 38 years, you’ve got to muster up the intestinal fortitude to grab the dice and roll ‘em, no matter what red flags there may be.

Ricky Doyle writes for CausewayCrowd.com and currently interns at NESN.com — Follow him on Twitter

The NHL combine may not exactly be the NFL combine in terms of publicity. After all, the NFL combine has become a televised media circus. Still, the event carries some importance and a lot of team’s will be monitoring the prospects in attendance this weekend.

Bruins fans, in particular, have to be most interested in what Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin are doing this weekend. Essentially, this weekend was an opportunity to have the top two prospects’ measurable physical tools matched up against each other.

Hall pulled out of the fitness testing portion of the combine, however, but for good reason. He decided to rest a knee and back injury rather than pushing it at the event.

Hall needs rest more than anything at this point. In fact, both the Oilers and Bruins would probably rather see him rest than push himself anymore. We already know that the kid is a gifted player, so why jeopardize his future in any way?

Hall has been playing hockey at a rampant pace as of late, carrying his team to its second straight Memorial Cup win.

There were reports this past week that the Oilers may elect to go with Tyler Seguin with the number one pick, but following Hall’s second straight MVP performance in the Memorial Cup tournament, it’s going to be tough to pass on the guy. If the Oilers do, the Bruins will gladly be waiting in the wings to pick up what the team needs, a bonafide winner.

Seguin, on the other hand, is participating in the combine this weekend. According to John Bishop’s blog on BostonBruins.com, Seguin admitted that the fitness tests were “very tiring.” He did say though that he has participated in such tests before.

“I actually did for fun last summer — I guess you could say for fun,” he said. “That was the last time I threw up and this was the most recent time. Very exhausting.”

Fun? Yeah, I guess throwing up sounds like a blast.

Nevertheless, I will continue to monitor the combine this weekend, especially in regards to Hall and Seguin. After all, one of those two will likely be dawning a Bruins sweater next season.

If you want to check out all of today’s results and continue to follow the NHL combine, I suggest you check out the Edmonton Oilers 2010 Draft Centre on the team website. It is a complete up-to-date look at the event in Toronto.

Ricky Doyle writes for CausewayCrowd.com — Follow him on Twitter

The Bruins recent drought in goals is nothing new this season for the boys in Black-and-Gold.

Up until the final minute of last night’s 2-1 loss, Boston had gone nearly seven playoff periods without hitting the back of the net. Akin to the regular season where the Bruins finished dead-last in the NHL with 2.39 goals-for per game, their anemic sniping-sticks have come out of hibernation once again.

Along with the recent riposte of struggles to light the lamp comes many excuses and finger pointing to why. Some people yelp in the direction of non-contributing players such as Michael Ryder and Blake Wheeler, while others pull the “injuries” excuse. Some even accost the Bruins’ management for not bringing in a goal-scorer on the NHL’s trade deadline.

The latter of excuses cannot be further from the truth.

FULL STORY ——>

Mark Marino is the Bruins columnist for Examiner.com and runs TheHubofHockey.net — Follow  Mark on Twitter

Players and coaches often come away from a game insisting that they have to build on the positives. Well, what if there aren’t any? That’s the predicament the Bruins face heading into Game 6 on Wednesday night in Philadelphia, two days after suffering a 4-0 defeat.

In a nutshell, Monday was disastrous for the Bruins.

It was like inviting some girls over to hang out with you and your less-attractive buddy. You figure you have it in the bag, and everything is going to go accordingly. Then, you start to realize your buddy is tearing it up and stealing the show with his witty jokes and timely comments. Before you know it, he’s heading back to his place with your girl, and you’re left sitting their stunned and wondering if you missed your opportunity.

In this case, your girl is a ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals and your buddy’s place is all the way in Philadelphia.

The Bruins have to be disappointed that they haven’t been more opportunistic the past two games. With Game 4 in

overtime on Friday night, only one goal separated the Bruins and a date with either the Pittsburgh Penguins or the Montreal Canadiens. Opportunity missed. On Monday night, they had a chance to finish off the Flyers at home, only hours after the unveiling of a Bobby Orr statue outside the Garden had the crowd buzzing. Opportunity missed again.

Now, the Bruins not only have to solve their own problems, but they have to do so in enemy territory. Keep in mind that this isn’t just any enemy territory either. Watching the Bruins come out of the tunnel tonight should be like watching Rocky head down the aisle in Rocky IV, except with more hatred and don’t expect any change of heart throughout the game. In fact, the Philly fans may even be offended by the comparison between the Bruins and one of their own (Rocky).

In the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated, a poll of 272 NHL players found that Philadelphia was the fourth toughest place to play, behind San Jose, Montreal, and Chicago. Perhaps more revealing of their true identity though is a 2007 poll that revealed Philadelphia as the team with the most intimidating fans. 24% of the NHL players polled believed this to be true.

So what must the Bruins due to defy the odds and finish off the series tonight in Philadelphia?

First off all, the Bruins have to get on them early. This is something that could easily be said for any game in any sport, but tonight it is especially important for the Bruins to come out firing. They have not had any momentum or anything positive happen for them since scoring the game-tying goal in Game 4. If they don’t generate some offense and momentum early in the game, it may never happen. However, if they can silence the crowd early and rattle Michael Leighton, who is making his first career playoff start, then the Bruins could be on their way to their second road win of the series.

The Bruins also have to remain disciplined. The Bruins played down a man 10 times in Game 5 and spent over 14 minutes killing off penalties. Despite enjoying their normal penalty kill success (9 for 10), losing the special teams battle will eventually haunt you in a game of this magnitude.

The Bruins must also keep an eye on Flyers forward Simon Gagne, who has three goals in two games since returning from an injury, and Mike Richards, who has really had success setting him up. Perhaps more importantly, they have to find a way to decipher Philadelphia’s defense. The Flyers played nearly a perfect defensive game on Monday night, with their defenseman limiting the Bruins opportunities, especially in front of the net where the black and gold have enjoyed so much success up until now. Matt Carle, in particular, has made his presence felt. He has 5 assists and is plus-7 in those two games.

Wednesday night is truly a test for the Bruins, and will go a long way in determining whether they are a Stanley Cup contender or pretender. Heading into Game 5, hardly anyone seemed worried outside the TD Garden. Now, skepticism and angst fill the air.

Bruins forward Shawn Thornton put forth perhaps the best indication that today is a new day, though, when asked about last game during today’s morning skate.

“What last game?” he said, according to John Bishop of the Bruins team website.

So while we could be witnessing a resurrection of the Broad Street Bullies and the potential for an amazing series comeback, the Big Bad Bruins still have one thing in mind: Knocking the bully out.

Ricky Doyle writes for CausewayCrowd.com- Follow him on Twitter

Even the unveiling of the Bobby Orr “flying” statue wasn’t enough motivation for the Boston Bruins in Game 5 last night.

Akin to their 10-game losing-streak just a few short months ago, the Bruins looked like a team that had no business being in the playoffs — dropping Game 5 at home to the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-0.  The Black-and-Gold were on their heels for the majority of the contest — rattled and frustrated, taking nine penalties throughout the contest.

“When we kill penalties like that we should build off of it and try to create some momentum and that’s what we didn’t do [tonight].” said Milan Lucic. “When you get outworked you tend to take a lot of penalties, and that’s basically what it is.”

“When you’re being outworked, you get frustrated and you take penalties like you saw us do tonight.” added head coach Claude Julien during the postgame press conference.

However the Bruins did have some golden opportunities. In the early stages of the first period, Flyers’ net-minder Brian Boucher went down with an apparent left-leg injury (it has been rumored to be an MCL injury) and did not return. Back-up Michael Leighton stepped-in and stopped all 14 shots he faced.

“We definitely would have liked to have tested him a lot more. I think it was pretty clear that we wanted to get some shots on him. That didn’t happen.” said Julien. “That’s part of the game that we’re talking about. If you’re not winning the battles for the puck, you’re not playing with it. And we didn’t create that many shots.”

Leighton had missed the previous 21 starts with a high-ankle sprain in which he suffered during a Mar. 16 game against the Nashville Predators. And just 16 second into his his debut after being sidelined for two months, Flyers’ forward Danny Briere took a minor cross-checking penalty to put the Bruins on the power play.

But indicative to their entire evening, the Bruins wasted a prime opportunity to get themselves on the scoreboard.

“We didn’t do a great job of generating too many shots. We didn’t get shots through, we didn’t set up shots too well.” added the power forward Lucic. “We’ve got to do a better job of executing when we get our opportunities like that. I mean it’s 2-0 and you get a chance to get yourself back in the game. So it’s another missed opportunity on the power play and we need to start making those count.”

For the past two games in which Boston has lost, the Flyers just flat-out wanted it more.

“They were a better team than us. I don’t know why and I don’t know why we didn’t have that desperation.” said future Hall-of-Fame forward Mark Recchi. “Now we have to learn from this and we have to understand that if we don’t play desperate than we’re going to come back Game 7. We have to be a lot more desperate and a lot more hungry to close out this series”

The Flyers have climbed back in this series, now down just three game to two in this best-of-seven semifinals series. But the Bruins are still up, have home ice advantage, and can take another stab at closing out this series on Wednesday night.

“The ball’s still in our court,” said Marc Savard. “so we still have an opportunity to close this out here. We need to keep our heads up, as tough as it is, but we’ve done it in the past.”

Mark Marino is the Bruins columnist for Examiner.com and runs TheHubofHockey.net — Follow  Mark on Twitter

Paille–Bergeron–Recchi
Lucic–Savard–Satan
Wheeler–Sobotka–Ryder
Whitfield–Begin–Thornton

Chara–Boychuk
Hunwick–Wideman
Ference–Stuart

Rask
Thomas

Just four days after receiving bad news about Marco Sturm’s season-ending surgery. the Bruins got hit with another unfortunate loss. Center David Krejci is out for the remainder of the 2009-10 playoffs after a dislocated wrist sustained last night in the early part of the first period.

The 24-year-old got decked during his third shift from a Mike Richards open-ice-hit, after playing just 2:25 of Game 3.

Here’s the official press release from earlier today:

BOSTON, MA – Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today that forward David Krejci will miss the remainder of the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs due to a dislocated right wrist. The injury occurred during the first period of the Bruins/Flyers game on Wednesday, May 5.

Krejci had surgery to repair the wrist at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, MD following the game. The surgery was performed by Dr. Thomas Graham, Surgeon-in-Chief. Krejci is expected to return for the 2010-11 NHL preseason.

No. 46 posted scoring totals of 4-4-8 with 2 PPG, plus-3 rating, and 17 shots on goal in all nine post season games. His time on ice average is now virtually irreplaceable: 19:06 total per game, 2:46 on the power play, and a pivotal 1:31 on the penalty kill. Krejci has a career playoff line of 7-14-21, plus-10, and 58 shots on goal in 27 games played.

The unfortunate loss of Krejci — who was arguably their best forward thus far in both playoff rounds — most likely shifts Vladimir Sobotka off of Marc Savard’s wing, back to third-line centering duties. Expect Brad Marchand to be one of the ‘Black Aces” to be called upon from here-on-out.

Mark Marino is the Bruins columnist for Examiner.com and runs TheHubofHockey.net — Follow  Mark on Twitter

Daniel Carcillo has made his NHL career beeing a tough guy, an antagonist, and a player who easily gets under the skin of his opponents. In fact, over the last three seasons, Carcillo has been amongst the league leaders in penalty minutes – 4th in the NHL this past regular season with 207 PIM; 1st in 2008-09 season with 254 PIM between Phoenix and Philly; and 1st in the 2007-08 season with 324 PIM with the ‘Yotes.

So having played in his fourth NHL season, the 25-year-old has been through virtually any and all physical altercations that the league’s best have thrown at him.

Except for an opponent biting him.

“Last time I have been bit was in grade school.” Carcillo said to the media post game tonight. “It is not a good feeling it is pretty cowardly.”

During the second period of Game 2 at the TD Garden, Bruins’ center Marc Savard took an inadvertent slash to Flyers’ net-minder Brian Boucher’s glove after the whistle, trying to dig the puck out for a rebound. Carcillo gave Savard a good lickin’ with a slash of his own, followed by Flyers’ defenseman Kimmo Timonen and a near pig-pile of Black, Gold and Orange sweaters. Amongst the rummage was when Savard apparently bit one of Carcillo’s digits.

Although there was no blood drawn, Carcillo  was a bit surprised by the apparent bite.

“Whatever.  He bit me.” Carcillo said. “Guys don’t bite.  Men don’t bite.”

Or maybe it was Carcillo who was the aggressor?  Savard’s side of the story says so.

“He pummeled on my face. He pulled on my teeth, so I guess that’s biting when a guy tries and pull your front teeth out like his.

Yeah, his glove tried to yank them out [front teeth]. I don’t know if you want to look like him but he pulled on them, that’s for sure.” said Savard. “I just tried to get out of there.”

“Oh yeah that’s what I try to do when I get into a scrum is try to pull people’s teeth out.” Carcillo said. “We were playing a physical game.  Emotions run high and stuff happens during the game.”

But either way, Savard was the one called for the original slashing penalty on Boucher and was sent to the sin bin for two minutes.  And what did the ref have to say after the alleged Mike Tyson-like impersonation?

Carcillo said, “Nothing.  He didn’t see it. ”

Of course he didn’t, Danny. Maybe because it never happened.

Mark Marino is the Bruins columnist for Examiner.com and runs TheHubofHockey.net — Follow  Mark on Twitter