The Bruins will face the Canadiens for the first time this season on Thursday when the Habs visit the Garden to open a home-and-home series. It's sure to be an emotional game with the long history of animosity between the Original Six rivals, and that might be just what the Bruins need to snap out of their early-season funk.

"A couple games back-to-back with the emotions that usually come out of games with Montreal could be good for us," Bruins forward Brad Marchand said after practice Wednesday. "We have to use it to our advantage."

Of course, it will be hard to top last year's wild showdowns between the clubs. Those meetings included a donnybrook at the Garden that produced 182 penalty minutes and a goalie fight between Tim Thomas and Carey Price. Then there was Zdeno Chara's infamous hit on Max Pacioretty, which left the Habs forward out for the rest of the season with a broken vertebra and concussion after being driven into a Bell Centre stanchion and the Bruins captain facing a criminal investigation in Quebec. Oh, and then there was that epic first-round playoff clash that wasn't settled until Nathan Horton struck in overtime of Game 7.

"It's crazy," Marchand said of the rivalry. "Just from last season we had a few ridiculous battles, right to Game 7 in overtime. You can see why it's gone back so long in history and how the fans enjoy it and how means it means every time we play them. Every time you see we're playing Montreal you mark it down on the calendar and you're always looking forward to it."

Given that history and the fact that both teams are off to disappointing starts, these two games should be especially intense for such early-season encounters. While Boston has battled its Stanley Cup hangover in a 3-5-0 start, the Habs have struggled even more. They finally snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-1 win over Philadelphia on Wednesday night, but Montreal is still just 2-5-2 on the year.

"It's going to be a big game, these games are always big," Chara said. "Not even talking about the rivalry, just as far as the standings and where both teams are I'm sure it's going to be two big games for both teams."

The Bruins may be able to channel the emotion that's always present in these matchups with Montreal to get back on track, but Boston coach Claude Julien stressed that the bigger issue facing the club is cleaning up its own game. The Bruins need to worry about themselves more than the opposition, regardless of the past history with that foe.

"Certainly Montreal is a great rivalry, but for me it doesn't matter who comes in," Julien said. "We just have to understand that we have to get ourselves winning on a more consistent basis. It's as simple as that. It's more about looking at ourselves than looking at the opponent."

And even with Montreal's historically horrific start, which included losing its first five home games for the first time in the franchise's 102-year history, Julien believes the Bruins should be just as desperate as the Canadiens.

"Anybody who is in a situation like they are or we are should be hungry," Julien said. "I don't know why they should be any hungier than we are, because we're not doing that great ourselves."

The Bruins are trying to keep the inevitable mentions of last year's devastating loss to a minimum and focus on starting a new chapter this spring as they open their rematch with Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference semifinals on Saturday. But they will also try to get some motivation out of the painful memory of last year's squandering of a 3-0 lead on Philadelphia as they head into the rematch. The Flyers, meanwhile, will use the memory of how they overcame that deficit to their benefit in hopes of continuing Boston's playoff struggles.

The Bruins haven't made it past the second round since 1992. So how do the Bruins stack up against the Flyers in their quest to end that drought this year? Here's the Tale of the Tape.

Offense
The Bruins won't have an easy time stopping the Flyers, who boast a deep and talented corps of forwards with threats throughout the lineup. Philadelphia had seven players with 20-plus goals in the regular season, led by Jeff Carter's 36 and Danny Briere's 34. Carter suffered a lower-body injury against Buffalo and missed the final three games, but could return at some point in this series. Briere lived up to his reputation as a clutch playoff performer with an NHL-leading six goals in the first round, while Claude Giroux added a team-high nine points. With the likes of Mike Richards, James van Riemsdyk (4 goals vs. Buffalo), Kris Versteeg, Ville Leino, Scott Hartnell and Nikolay Zherdev, the Flyers will present a challenge to the Bruins' defense no matter which line is on the ice.

The Bruins also have a balanced attack and got solid production out of their second and third lines against Montreal, with Patrice Bergeron leading the team with seven points and Chris Kelly providing a surprise spark with 3-3-6 totals. Eight different forwards had a goal against Montreal, and that didn't include Milan Lucic, who led the team with 30 goals in the regular season. The Bruins need him and David Krejci, who had just one point vs. Montreal after leading the club with 62 in the regular season, to step up their production in this round to be able to compete with the Flyers' firepower. Nathan Horton did come through in his first playoff series, scoring three goals, including a pair of overtime winners, the second the series clincher in Game 7.

Advantage: Flyers

Defense
The Bruins have a stable top six led by Norris Trophy finalist Zdeno Chara, who appears to have recovered from the dehydration issues that sidelined him for Game 2 of the Montreal series. Upon his return, Claude Julien reshuffled the defense pairings and seemingly hit upon a solid combination with Dennis Seidenberg moving up alongside Chara. Seidenberg logged huge minutes, playing solid defense and even chipping in offensively. Andrew Ference and Johnny Boychuk also provided strong two-way play and Adam McQuaid even showed an ability to jump up into the play when needed, as he showed on the play that led to Horton's Game 7 OT winner. The weak link has been Tomas Kaberle, who hasn't provided the help on the power play the Bruins hoped for when they acquired him and has been an adventure at times in his own zone.

The Flyers have a deep and solid defense of their own, led by Chris Pronger. Pronger missed the final 16 games of the regular season and the first five of the Buffalo series, but his return in Game 6 helped Philadelphia rally to win the final two games. If he is anywhere close to full strength, that defense will pose a huge challenge to the Bruins. Beyond Pronger, the Flyers have a strong blue line with Andrej Meszaros, Braydon Coburn, Kimmo Timonen, Matt Carle and Sean O'Donnell.

Advantage: Chara is healthier than Pronger, giving the Bruins the slimmest of edges in this category.

Goaltending
Tim Thoma­­­s was named a Vezina finalist after posting 35-11-9 record with a league-leading 2.00 GAA, an NHL-record .938 save percentage and nine shutouts in the regular season. After some shaky moments early in the Montreal series, he quickly showed he could be just as effective in the postseason. Thomas had a 2.25 GAA and a .926 save percentage in the series, saving his best for a pair of overtime thrillers as he stopped 44 of 45 shots he faced in a 2-1 double-OT win in Game 5 and had another 34 saves in the Bruins 4-3 overtime win in Game 7.

Philadelphia needed three different goalies to get through their opening round series with Buffalo, the first team to win a series with three starting netminders since 1988. Brian Boucher (4-1, 2.10 GAA, .934 save percentage) came on strong after Sergei Bobrovsky and Michael Leighton faltered, but can Boucher keep that level of play up for another series?

Advantage: Bruins 

Special teams
After leading the league in 5-on-5 scoring with 177 goals in the regular season, the Bruins continued to dominate play at even strength against the Canadiens. But their already not-so-special special teams struggled even more. Boston failed to convert a single power play despite getting 21 opportunities. They are now just 7-of-87 (8.0 percent) in 31 games with Kaberle in the lineup. The penalty kill fared better, at least while they were just one man shot. Montreal had six goals on 27 chances, but two of them came on 5-on-3 advantages in Game 6.

The Flyers weren't a whole lot better with the man-advantage until Pronger returned. They were just 2-of-26 on the power play in the first five games against Buffalo, but went 3-of-9 in Games 6 and 7 after Pronger came back. Buffalo did strike for seven goals on 31 chances in the series, but Boston held Philadelphia without a power-play goal on seven chances in four regular-season meetings this year. The Bruins were also 4-of-12 on the power play themselves against the Flyers, so there is some hope for the club's beleaguered special teams units.

Advantage: Flyers

Coaching
Claude Julien once again proved a tough out in the opening round, winning a first-round series for the third straight year. But he has never led a team past the second round, losing at that point in the last two years with Boston and in 2004 with Montreal — after beating the Bruins in the opening round.

Philadelphia counterpart Peter Laviolette had a similar struggle early in his NHL coaching career, losing in the first round in each of his first two appearances with the Islanders. He's done a bit better since, guiding Carolina to the Cup in 2006 and Philadelphia to the finals last year. He also won the Calder Cup in the AHL, coaching the Bruins' affiliate in Providence to a championship in 1999.

Advantage: Flyers

Intangibles
There are a number of additional factors that could sway this series. The biggest is how the clubs handle the lingering effects of last year's matchup. Will the Bruins use that collapse as motivation to exorcise those demons and finally get over the hump in the playoffs? Or will it get into their heads if they find themselves ahead in the series again? One thing's for certain, the Flyers certainly won't be daunted if they fall behind after having proved they can rally from the most desperate of situations. The Bruins showed similar character in the opening round, bouncing back after losing the first two games at home against Montreal.

The Bruins also come into this series healthy, while Philadelphia has Pronger banged up and Carter out at least to start the series. Both teams are coming off long seven-game series, so there won't be an edge either way with a team being more rested. The Flyers do have home ice, but the Bruins have excelled on the road, winning two games in Montreal in the first round, while the Flyers lost two of their four games in Philadelphia against the Sabres.

Advantage: Even

Overall
This is about as even a matchup as possible. The one thing that seems certain is that it's not likely to be over quick. Both teams survived seven-game marathons in the opening round, and they look destined to go the distance again. It won't be a shock to see either of these teams advance to the conference finals, but the Bruins got over one hurdle by winning a Game 7 against Montreal, now it's time to make an even bigger leap by getting out of the second round. If Pronger is close to his normal self and Carter returns in the series, Philly could easily upset those plans. But this one won't be a collapse by the Bruins. The Flyers will have to earn it, and the call here is that the Bruins won't let that happen again.

 Prediction: Bruins in 7.

Boston and Tampa Bay come into this matchup with identical 37-19-7 records, and the winner will take over sole possession of second place in the Eastern Conference.

"It's obviously an important game with where the standings are," Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid said after Boston's morning skate on Thursday. "The main thing for us is to focus on coming out with the same effort we've had lately. If we continue the way things are going, we give ourselves the best chance to win. We're not worried too, too much about putting pressure on ourselves that we can move ahead, but we know that's the case and hopefully we can come out with a good enough effort that will be the case at the end of the night."

The Bruins make their first appearance on TD Garden ice in more than two weeks in this one, but they come in as arguably the hottest team in the league after a perfect 6-0-0 road trip. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, had just an optional skate in the morning after dropping a 2-1 decision in New Jersey Wednesday night.

Neither that loss nor the 8-1 thumping the Bruins put on the Lightning the last time they visited back on Dec. 2 has the Bruins taking Tampa Bay lightly in this matchup.

"They're still a really explosive offensive team," Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg said, and they've added some missing pieces that make them defensively stronger. But for us, it's the same game plan, getting pucks deep and putting pressure on the forecheck. In the defensive zone, it's just staying tight and not giving their skill guys a lot of time or room to make plays."

The latter is especially important against an offense led by Steven Stamkos (41-37-78) and Martin St. Louis (24-51-75), who are second and third in the league in scoring, respectively.

"They obviously have a lot of skill, a few guys that are up there at the top of league points-wise," McQuaid said. "They're very dangerous when you give them opportunities, so the biggest thing is to limit their opportunities. They're going create things out there, they're that good a players, but you just try to limit it as much as possible to have a better chance to keep them off the scoresheet."

Tim Thomas was the first goalie off the ice for the Bruins at the skate, so he is expected to draw the challenge of stopping that Tampa offense after Tuukka Rask played the final two games of the road trip in Edmonton and Ottawa.

Tampa will counter with Mike Smith, last seen here giving up five goals on 22 shots before being pulled in that 8-1 loss. That included one from outside the blue line by Seidenberg, who faked a dump-in to the corner, then fired into the open net as Smith left the crease anticipating the puck coming in around the boards.

The Lightning will be without one of their key offensive weapons, as Vincent Lecavalier is out with a mid-body injury. Tampa is already missing forward Ryan Malone (abdominal) and defensemen Mike Lundin (abdominal) and Marc-Andre Bergeron (back). The Lightning are likely to play seven defensemen and just 11 forwards without Lecavalier. 

The Bruins don't have to make any lineup changes, with Daniel Paille likely to be the healthy scratch again up front, though it's possible Tyler Seguin could be the odd man out as he was one of the last players off the ice at the skate. Andrew Ference (lower body) will remain out on defense.

"He got examined [Wednesday] by our doctors and things are going extremely well for him," Bruins coach Claude Julien said of Ference. "We hope to see him back on the ice the beginning of next week. That could be as early as Sunday if things keep going well."

Recently signed defenseman Shane Hnidy also remains out, as he has not been cleared for full contact while recovering from shoulder surgery.

Projected Bruins lines

Forwards
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Mark Recchi
Rich Peverley-Chris Kelly-Michael Ryder
Shawn Thornton-Tyler Seguin-Greg Campbell

Defense
Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Tomas Kaberle-Dennis Seidenberg
Steven Kampfer-Adam McQuaid

Goalies
Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

Scratches: Daniel Paille, Andrew Ference (lower body), Shane Hnidy (shoulder)

Projected Lightning lines

Forwards
Marty St. Louis-Steven Stamkos-Steve Downie
Simon Gagne-Dominic Moore-Teddy Purcell.
Sean Bergenheim-Mattias Ritola-Adam Hall
Nate Thompson-Dana Tyrell

Defense
Victor Hedman-Brett Clark
Mattias Ohlund-Eric Brewer
Randy Jones-Pavel Kubina
Matt Smaby

Goalies
Mike Smith
Dwayne Roloson

Scratches: Vinny Lecavalier (mid-body), Marc-Andre Bergeron (back), Mike Lundin (abdominal)

The Bruins have brought the big and bad back to Boston, thrilling Garden crowds with a pair of fight-filled victories over Dallas and Montreal in the past week. The Bruins had 10 fighting majors in those two games alone, and now sit atop the NHL with 55 fighting majors through 54 games.

"I guess after last night we must," Shawn Thornton said when asked about the Bruins' league-leading fight totals after practice Thursday at Ristuccia Arena. "Everybody knows how we're built anyway. We have a pretty big, tough team."

But on Friday they welcome Detroit to town, and the Red Wings aren't likely to help Boston pad their fight stats. Detroit is last in the league with just eight fights, having dropped the gloves less all season than the Bruins have in the past week.

Detroit hasn't had a fight in its last 22 games, its last scrap coming back on Dec. 19. Thornton (13 fights), Adam McQuaid (10 fights) and Greg Campbell (eight fights) each have at least as many fights on their own as the entire Detroit roster. With 16 different players having fought so far this season, the Bruins have twice as many players with fighting majors as Detroit has total fights as a team.

So will the Bruins be able to maintain the emotional involvement and physical style that has been the key to their success against a team that isn't likely to engage them in such activities?

"You don't have to fight every period, every game," Campbell said. "But to create that emotion you can play hard and play physical. Obviously Detroit's a skilled team. There's a lot of guys on that team that are proven winners. It's not necessarily about fighting. It's more about just bringing that physical element to the game. That's what our team is built on, to be a physical team. We have big forwards. We have strong D. And when we play like that, we're playing to our strength."

The Bruins have to be true to their identity whether the opponent matches that intensity or not, but they also have to be careful not to go overboard. Detroit has the kind of speed and skill to make a team pay for getting caught out of position looking for a big hit. And if the Bruins get too carried away, the Red Wings have the league's sixth-ranked power play (20.6 percent), which is even better on the road (22.7 percent, second best in NHL).

"I think that really good teams can't be one-dimensional," Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference said. "You have to win in different ways. Sometimes they're ugly wins, sometimes they're beautiful plays, sometimes there's crazy physical play. You can't totally base it off your opponent. You still have to bring what your attributes are to the game and one of our attributes is being physical.

"So even if it is a team that's not necessarily known for fighting and stuff like that, you can't just abandon certain aspects of your game like that," Ference added. "But in saying that, you can't just rely on that physical side, running around while they pass around you and go down and score."

The Bruins will still do their best to wear down the Red Wings with some physical play, albeit in this one that will mean finishing checks rather than shedding mitts. The Bruins don't really expect Detroit punch back the way the Stars and Canadiens did, but that doesn't mean they're taking the Red Wings lightly.

"There's been a lot of teams that have tried to push Detroit around and it doesn't really work," Campbell said. "People always say they don't have a tough team, but the fact of the matter is they win."
Detroit has won four Cups since 1997 and is perennially at or near the top of the regular-season standings. Though it also has to be noted that the Red Wings did feature some toughness each year they won a championship, with heavyweights Joe Kocur and Darren McCarty in 1997 and 1998, McCarty in 2002 and Aaron Downey and McCarty in 2007, plus support from the likes of Brendan Shanahan and Martin Lapointe.

The Red Wings have fallen short in the playoffs every year without that element of toughness, even if they did not call upon it often as they've been last in the league in fights in every season since the lockout. Detroit is going the pacifist route again this season, but their success can't be denied as the Red Wings bring a 32-16-6 record into Friday's clash.

Relying on skill and finesse may work for Detroit, but the Bruins plan to stick with the physical that has fueled their success.

"I think as team, you have to play to your strength, whether you're playing a team like Detroit or a team like Dallas that kind of matches us in that physical play," Campbell said. "For us, if we want to be successful, that's how we have to play. We have to understand that. If you look at our games, that's when we're at our best, when we play physical. It's not about fighting. It's just about playing hard, playing physical and winning battles. That's how I think we're going to win and go deep in the playoffs."

They've played 708 times in the regular season, and faced each other in another 163 playoff games. Bruins rookie Zach Hamill will be getting his first taste of the rivalry when Montreal comes to the Garden on Wednesday, but he already knows these are no ordinary games.

"It'll be nice playing in that," Hamill said after Tuesday's practice at Ristuccia Arena. "I'm trying not to think too much about it, but it will be a lot of fun and really exciting."

Playing the Habs hasn't been much fun this season for the Bruins. Montreal has won all three of the meetings so far, with each providing a different brand of frustration.

The Canadiens snapped a 1-1 tie with two third-period goals for a 3-1 win in their first visit to the garden back on Nov. 11, then jumped out to a quick lead and held off a Bruins rally for a 4-3 win in Montreal on Dec. 16. But the real agony came on Jan. 8, when the Habs struck twice in the final 2:22 to tie it, then won 3-2 on Max Pacioretty's goal at 3:43 of overtime.

"They've certainly given us some tough games," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "I thought the last one was a tough loss with a two-nothing lead and just a few minutes left, but I thought we played well enough that we should have won that game."

Long-suffering Bruins fans have plenty of memories of devastating defeats at the hands of the Habs. Montreal has won 24 of the 32 playoff series between the clubs, none more painful than the infamous too-man-men-on-the-ice incident in Game 7 of the 1979 Stanley Cup semifinals.

But the Bruins have exorcised some ghosts in more recent history, including a four-game sweep in their last playoff matchup in 2009. Now they'd like to add a little more misery to Montreal in a potential playoff preview. The Bruins are currently third in the East, and would match up with the sixth-place Canadiens if the current standings held through the end of the season. But Montreal is just two points behind Boston for the Northeast Division lead, and those conference standings can change in a hurry, especially with a home-and-home series against another Original Six rival looming later in the week when the Bruins take on Detroit twice.

"It's definitely a tough week," Bruins forward Milan Lucic said. "We have to be excited going into these three games. It's definitely a big challenge for us. Obviously Montreal has always been a tough team for us to beat so we know what that is going to be like. And Detroit's Detroit. They're the same way every game. You know they're going to play hard and bring their work ethic. For us, we have to focus on the task at hand and be excited for these games."

It will take more than just excitement to beat the Canadiens.

"Hopefully [Wednesday] is one of those games that we come out and play a real strong game because they're a team that really plays well defensively," Julien said. "Their goaltender [Carey Price] has been good and in their D-zone they really smother you. They sit back and make it hard for you to get some great scoring opportunities.

"But they're also a team that the minute you give them a little bit of space to score, they have enough skill to do that," Julien added. "We have to be prepared for that, be patient and not make mistakes by starting to throw pucks away because they'll make you pay for it."

Montreal has proven that three times already this year, but the Bruins are confident they can avoid that fate a fourth time on Wednesday.

"We have to play a strong game," Julien said. "We feel that our game that we play when it's at its best should be good enough to beat them."

With Marco Sturm dealt to Los Angeles in December, none of the three players acquired for Thornton remain in Boston, with Brad Stuart and Wayne Primeau sent to Calgary for Andrew Ference and Chuck Kobasew nearly four years ago on Feb. 10, 2007. Kobasew, in turn, was dealt to Minnesota last season, adding yet another degree of separation from that infamous Thornton trade.

And yet the shadow of that trade will loom over the Garden once again on Saturday when Thornton returns to Boston for just the third time as a Shark.

Thornton was on the winning side in each of his first two trips back to Boston, though he didn't have much to do with the first victory. Returning just 41 days after the deal, Thornton was tossed 5:13 into the first period on Jan. 10, 2006 when he was called for checking Hal Gill from behind and given a major penalty and a game misconduct. The Sharks didn't need him that night, rolling to a 6-2 win.

San Jose took a little longer to get going in its only other visit to the Garden with Thornton, but scored four unanswered goals in the third period for a 5-2 win on Feb. 10, 2009. Thornton had the third of those goals to make it 4-2 at 9:48 of the third.

Thornton has had some individual success when hosting his old club out West, but the Sharks haven't fared as well overall. He assisted on San Jose's only goal when Boston won 2-1 on Oct. 13, 2007 and scored the only goal in regulation for the Sharks before the Bruins prevailed 2-1 in a shootout on Jan. 14, 2010. Overall, Thornton has 2-1-3 totals and is a plus-2 in four games against the Bruins.

Now he returns again, and he's sure to get a hostile reception from a Garden crowd that still booed Dennis Wideman in his second game back with Florida last month.

Wideman will never have anywhere near the impact on the Panthers that Thornton has had with the Sharks, becoming the first player to win the Hart and Art Ross trophies as the league's MVP and leading scorer after being traded during that season when he took home that hardware in 2006.

Thornton has put up 130-393-523 totals in 433 games with the Sharks, nearly double what the three players acquired for him combined for in their stints in Boston, where Sturm, Stuart and Primeau had 136-134-270 totals in 506 games between them.

But Thornton has slowed of late, with just 86 and 89 points the past two years and 14-32-46 totals through 50 games this season. And like the Bruins, Thornton still hasn't won a championship despite the talent assembled around him in San Jose, though he did reach the conference finals last year and has five postseason series wins to the Bruins' two since his departure.

Both teams would need to win three playoff series this year alone to meet again this season, as the only chance for another encounter would be in the Stanley Cup finals, and if the Bruins can manage that, Boston fans will have plenty of reasons to get excited without worrying about getting worked up over seeing Thornton again.

While the Bruins have played better at home in recent weeks, they remain a superior road team. In fact, they travel about as well as anyone in the NHL. Boston is second in the league with 32 road points so far this season, going 14-5-4 away from the Garden.

By comparison, they are just 12-9-3 at home, earning five less points in one less game than on the road. After a disappointing 4-2 loss to Buffalo at the Garden on Thursday, the Bruins hope a quick trip across the country will help them bounce back, as they head to Colorado on Saturday and Los Angeles on Monday.

“The road’s been good to us this year,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said. “We’ve played some great games and somehow the guys seem to really be prepared and they bond well on the road. This is another opportunity to get some points.”

It won’t be easy to get those points. The Avalanche and Kings are both battling for playoff spots, with Colorado currently sitting in the eighth and final spot in the West and Los Angeles just five points out.

“We know they’re going to be tough games because we’re going into some buildings where teams are battling for playoff spots in that conference,” Julien said. “They’re never easy games, and the travel and the time change represents a challenge in itself. So we have to make sure we’re prepared and ready to do the job here.”

The Bruins were prepared against Buffalo, and that poor effort cost them two points. But that lack of focus hasn’t been a problem on the road, where the Bruins are 5-0-3 in their last eight games. They’ve taken at least one point out of every road game they’ve played since falling 4-3 in Montreal back on Dec. 16.

“[Thursday] we didn’t have the results we wanted, but we have to get ready for a tough trip,” Bruins forward Mark Recchi said. “Colorado is going to be tough. L.A. is good. They struggled a little bit, but they’re still playing well defensively and they’re still a good team. And Colorado is a real good team.”

Colorado also presents the additional problem of having to adjust to playing at altitude in Denver. The Bruins plan to deal with that issue by limiting their exposure to it as much as possible.

“What most people seem to think is that the less time that you’re there before the game the easier it is to get accustomed to the thin air,” Julien said. “I think we’re taking that approach going there and playing [Saturday] and then moving on.”

The Bruins also want to move on from Thursday’s setback. And even with the thin air, Colorado might be just the place to do that. While the Bruins haven’t beaten Colorado at home since 1998 and are 0-4-1-1 in the last six games at against the Avs at the Garden, they have enjoyed some recent success in Denver, winning three of their last four games out there.

“We’ll just have to regroup,” Recchi said after Thursday’s game. “We’ve got a tough trip ahead of us and we’re a pretty good road team, so we have to again learn that consistency is going to be a big part of us being a great team instead of just a real good team. We’re getting there and we gotta keep pushing along here.”

No, not a reminder of last spring’s playoff collapse. No one in Boston needs to see the Flyers in the flesh again to feel the pain of that still-open wound.

Instead, it’s a look behind the bench that could lead to a case of the ‘what ifs.’

Just 13 months ago, the Flyers hired Peter Laviolette as their head coach after firing John Stevens. Laviolette took over a Philadelphia club ranked 29th in the league in points and led it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, engineering that historic comeback against the Bruins along the way.

It wasn’t Laviolette’s first trip to the Finals, as he led Carolina to that franchise’s only championship in 2006 in the second of his three coaching stints in the NHL.

Three is also the number of times the Bruins had a chance to hire Laviolette, a Franklin, Mass., native who played four seasons for the Bruins’ AHL affiliate in Providence and also coached the P-Bruins to a Calder Cup in 1999.

He was brought up to the big club as an assistant in 2000, but after Pat Burns was fired eight games into the season, the Bruins opted to bring in Mike Keenan. Laviolette stayed on as part of Keenan’s staff but was passed over the following summer when Keenan was not retained. Robbie Ftorek was hired instead, while Laviolette ended up on Long Island, leading the Islanders to the playoffs in each of his two seasons there after a seven-year postseason drought.

The Bruins had one last shot at Laviolette in 2003, after Laviolette was fired by then-Islanders general manager Mike Milbury, who told the team’s website at the time, “This was a very difficult decision. Peter is a very good young coach with an excellent future. We felt a change was necessary for this team to move to the next level and compete for a Stanley Cup. Just making the playoffs is not enough.”      

The Islanders still haven’t won a playoff series since 1993, while Laviolette was hired by the Hurricanes in December of 2003 and brought the Cup to Carolina in 2006. The Bruins opted for Mike Sullivan in June, 2003, a stint ended after a last-place finish in 2005-06 and followed by another last-place showing in Dave Lewis‘ only year behind the Bruins’ bench before Claude Julien finally got Boston back in the playoffs each of the last three years.

Laviolette eventually matched wits with Julien in last spring’s historic second-round clash after being hired by the Flyers in December 2009. While Laviolette got the better of that encounter, he still feels both teams bring the best out of each other in this rivalry.
 
“I think the games have been excellent,” Laviolette said in a conference call Wednesday. “I think they bring out the best in us and we bring out the best in them, and they usually lead to pretty good hockey games. I would imagine that [Thursday] is no different. Over time too, especially recently, things kind of spill over from one game to the next, and you see certain teams on the schedule and you’re ready to play. I would imagine it’s going to be a pretty good hockey game [Thursday].”

It could be a milestone game for Laviolette, who will be looking for his 300th career win in the regular season as he comes in with a 299-218-69 record.

Bruins fans can only wonder how many wins he could have had in Boston if given the chance a decade ago.

That's become a little more challenging of late. It's not that the stakes have lessened at all between the Northeast Division rivals. In fact, first place will be on the line Saturday night when the Bruins pay a visit to the Bell Centre with just a one-point lead over the second-place Canadiens.

But the lightning rods for Boston fans' animosity in recent years are suddenly gone. Mike Komisarek took the money and ran to Toronto last year after being on the wrong end of one too many Milan Lucic beatdowns, while super-pest Maxim Lapierre was traded to Anaheim on New Year's Eve.

So who should Bruins fans turn their wrath on in 2011? There's no one as easy to detest as Lapierre, who when he wasn't too busy refusing to drop his gloves to answer for one of his cheap shots, could usually be found flopping on the ice trying to draw a call with dives that would make Greg Louganis envious.

But, there are some candidates to watch on Saturday and give a warm welcome to when the Habs next come to the Garden in February.

There's defenseman Hal Gill, a former Bruin and Bay State native who turned his back on his roots by signing with Montreal last summer. It might be hard for Bruins fans to boo him any more than they did when the much-maligned stay-at-home blueliner actually played for Boston though.

There's new Canadien James Wisniewski, whose hand gestures could soon force NHL broadcasts to add a parental warning. But considering those gestures were aimed at Sean Avery, can Bruins fans really hate Wisniewski?

There's flashy rookie P.K. Subban, whose arrogant attitude and chirping on the ice have drawn the ire of many. Flyers captain Mike Richards cryptically warned Subban after a November game that "something might happen to him if he continues to be that cocky." Subban could be a worthy target, but do Bruins fans really want to be just another team hating the brash youngster? And doesn't anybody that gets the Flyers that upset deserve some credit?

Then there's any number of the smurfs up front. Michael Cammalleri got David Krejci upset enough to drop his gloves for his first NHL fighting major during Boston's last visit to Montreal. Andrei Kostitsyn drew Mark Stuart's wrath a few years ago, but hasn't been as aggressive since his brother Sergei was traded to Nashville. And diminutive Habs captain Brian Gionta, all 5-foot-7 of him, has never been shy about getting under the skin of Bruins counterpart Zdeno Chara.

So which current Canadien should Boston fans hate now? Bruins forward Brad Marchand, who's no stranger to drawing the ire of the opposition himself, doesn't see a need to choose.

"All of them," Marchand said when asked who was left to hate on Montreal. "We don't like any of them over there. It's one of those intense ancient rivalries. You want to respect them, but at the same time you just hate them and want to beat them so bad."

Tuukka Rask

Rask has sat for a season-high seven straight games since the last time the Bruins and Sabres met in Buffalo back on Dec. 15. It’s hard to fault the Bruins for riding Tim Thomas as much as they have, as he does lead the NHL with a 1.74 goals-against average, .947 save percentage and five shutouts.

But there is a limit to how much the 36-year-old can play, and even Thomas admitted he was tired after playing games in Florida and Tampa on back-to-back nights this week, but Claude Julien still came back with him in Atlanta on Thursday.

The Bruins do have a solid alternative though, as Rask just happens to be the guy who led the NHL in GAA and save percentage last year after unseating Thomas as the club’s starter. Now after a 16-day layoff, Rask will finally get a chance to show what he can do again.

“We felt [Thomas] was ready to go [against Atlanta] and our plan was to use Tuukka in Buffalo,” Julien said Friday. “Because we didn’t practice [Wednesday] it might have been a tough situation for Tuukka to get in.”

It still won’t be an easy situation for Rask, as he’s sure to be a bit rusty with so much time between game action. But the Bruins will need him to carry more of the load as the season goes on, and to do that they’ll need to give him better support at both ends of the ice than they have in his limited opportunities so far this season.

Rask comes in with just a 2-7-1 record, even though his .927 save percentage is not far off the .931 mark he led the league with last season. He’s 2.57 GAA is significantly higher than last year’s NHL-best 1.97, but it’s still good enough to deserve a better fate than he’s had so far.

That’s where the rest of the Bruins come in. The Bruins have the league’s best team GAA at 2.03 this year, and much of that is due to Thomas’ spectacular play. But Thomas also hasn’t been barraged by shots as consistently as Rask has.

In his nine starts, Rask has faced 35 or more shots in all but two. Thomas, meanwhile, has seen less than 35 shots in 17 of his 27 starts. The Bruins need to do a better job of cutting down on the scoring chances on Rask, especially as he eases back into action after his long layoff.

Boston also needs to give Rask a little more of a cushion to work with. So far this season, the Bruins are scoring almost a full goal less in front of Rask (2.11 goals a game in his starts) than when Thomas plays (3.07).

The Bruins have also fallen behind regularly when Rask is playing, giving up the first goal in all but three of his appearances. Rask earned his only wins in two of the games when staked to a lead, with the only game he’s lost when Boston scored first being a 3-2 setback in his last start in Buffalo.

The good news is that Buffalo ranks just 20th in the league with an average of 2.57 goals a game and the Sabres are just 23rd on the power play at 16.2 percent (23-142). They also just lost star center Derek Roy, who is out for the season after suffering a torn left quad tendon just before Christmas. Roy’s 35 points are 10 more than anyone else on Buffalo’s roster this year.

The Sabres are expected to get Tim Connolly back from a broken nose and last year’s Calder winner Tyler Myers back from the flu on Saturday, and reigning Vezina winner Ryan Miller won’t make it easy for the Bruins at the other end of the ice.

But the Bruins must find a way to get a few shots past Miller while limiting Buffalo’s chances on Rask. That’s vital not just to earning two points in this matchup, but in helping to restore Rask’s confidence as Boston will need contributions from both of their talented goaltenders the rest of the way this season.

Just one week ago, the Bruins rolled to a 4-1 victory over Atlanta at the TD Garden to snap out of a 1-3-1 funk and start a three-game win streak. But that’s not what most will remember from the game.

That matchup opened with a marathon bout between heavyweights Shawn Thornton and Eric Boulton just two seconds into play and ended with a massive brawl in the final five minutes. The melee was sparked by a high hit on Milan Lucic from Atlanta defenseman Freddy Meyer and climaxed with Lucic circling back to the scrum to deck Meyer with a right.

Lucic received a match penalty and was fined $3,500, but was not suspended, setting the stage for more potential fireworks when he and the Bruins make their second and final appearance in Atlanta on Thursday.

This game might not be the bloodbath many fans anticipate and hope it to be. Even with the season less than half over, the two points at stake should trump any personal scores to settle.

“I think at the end of the day it’s about winning the hockey game,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said Wednesday. “We’re going to do whatever it takes to win that hockey game. Guys know when to stand up for each other. I think sometimes people anticipate so much because of what happened at the end of the last game, but we’ll see. We’re here to win the hockey game and that’s our first concern.”

The Bruins have been doing that as of late. Last week’s win over Atlanta might have been the wake-up call the club has long needed, and the way the Bruins stuck up for each other could be a turning point in what has been a frustratingly inconsistent season. The early returns at least have been good, with the Bruins rallying in the third period to tie Florida and beat the Panthers in a shootout, then squeaking out a 4-3 win at Tampa on Tuesday when Mark Recchi scored with 19.7 seconds left.

Atlanta, meanwhile, has dropped its two games since the game in Boston, stretching their losing streak to four games. The Thrashers need to get back on track far more than they need payback on Lucic.

“We can’t let our emotions get the best of us,” Thrashers defenseman Zach Bogosian told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It’s a big game. It’s a must-win game. I’m sure it will be a physical game but you can’t do anything to jeopardize your team in a big game like this. You also want to make sure you play hard and compete for your teammates.”

It was Bogosian sitting out the last game against the Bruins to rest several nagging injuries that put Meyer back in the lineup for just the second time since October. Bogosian returned the following game and Meyer has again been a healthy scratch the last two games, and will likely sit this one out as well.

With Meyer probably not playing, that could curtail some of the bad blood between the teams.

Of course, the Thrashers also added Patrice Cormier earlier this week. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Cormier has ample skill. He was a second-round pick in 2008 and a key part of the Ilya Kovalchuk trade, having put up 144 points in 189 games in the QMJHL. But he also had 339 penalty minutes before being suspended for the rest of the season last January after a brutal elbow to the head of an opponent, eventually pleading guilty to assault in a Canadian court for the incident.

The Thrashers play a physical style under Ramsay, but their far from a goon squad. They’re just 19th in the NHL with 18 fighting majors, though a third of that total came with six fights in the first two games against the Bruins.

Atlanta does possess a dangerous power play, however, with the Thrashers ranked ninth in the NHL at 20.6 percent (30-146). The Bruins can counter with the third-best penalty kill in the league at 86.7 percent, having allowed the fewest power-play goals (15) and the third-fewest power-play opportunities (113). Some 19 teams have averaged less than the 13.9 penalty minutes a game the Bruins are averaging this season, but Boston has the fifth fewest minor penalties in the league (128).

The Bruins will need to maintain that level of discipline in this one to keep their winning streak going. Obviously, they must stick up for themselves and each other when necessary, but they can’t let their emotions get the better of them if Atlanta looks to escalate last week’s hostilities.

Boston was finally taking advantage of the home ice at the Garden with two wins and a shootout loss in their last three games there, but now they head to Florida for a pair of games before returning home for Thanksgiving.

Of course, escaping the cold that’s starting to strike the region for a few days in the Sunshine State is never a bad thing. That’s especially true when you have a 7-1-0 record on the road.

The Bruins will put that record on the line Monday night in Tampa against a talented Lightning team that’s 4-2-1 on home ice and has won its last three games, and is already 3-0-0 against Northeast Division teams this season.

When and Where

Boston Bruins (11-5-2, 24 points) at Tampa Bay Lightning (11-7-2, 24 points)
Nov. 22, 7:30 p.m. (VERSUS)
St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Fla.

Head to Head

This is the first of four meetings this season between the Bruins and Lightning. Boston and Tampa Bay each won twice in last year’s four-game set, with both teams winning once at home and once on the road. The Bruins hold a 40-17-9-0 advantage in the all-time series, including a 17-13-3-0 mark at Tampa.

Goaltending Matchup

Tim Thomas struggled a bit early before settling down on Saturday against Los Angeles, but still dropped a shootout decision to fall to 10-1-1. His 1.49 GAA and .954 remain stellar, as do his four shutouts. Tuukka Rask finally earned his first win of the season on Thursday with a 41-save shutout of his own against Florida. He’s now 1-4-1 on the year, but improved his GAA to 2.24 and his save percentage to .939.

Tampa Bay’s Dan Ellis and Mike Smith have split the duties fairly evenly. Ellis is 5-4-2 with a 2.81 GAA and an .898 save percentage, while Smith is 6-3-0 with a 3.39 GAA and an .879 save percentage. Neither has had much success against the Bruins, with Ellis losing his only start with three goals on 27 shots and Smith 2-4-0 despite a 2.31 GAA and a .924 save percentage.

Stat Sheet

Bruins

Lightning

Infirmary Report

Bruins

Lightning

Familiar Faces

Lightning center Nate Thompson spent three seasons in the Bruins system, playing primarily in Providence from 2005-08, though he did make it up for four games with Boston. Lightning assistant coach Daniel Lacroix also played for the Bruins in 1994-95. Forward Dominic Moore played at Harvard and St. Louis was a teammate of Thomas’ at the University of Vermont. New Lightning owner Jeff Vinik lives is Weston, Mass. and is a minority owner of the Red Sox. Bruins forward Mark Recchi came to Boston in a deadline deal with the Lightning in 2008 after spending one season in Tampa.

Fight Card

The Lightning have just six fighting majors, tying for 24th in the league, just one year after finishing fourth with 73. Of course, Tampa let Zenon Konopka, who led the NHL with 33 fighting majors last year, walk and traded away heavyweight Matt Walker, as Steve Yzerman has imported Detroit’s anti-toughness approach. Agitator Steve Downie leads the Lightning with two fights, while Thompson, Ryan Malone, Adam Hall and Pavel Kubina each have one. Boston has 19 fighting majors in 18 games, with Shawn Thornton, Greg Campbell, Mark Stuart and Adam McQuaid each contributing three and Milan Lucic two. Last year’s series produced two fights, with Byron Bitz taking on Konopka and Thornton battling Walker.

Outlook

The Bruins rallied from a 3-0 deficit to force overtime on Saturday. Even though they lost in the shootout, they should have some momentum to build off, especially since that setback followed three straight wins. But the Lightning are riding a three-game win streak of their own, as they return home after a posting road victories over the Islanders, Flyers and Sabres, including a wild 8-7 win in Philadelphia. The Bruins would prefer to play a more controlled road game on Monday, but the high-powered Tampa attack can make that a difficult proposition.

New York, meanwhile, snapped a three-game losing streak of its own on Thursday with a 2-1 win over Toronto. The Rangers have been the epitome of mediocre so far this season, posting a 2-2-1 record and scoring 16 goals while allowing 17.

But New York is still a dangerous team that has given the Bruins plenty of fits in recent years. Boston-New York matchups always bring some electricity — and a full house — to the Garden, whether it's TD or Madison Square, and usually keep those fans on the edge of their seats with tight games that go down to the wire.

When and Where

Boston Bruins (4-1-0, 8 points) vs. New York Rangers (2-2-1, 5 points)

Oct. 19, 7 p.m. (NESN)

TD Garden, Boston, Mass.

Head to Head

This is the first of four meetings this season between the Original Six rivals. The Rangers won three of the four clashes last year, but Boston holds a 282-235-97-6 edge in the all-time series.

Goaltending Matchup

Tim Thomas continued his spectacular start with a 38-save effort in Thursday's 4-1 win against Washington. He's now 4-0-0 with a 0.75 GAA and a .978 save percentage on the season, having stopped 133 of the 136 shots he's faced this year. Tuukka Rask led the NHL in both goals-against average (1.97) and save percentage (.931) last season, but lost the season opener in Prague to Phoenix when he allowed four goals on 36 shots and has not played since.

For the Rangers, Henrik Lundqvist is the workhorse, but he's off to an uncharacteristic slow start with a 1-2-1 record, 3.75 GAA and an .892 save percentage. Martin Biron is a more than capable backup, winning his only start so far to go 1-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and a .960 save percentage.

Stat Sheet

Bruins

• All four victories in Boston's current win streak have come against teams that finished with more than 100 points last season. The Bruins beat Phoenix, which ranked fourth in the West with 107 points, New Jersey, which won the Atlantic Division with 103 points, and swept a home-and-home series with Washington, the Presidents' Trophy winner with 121 points.
• It's a safe bet that this will be a close game. Since the St. Patrick's Day Massacre when the Rangers routed the Bruins 7-0 on March 17, 2007, the Bruins and Rangers have met 13 times. Eleven of those games have been decided by one goal, while the other two were each 3-1 decisions. The overall results in that span are extremely close as well, with the Bruins going 6-4-3 in those games.
• Bruins rookie Jordan Caron certainly enjoys making a good first impression in the Garden. In his first appearance there in the first rookie game against the Islanders, Caron notched a hat trick. In his first regular-season game on Garden ice on Thursday, Caron scored another goal, which proved the game-winner, against Washington.

Rangers

• New York has struggled mightily on the penalty kill, ranking 28th in the league at just 75.0 percent with six goals allowed on 24 chances. That could be good news for the Bruins, who finally came alive on the man-advantage with three power-play goals on Thursday.
• Rookie Derek Stepan had a hat trick in his NHL debut in Buffalo on Oct. 9, but hasn't had a goal since. He still leads the Rangers with three goals and five points.
• The Rangers blocked an astounding 30 shots against Toronto on Thursday. That was more saves than Biron needed to make, as the Leafs managed to get just 25 shots through to the net. Michael Del Zotto led the way with seven blocks, while Dan Girardi had six and Michal Rozsival had five, but 14 different Rangers had at least one.

Infirmary Report

Bruins

• Center Marc Savard (post-concussion syndrome) is out indefinitely.
• Left wing Marco Sturm (knee surgery) is expected to be out until at least November.
• Center Trent Whitfield (ruptures Achilles) could miss the entire year.

Rangers

• Right wing Marian Gaborik (separated left shoulder) is out 2-4 weeks.
• Forward Chris Drury (broken left index finger) is out six weeks.
• Center/left wing Vinny Prospal (right knee surgery) is out two months.

Familiar Faces

The Rangers have a strong New England flavor with forwards Drury (Trumbull, Conn./Boston University) and Brian Boyle (Hingham, Mass./Boston College) and defenseman Matt Gilroy (Boston University). Coach John Tortorella (Concord, Mass.) and assistant Mike Sullivan (Marshfield, Mass.) also have local ties, and Sullivan also played for the Bruins in 1997-98 and coached them from 2003-06. Rangers director of player personnel Gordie Clark also played, coached and scouted for the Bruins, while assistant director of player personnel Jeff Gorton was an assistant GM and interim GM for Boston.

Fight Card

The Bruins and Rangers each have three fighting majors this season. Brandon Prust leads New York with two, while heavyweight Derek Boogaard had his first fight as a Ranger against Colton Orr on Thursday. Greg Campbell led Boston with two, while Milan Lucic has the other. Last year, there were two fights in the four-game series, with Shawn Thornton taking on Donald Brashear and Steve Begin fighting Prust.

Outlook

The Bruins are rolling right now, playing solid in all three zones. They got their power play going at last on Thursday, the only weakness in their game so far this season. With that clicking, the top line of David Krejci, Nathan Horton and Lucic combining for eight goals and 19 points already and Thomas playing out of his mind, the Bruins are the hottest team in the NHL right now. But the Leafs may have held that honor before falling to New York on Thursday, so the Rangers are certainly capable of slowing the Bruins' momentum as well. This one promises to be another entertaining early-season test for the Bruins.

They had to travel all the way to Prague to do it, as the Bruins will take on Phoenix in a pair of games in the Czech Republic’s crown jewel as part of the NHL’s NHL Premiere event in Europe.

Beyond marking the first game of the season, this one will also feature the regular-season NHL debut of Boston’s prized prospect Tyler Seguin and the Bruins debut of key offseason acquisition Nathan Horton.

WHEN AND WHERE

Boston Bruins (0-0-0) vs. Phoenix Coyotes (0-0-0)
Oct. 9, 6 p.m. local, 12 p.m. ET (NESN)
O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic

HEAD TO HEAD

This is the first matchup of the year between the Bruins and Coyotes. The Coyotes won the only meeting last year, 4-1 in Phoenix on Oct. 17 as Keith Yandle had a goal and an assist and Shane Doan had three assists. Mark Stuart scored the Bruins’ only goal from Blake Wheeler and David Krejci. The Bruins hold a 37-19-7-1 edge in the all-time series.

KEY MATCHUP

Goaltending is usually the key to any matchup, and this one should be no different. The Bruins are expected to give Tuukka Rask the start after he enjoyed a stellar rookie campaign in 2009-10 with a 22-12-5 record and league-leading 1.97 GAA and .931 save percentage. Phoenix will likely counter with Ilya Bryzgalov, who was the runner-up in last year’s Vezina voting after going 42-20-6 with a 2.29 GAA and a .920 save percentage.

STAT SHEET

Phoenix

• Phoenix’s 107 points and 50 wins last year were the most in franchise history, including the 17 years it spent in Winnipeg as well as its 13 seasons in Phoenix.

•  Last year was Phoenix’s first playoff appearance since 2002, but the Coyotes have still not won a playoff series since leaving Winnipeg.

• Phoenix captain Shane Doan has spent his entire 14-year career with the Phoenix organization, and is the last active Coyote to have played in Winnipeg, as his rookie season was the Jets’ final year in 1995-96.

Bruins

• No. 2 overall pick Tyler Seguin was the Bruins’ highest pick since Boston selected Joe Thornton with the first pick in 1997 and the first Bruin to make the opening night roster in his draft year since Phil Kessel in 2006. Seguin was taken with the first of three draft picks Boston acquired in a trade with Toronto for Kessel.

• The Bruins had the goalie with the best goals-against average and save percentage in the last two years, but it was done by two different netminders. Tim Thomas posted a 2.10 GAA and .933 save percentage in 2008-09, while Rask took top honors last year with his 1.97 GAA and .931 save percentage.

• This game will feature a matchup of the last two Jack Adams Award winners as Phoenix’s Dave Tippett was named the NHL’s top coach last season, following 2008-09 winner Claude Julien.

FIGHT CARD

Last year’s meeting featured one fight, with Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk taking on Phoenix tough guy Paul Bissonnette. It was Boychuk’s first career fight in the NHL and he finished the year with just two fighting majors, while Bissonnette had 19 of Phoenix’s 30 fighting majors in 2009-10. If he’s in the lineup for this one, he’s more likely to match up against Shawn Thornton, who had 21 of Boston’s 47 fighting majors last year. 
 

INFIRMARY REPORT

Bruins

•  Marc Savard (post-concussion syndrome) is out indefinitely.
• Marco Sturm (knee surgery) is expected to be out until at least November.
• Trent Whitfield (ruptures Achilles) could miss the entire year.

Coyotes

• Scottie Upshall (knee) is expected to play.
• Shane Doan (shoulder) is expected to play.
• Kurt Sauer (head, neck) remains out indefinitely after being injured in last year’s regular-season opener.

FAMILAR FACES

Coyotes defenseman Derek Morris began last year in Boston before being traded back to Phoenix at the deadline. Shane Hnidy was also in Phoenix’s camp as a tryout but suffered a shoulder injury in the preseason. Keith Yandle hails from Milton, Mass., while Adrian Aucoin played one season at Boston University. Brian McGrattan played five games for Phoenix in 2008-09. He hasn’t been officially signed by the Bruins, but is expected to finalize a deal on Monday after attending Boston’s camp as a tryout.

OUTLOOK

The Bruins will be looking to get the season off on the right note, but that won’t be easy against a Phoenix club that was one of the biggest surprises of last season and promises to be a top team again this year. The Coyotes won’t be easy to score against with Bryzgalov between the pipes and Yandle, Morris and Ed Jovanovski on defense. At the other end of the ice, the Bruins will have their hands full with Doan, Wojtek Wolski and new addition Ray Whitney. It won’t be an easy first test for the Bruins, but it should be an entertaining one for the fans in Prague and the folks watching at home.