The Bruins acquired goalie Anton Khudobin from Minnesota in exchange for Providence defenseman Jeff Penner and the rights to forward Mikko Lehtonen, who is playing in Europe this season.
Khudobin instantly upgrades Providence's weakest area, giving the Baby B's a legitimate No. 1 netminder and Boston a little insurance in case any injury issues strike Tim Thomas or Tuukka Rask. Khudobin has filled in effectively in the NHL before, playing six games with the Wild in the last two years and going 4-1-0 with a 1.39 GAA, .955 save percentage and one shutout.
The Kazakhstan native has been primarily in the AHL since coming to North America, going 20-12-1 with a 2.56 GAA and .911 save percentage this year. That includes a win Friday in his Providence debut, as he stopped 25 shots in a 4-2 victory against Charlotte.
Khudobin is a free agent after the season, so he has just a few more weeks to make a case for earning a new deal from the club, and a case to crack our Top 10. As for who he'll have to pass to make the cut, here's how this week's Top 10 stacks up with a new opening created by Friday's promotion of defenseman Matt Bartkowski to the big club to replace injured blueliner Steven Kampfer in Boston.
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Last week: 1 1. Ryan Spooner, C
It was another big week for Spooner, who added six more points in his last five games. He had a goal and an assist in a 4-3 overtime loss against Oshawa. His shorthanded tally in the third forced the extra session to earn a point for Kingston, which has already clinched a playoff spot in the OHL's Eastern Conference. Spooner followed that up with four assists in a 6-5 win at Barrie, but was held scoreless the next three games. That matches his longest drought of the season, but he did have a shootout goal in a 3-2 win at Oshawa in that span and now has 32-31-71 totals in 57 games.
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Last week: No.3 2. Jordan Caron, LW/RW
Caron opened last weekend's trip out West with a big night in Abbotsford, leading Providence to a 4-0 win with a goal, an assist and a plus-3 rating. He didn't have a point in the rematch the following night when the P-Bruins lost 6-2 and was scoreless in a 4-2 win over Charlotte, but Caron remains the forward prospect closest to making an impact at the NHL level after a solid showing with the big club to start the season. He has 8-12-20 totals in 35 games in Providence.
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Last week: No.2 3. Jared Knight, C/RW
Knight began last week by going three games without a point, but bounced back with a pair of assists in a 4-3 loss at Windsor. That was one of four straight losses for London, but the Knights have also secured a postseason spot in the OHL's Western Conference. For the season, Knight now has 24-40-64 totals and 37 penalty minutes in 63 games.
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Last week: No. 4 4. Zach Hamill, C
Hamill picked up a pair of assists as he continues display a distinct lack of selfishness in Providence. He is second on the Baby B's with 34 points in 52 games, but just five of those points are on goals. There's no questions about Hamill's playmaking ability with 29 assists, but he could probably stand to take a few more shots himself (he has 89 on the year) to keep opposing defenders honest.
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Last week: 6 5. Craig Cunningham, CAfter three straight games with a goal and an assist last week, Cunningham went two games without a point last weekend. But he quickly bounced back with a goal and two assists in his next two games. Cunningham was also a plus-4 in each of those games as Portland beat WHL rival Tri-City 6-5 and rolled to a 9-1 win over Seattle. Cunningham is tied for seventh in the WHL with 26-57-83 totals to go with 48 PIMs and a plus-23 in 63 games.
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Last week:No. 7 6. Max Sauve, C/LW
Sauve is back in the midst of one of his hot streaks, as he scored in each of Providence's last three games. He had a pair of goals in the win over Abbotsford and another in the loss to the Heat in the rematch, then chipped in an assist against Charlotte. He has 17-8-25 totals in 43 games, with seven of those goals being game-winners.
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Last week: No.8 7. Jamie Arniel, C
Arniel had a pair of assists in Providence's three games to remain the P-Bruins' leading scorer with 16-22-38 totals through 61 games. He had just one shot in his last two games though, which is unusual for him. Arniel typically fires away with abandon, as he leads the team by a wide margin with 196 shots on goal.
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Last week: No. 10 8. Ryan Button, D
It was a big week for Button, who had a pair of goals, both on the power play, and added an assist and a plus-3 rating in five games for Seattle. The Thunderbirds are still in last place in the WHL's Western Conference, five points out of the final playoff spot as Button's quest for his first postseason action in four seasons in the WHL remains a long shot. He had 5-26-31 totals and 43 PIMs in 62 games.
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Last week: Unranked 9. Tyler Randell, RW
The budding power forward returns to the rankings after scoring a pair of goals last week for the Kitchener Rangers, giving the 2009 sixth-round pick his first 20-goal campaign in the OHL. Randell has 20-10-30 totals and is a plus-1 with six power-play goals and four game-winners in 61 games. What makes him really intriguing though is his physical play, as he also leads the OHL with 151 PIMs and is second with 19 fighting majors. That matches the 19 majors in had in his first three seasons combined. The 6-foot-1, 197-pound Randell had two fights last week, completing a Gordie Howe hat trick with a bout against Saginaw's Ben Chiarot and also taking on 6-foot-7, 212-pound Jarred Tinordi, a 2010 first-round pick of the Canadiens and son of longtime NHL defenseman Mark Tinordi.
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Last week: No. 9 10. Boris Valabik, D
Speaking of 6-foot-7 defensemen taken in the first round, the Bruins have one of their own in Valabik, who was taken 10th overall in 2004 by Atlanta before coming to the Boston organization with Rich Peverley in last month's trade that sent Mark Stuart and Blake Wheeler to the Thrashers. Valabik didn't have any points in three games last week with Providence. He has 0-10-10 totals and 178 PIMs in 55 games split between Atlanta's AHL affiliate in Chicago and Providence, where he has one assist and 13 PIMs in six games.
