Andrew Ference News

TV - NESN. Radio - WBZ-FM . THE NUMBERS 26.5 vs. 84.7: The Thrashers have the second most potent power play in the NHL with a 26.5 percent success rate.

Good morning from the aged Igloo, where tonight the Bruins will take on the defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins for the second time in five days.

In their first seven games of 2009-10, when their effort was poor and the results reflected as much , the Bruins' penalty killing mirrored their overall malaise.

There was a time not too long ago that the name "Bourque" stitched on the back of a hockey "sweater" pulled a lot of weight on the Boston Garden ice surface.

When he arrived at TD Garden prior to last night's game, Steve Begin was surprised to see his jersey hanging in his stall with some additional tailoring on the front: the "A'' that had previously been on the sweater of Marco Sturm.

The Bruins gained a point but lost the war in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens last night before 17,565 at TD Garden.

Former NHLPA executive director Ian Penny cites Chris Chelios as the reason for his departure from the association.

"I shouldn't have went,'' said Bruins winger Shawn Thornton moments after last night's 2-1 loss to the Devils.

The Bruins have holes to fill in their lineup, especially up front where this week they lost Milan Lucic and Marc Savard for most, if not all, of next month.

Patrice Bergeron scored the lone shootout goal and the Boston Bruins rallied late for a 4-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.

Less than 48 hours after trading struggling forward Chuck Kobasew for draft picks, general manager Peter Chiarelli is at it again, trying to shake the complacency out of the Bruins.

The Boston Bruins traded forward Chuck Kobasew to the Minnesota Wild, the team announced Sunday.

Last night, the Boston Bruins and Minnesota Wild pulled off a trade: Craig Weller, a second-round pick, and the rights to prospect Alexander Fallstrom to the Bruins for right wing Chuck Kobasew.

Even before the Bruins' 4-1 loss Saturday in Phoenix, a game in which Boston showed zero fight once the Coyotes made it 2-0, Peter Chiarelli was not pleased with the atmosphere surrounding his players.

The first repair for the Bruins, now a listless 2-3 to start the 2009-10 season, must take place between their ears.

Because of his elite wrister and knack for finding seams from which to release his shot, Michael Ryder has a reputation of being a pure goal scorer.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the Bruins getting caught with their pants down on Thursday night, but it may interest hockey fans to know that defenseman Zdeno Chara 's 6-foot, 9-inch body is featured in various stages of undress in the current issue of ESPN The Magazine.

The defense hasn't been as sharp as it should be, the offense has been challenged, and the special teams have been anything but special.

All we know for sure right now about the Bruins is that something isn't right. In fact, a lot is not right.

The B's finished it off with another mistake-filled, defense-challenged effort in a 4-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche yesterday at the Garden.