Another Bourque Joins The Bruins, Hamill Is Officially A Bust

Ray Bourque will always be one of the greatest players in Boston Bruins history, that is undisputed.

Today the Black and Gold tried to recapture some of that past magic as they traded for one of Ray's sons. The Bruins dealt center Zach Hamill to the Washington Capitals for Chris Bourque, a forward with the Hershey Bears (their AHL team). His brother Ryan Bourque is a forward for the Connecticut Whale (the Rangers AHL team).

The ironic thing is that while Chris will get most of the headlines based on his last name and who is father happens to be, this move is much more notable since it signaled that Boston is fully wiping their hands clean of Hamill.

Last season, Bourque was a much better player than Hamill as he put up 93 points (27 goals, 66 assists) in 73 games for the Bears. In 33 career games in the NHL with Washington and the Pittsburgh Penguins, Bourque had one goal and three assists. He's due to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

After growing up in Danvers, MA, Bourque prepped at Cushing Academy and played one season at Boston University before turning pro (in 2004, he was the Caps' 2nd round pick at No. 33 overall).

Hamill was Boston's 1st round pick (No. 8 overall) in 2007. He only had eight goals and 13 assists this last season with the Providence Bruins in 41 games. He got a chance with the big club in 2011-12 due to injuries but he didn't take advantage of it as he only managed two assists in 16 games. In total, Hamill finished with 139 points in 256 career games with Providence.

More than anything, this move serves as a fresh start for both players. They are both undersized guys so their games are based on superior skills and quick hands. At 26, Bourque had clearly done all he could in Hershey yet he still could not find a spot in Washington; Hamill's career has completely gone off the rails in Providence but he's only 23 so maybe going to a new organization will revitalize his once promising form.

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Zach Hamill Put On Waivers By The Bruins

Today the Bruins placed forward Zach Hamill on waivers. If he clears them, he will be sent back down to the Providence Bruins.

This move was totally expected if you pay attention to the B's on a daily basis. Hamill played a season-low 8:19 in Saturday's 2-1 loss to Pittsburgh and then he was a healthy scratch yesterday in Washington, D.C. Jordan Caron had been recalled from Providence and he had basically taken Hamill's place, at least until Nathan Horton returns from his latest concussion.

I'd like to say that Hamill is close to making a real impact in the NHL but I just don't see it, so far. In 16 games with Boston this season, he has 0 goals, 2 assists and he's +3 with 13 shots on goal. It's pretty tough to play that many games with this team and have offensive numbers that are so low.

He's still only 23 but the clock is ticking on Boston's first-round pick from 2007 (8th overall). Hamill is small (5-11, 173 pounds) so he isn't particularly strong on the puck and he doesn't seem to fit the Bruins mold of a physical, tough player. Sure he has skills but he'll never see the ice under Claude Julien if he can't be more responsible in his own end, not to mention have the ability to play on the penalty kill and power play.

All we can do is hope that with more playing time in Providence, against competition that's more on his level, he can excel and therefore build his confidence back up. I'm guessing it's not too high at the moment. It's not time to give up on Zach Hamill but right now, Boston just doesn't have any use for him.

It wouldn't shock me at all if he gets dealt at the trade deadline (February 27). Perhaps a change of scenery would do him some good; he would be better suited for an uptempo offensive style that's less reliant on throwing checks. Plus, he wouldn't feel the pressure that he no doubt is under with the team that drafted him. Something to keep in mind as the trade deadline approaches, maybe Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli can flip Hamill for somebody Boston needs more.

UPDATE 2/7: Hamill cleared waivers (nobody in the NHL claimed him) so he'll go to Providence.

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Peverley To Miss Next Two Games For The Bruins In The Sunshine State

I bet you didn't realize that Saturday's game in Carolina signaled the halfway point of the 2011-12 regular season for the Boston Bruins.

Yes it is true, the defending Stanley Cup champions begin the second half of the calendar with a particularly tough stretch. They play six games (five on the road) in nine days before getting a breather for the All-Star game in Ottawa.

Tonight, they visit the Florida Panthers-tied with the Capitals for 1st place in the Southeast Division-before going to Tampa Bay tomorrow night to take on the Lightning, the worst team in the Eastern Conference (look it up). From there, they'll travel to New Jersey for a game with the Devils on Thursday before finally playing the New York Rangers (first time this season between the Eastern Conference's two best teams) on Saturday afternoon at TD Garden.

The unofficial first half of the season concludes with a game in Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon (at the exact same time as the Patriots game) and then the B's go to Washington on Tuesday to face the Capitals. After that, they'll disperse and get almost a week off before their next contest-January 31 in Ottawa. The Senators have been playing great lately, believe it or not, they've pulled to within one point of the Bruins in the Northeast Divison.

In the here and now, Bruins winger Rich Peverley will miss the two games in Florida due to personal reasons. When I saw him mentioned on Twitter, I figured it was that pesky injury that nobody knows about (that has flared up at times already) but I felt bad when I realized he had to come back home to Boston to address what I can only assume is a family issue.

Zach Hamill will take Peverley's spot on the third line with Chris Kelly and Jordan Caron. Speaking of Caron, either him or Hamill will take a seat starting on Thursday since Brad Marchand returns on Thursday after his five-game suspension.

Finally, Tuukka Rask was the first goaltender off the ice today at the morning skate so he's expected to start in net for the B's. He got the shutout the last time the teams met on December 23, that 8-0 whitewashing of the Panthers. Tim Thomas should be the starter tomorrow night against the Lightning, a team he completely shutdown in the Eastern Conference finals last spring.

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Tuukka Rask Picks Up His First Shutout Of The Season With 3-0 Win Over Kings

For many teams in the NHL or sports in general, they would understandably struggle when their two best players don't play in a game.

Apparently the Boston Bruins aren't most teams as they didn't need either the best goaltender in the NHL-Tim Thomas-or best defensemen in the NHL-Zdeno Chara-as they dispatched the Los Angeles Kings 3-0 tonight at TD Garden without the services of either superstar.

Everybody's favorite Finn-Tuukka Rask (41 saves, 6-4-1)-proved why he's the best backup goalie in the league and probably better than half of the starters with his first shutout of the season and ninth of his career.

Brad Marchand (2 goals) and Patrice Bergeron (2 assists) were the two foremost offensive stars for Boston (19-9-1), who scored a goal in each frame.

Los Angeles (13-13-4) fired its head coach Terry Murray last night but interim coach John Stevens didn't change the tide at all as the Kings dropped their fifth straight contest.

Rich Peverley (6th of the season) scored at 6:32 of the first period thanks to some great work from his makeshift linemates Zach Hammil and Benoit Pouliot. It all started with a nice forecheck behind LA's goal and goaltender Jonathan Quick (19 saves).

Hammil stole the puck, fed Pouliot on the halfboards who gave it back to the recently promoted Hammil. He might never be a great player for the B's but Hammil has already proven in a few games this season that he can put a pass with as much sauce on it as you like. He fired it on Peverley's stick and Pevs one-timed it past Quick.

In the second period, Marchand's (10th of the season) goal at 7:43 made it 2-0 and Jack Edwards noted that the Bruins are 13-0-0 with two-goal leads so far this season. Bergeron won the face-off back to Marchand who snapped it past a possibly screened Quick.

He had an earlier chance on a breakaway to pot his second tally but Marchand erased that bad memory by lifting a backhander over Quick at 5:35 of the third period, again from Bergeron.

Rask had to work for his clean sheet as he helped Boston kill off three consecutive penalties in the second and one in the third.

It will be a late night for the B's as they fly to Ottawa but the flight should feel much better thanks to this solid win. Boston is back at it tomorrow night as they meet the Senators for the second of six times this season.

Boston's 5-3 win over Ottawa, their Northeast Division rival, back on Nov. 1 kicked off the 10-game winning streak and nearly perfect November.

Gregory Campbell will miss his second straight game but Chara is making the trip so he could play and Thomas is expected to get the start.

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Well Maybe The Los Angeles Kings Aren't Doing So Hot After All

I thought I'd get a jump on a little Bruins-Kings preview, mostly because tonight has to be one of the slowest sports night of the fall/winter (one NHL game/Rams-Seahawks on MNF, no college hoops on TV) and Los Angeles (13-12-4) is arriving in Boston as a mess.

Kings head coach Terry Murray was fired today and replaced by assistant John Stevens. LA is not exactly setting the NHL on fire, they're currently 12th in the Western Conference but only three points behind Dallas and Phoenix atop the Pacific Division.

More knowledgeable hockey sources than myself, namely my buddy @twolinepass of Yahoo Sports fame, said in a Tweet today that Murray was axed since Los Angeles spent to the cap and had higher expectations, meaning somebody had to pay for their slow start.

The Kings are not short on talent with a goaltender like Jonathan Quick (2.10 GAA, .931 save percentage, 4 shutouts), defensemen Jack Johnson and Drew Doughty with forwards Anze Kopitar (10 goals, 18 assists), Mike Richards (11 goals, 9 assists but on IR), Justin Williams (4 goals, 13 assists), Simon Gagne (7 goals, 8 assists) and Dustin Brown (5 goals, 10 assists) among others.

Bruins captain Zdeno Chara was feeling better today although he didn't practice and he doesn't expect to play tomorrow night either at TD Garden. Boston plays at Ottawa on Wednesday and at Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon before coming home to face Montreal on Monday. If all goes well with Chara's leg, I expect he'll return either Saturday or Monday. Steven Kampfer will play in Chara's place after being a healthy scratch for weeks.

The B's are 4-5-3 in the 12 regular season games that Chara has missed during his career with the Black and Gold. You could never question his dedication since in Boston he played 80 games in '06-'07, 77 in '07-'08, 80 in '08-'09, 80 in '09-'10 and 81 in '10-11. That's why it was such a big deal when he mysteriously missed Game 2 of the Canadiens series last spring cause he had a virus/was dehydrated. Big Z will never be mistaken for J.D. Drew or Josh Beckett, who always look for an excuse to sit out a game or 10.

Daniel Paille returned to practice today from his mild concussion suffered last Thursday against Florida. It sounds like he'll return tomorrow night while Gregory Campbell missed practice and likely won't suit up tomorrow against the Kings after he took a puck to the foot against Columbus on Saturday. Zach Hamill was called up from Providence on an emergency basis and he'd take Soupy's spot if he can't go.

It'll be interesting to see who gets the start in goal for the Bruins since you could make a case for either one. Tim Thomas looking for redemption after getting pulled on Saturday or Tuukka Rask, who pitched a one-period shutout. Regardless, I'm sure whomever starts against the Kings will sit the next night against the Senators because the Bruins are hopping on a flight directly after the game tomorrow.

Another note from today: Brad Marchand was fined $2500 by the NHL for his tripping incident in the Penguins game last Monday.

UPDATE 12/13: Rask will get the nod tonight while Thomas is slated to play tomorrow night in Ottawa (a team he typically owns). Chara and Campbell are out tonight while Campbell-who has some type of fracture in his foot-has already been declared out for tomorrow night too. Chara will travel with the team. Daniel Paille will be a game-time decision tonight at TD Garden, given the other injuries I'd guess that he'll go (assuming his head is OK) with Hamill centering the fourth line.

Paille is back in, Jordan Caron is the healthy scratch.

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Bruins Are Finding Their Groove, Second Straight Win For Tuukka Rask

Only time will tell if the Edmonton Oilers are going to be a good team this season or if they simply got off to a nice start.

Regardless, the Oilers (9-4-2) came into the TD Garden tonight having won seven of their last eight games. They had the third most points in the NHL but that didn't seem to matter as the Bruins (7-7-0) climbed to .500 for the first time in 2011-12 with a 6-3 victory.

Boston has now beaten Edmonton ten times in a row, dating back to October 2000. It is ironic that the Bruins struggled so much to score to begin the season because they have potted 24 goals (6 per game) in their last four contests.

The B's are riding a four-game win streak and even more promising, they've won Tuukka Rask's (27 saves) last two starts. Even the power-play is starting to come around with two more goals this evening.

Brad Marchand (2 goals) shook off a 10-game goalless stretch, Joe Corvo added three assists, Tyler Seguin (1 goal, 1 assist) continue to put the puck in the net while Nathan Horton had two assists.

Rich Peverley sat out another game with his undisclosed injury and Daniel Paille missed the contest following the surgery for his broken nose. Providence Bruins standout Zach Hamill made the most of his first appearance (this season) with the big club, picking up his third NHL assist. Unfortunately, Andrew Ference left in the second period with an injury and he never returned. If he can't go on Saturday, expect Steven Kampfer to return to the lineup.

With games in Detroit and Chicago this weekend, the Oilers sat their starting goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin. It was an all backup occasion with Devan Dubnyk (22 saves) taking on Rask.

Boston took an early 2-0 lead in the first period as Johnny Boychuk (2nd of the season) scored at 7:11 from David Krejci and Horton then Jordan Caron (1st of the season) doubled it with an assist from Hamill. Boychuk's shot was a blast from the point, his specialty; Caron mishit his shot but the pass was so good that a simple redirect got the job done.

Edmonton tied it up with a pair of goals in 29 seconds (12:02 and 12:31). Mark Recchi lite aka Ryan Smith (8th of the season) tipped a shot from the point by Theo Peckham. 2011 No. 1 pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (7th of the season) finished a feed from 2011 No. 1 pick Taylor Hall.

Boston took control with two unanswered tallies in the second. Marchand (3rd of the season) deflected Corvo's shot from the point on the power-play (Seguin assisted too). Seguin showed he's not afraid to go to the net and he was rewarded with his ninth goal of the season, from Corvo.

Smyth's tap in at 15:18 of the third period brought the Oilers within a goal but no worries, the Bruins had this one in the skate bag. Milan Lucic (8th of the season) got an easy power-play goal thanks to Corvo's gorgeous feed. Horton assisted on Lucic's goal and Marchmont ended it with an unassisted snipe at 17:57 that looked like something he did in the playoffs last spring.

The Buffalo Sabres make their first pilgrimage to Boston on Saturday night. Their Northeast Division rivals still have All-World goaltender Ryan Miller, who's off to a slow start by his impossibly high standards. For whatever reason, the Sabres usually give the Bruins trouble and the games are almost always very competitive.

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