Projo Bruins Blog

January 2008 Archives

Left wing Pascal Pelletier has been recalled from Providence by the Boston Bruins and will make his National Hockey League debut Thursday night when Boston hosts the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7 p.m. at the TD Banknorth Garden.

Pelletier, 24, receives the call-up exactly one week after being named a starter for the Canadian team in the upcoming 2008 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Reebok and two weeks after receiving the league’s CCM/AHL Player of the Month Award for the month of December 2007, during which he had 13 goals and 23 points. Overall, the fourth-year pro and third-year P-Bruin leads the AHL in goals with 24 and ranks fourth in the league with 48 points in 40 games. Pelletier’s plus-17 rating is good for a sixth-place tie in the AHL.

The native of Labrador City, Newfoundland, has put together two lengthy points-streaks this year, one of nine games early in the season and another of eight games that came to an end last weekend. Pelletier notched his 200th professional point with the first of two power play goals against the Albany River Rats on December 27, 2007. The winger has 16 multi-point games this season and has received a star in 15 of Providence’s 40 contests. He originally joined the P-Bruins on December 16, 2005 from the ECHL’s Gwinnett Gladiators.

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NEW YORK (AP) - The Detroit Red Wings dominated the first half of the NHL season. Now they're taking over the All-Star game, too.

Sidney Crosby is starting to do the same.

Crosby, the 20-year-old reigning NHL MVP, topped All-Star voting for the second straight year and will start again for the Eastern Conference, the league announced Tuesday.

The Pittsburgh Penguins captain, in his third NHL season, received 507,274 votes, nearly 200,000 more than anyone else in the East, and about 30,000 more than West leader Nicklas Lidstrom.

For Boston, Zdeno Chara will make his third All-Star appearance.

Detroit placed three players in the All-Star starting lineup, the second straight year a team has done so. The Buffalo Sabres did it last season for the East en route to their first Presidents' Trophy.

Lidstrom, a five-time Norris Trophy-winning defenseman, will join Red Wings teammates Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk in the Western Conference starting lineup Jan. 27 in Atlanta.

Lidstrom, who received 477,787 votes, will partner with Calgary Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf on the blue line while Jarome Iginla - also of the Flames - plays up front with Zetterberg and Datsyuk.

Zetterberg and Datsyuk are among eight first-time All-Star starters. Iginla and Phaneuf, who have helped Calgary take over first place in the Northwest Division, are also set to make their initial starts in the midseason game.

Vancouver's Roberto Luongo got the starting nod in goal for the West.

Crosby, who entered Tuesday ranked fourth in the NHL with 57 points, got the most votes again but earned 318,509 fewer votes - a 39 percent drop - than he garnered for the 2007 game in Dallas when approximately 28 million ballots were cast.

Last year, Crosby at 19 years, five months, became the youngest player voted into the starting lineup since fan balloting began in 1986. He went on to be the NHL's youngest scoring champion with 120 points.

His linemates in Atlanta will be current scoring leader Vincent Lecavalier of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators right winger Daniel Alfredsson, who both will be making their first All-Star starts. Lecavalier is going to his third All-Star game, while Alfredsson will play in his fifth.

"The first time, I was young and I was nervous being with all these older guys," the 27-year-old Lecavalier said. "To be voted on there is special. I never thought I'd go in like that. I'm the old guy now."

On defense will be fellow first-time starters Andrei Markov of the Montreal Canadiens and Chara. Markov is the only starter making his first All-Star appearance.

New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur was elected for the fourth time and will take part in his 10th All-Star game, tying Lidstrom for the most among this year's starters. Lidstrom is in the starting lineup for the eighth time.

"It is more of a recognition, no question, but I don't know if it means more," Alfredsson said of his starting assignment. "All-Star weekend is a lot of fun no matter how you get into it."

Surprisingly, the league's top two goal scorers, Ilya Kovalchuk of the Atlanta Thrashers (34 goals) and Washington's Alex Ovechkin - tied with Iginla with 32 - weren't elected to start for the East. Ovechkin was fifth in votes among forwards with 177,574, while Kovalchuk came in sixth with 173,629.

"This league is really young," Lecavalier said. "The last time I went to the All-Star game all these young guys that were in the room, it was unbelievable. It's great to see. There is great future in the NHL with guys like Sidney and Ovechkin."

Lecavalier and Crosby are both centers, but there was no doubt in Lecavalier's mind who will take that spot in Atlanta.

"I'll go on the left wing," he said with a laugh.

It is only fitting that Red Wings make up half the West's starting lineup since Detroit is running away with the Central Division and has a commanding edge in the race for home-ice advantage throughout the conference playoffs.

Detroit entered play Tuesday with a mark of 32-8-3 and 67 points, 15 more than Dallas. The Red Wings became the first NHL team to win 30 games in the first half of the season when they beat the Stars last Wednesday.

Zetterberg was chosen to his second All-Star team, but sat out last year due to an injury. Phaneuf and Datsyuk are also All-Stars for the second time, and Iginla will play in his fourth.
Luongo was voted to the West starting lineup for the second straight season following his trade from Florida to Vancouver in 2006, and will be an All-Star for the third time.

This marked the 20th year that fans determined the starting lineups for the NHL All-Star game. Voting took place online and by cell phone only for the second straight season.

Western Conference reserves, chosen by the NHL's hockey operations department along with general managers, will be announced Thursday. The rest of the Eastern Conference roster will be revealed Friday.

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The Providence Bruins announced today that right wing Alexandre Imbeault has been signed to a Professional Tryout Agreement from the ECHL's Johnstown Chiefs. He is eligible to make his AHL debut tonight when Providence battles the Springfield Falcons at 7:30 p.m. at the MassMutual Center. With the move, the P-Bruins now have 24 players on their roster, including 13 forwards, eight defensemen and three goaltenders.

Imbeault, 21, is off to nearly a point-per-game start in his rookie campaign, notching 10 goals and 17 assists for 27 points in 30 games for Johnstown to lead the team in scoring prior to his recall. The winger has enjoyed seven multiple-point outings this season, including a career-high four points on a goal and three assists one week ago against the Wheeling Nailers. The career contest came just two days after being named to the American Conference Team for the 2008 Chase ECHL All-Star Game. Imbeault began the year by participating in training camp with Providence, scoring one goal and one assist in two games before joining the Chiefs. Before turning pro, the Montreal, Quebec, native, spent four years playing in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Quebec Remparts, Victoriaville Tigres and, most recently, Chicoutimi Sagueneens. In his junior career, Imbeault scored 90 goals while adding 118 assists for 208 points in 245 games.

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BOSTON -- The Bruins today acquired defenseman Shane Hnidy and a sixth-round 2008 draft choice for forward Brandon Bochenski. Hnidy is expected to be available for the Bruins' game Thursday night against Washington.

A veteran of 369 games over his seven years in the NHL, Hnidy, 32, has tallied 1 goal and 2 assists in 33 games for the Ducks this season. He is currently riding a streak where he is plus or even in 16 consecutive games (+8 over the 16 game span). Last year as a member of the Atlanta Thrashers, he recorded career bests in games played (72), goals (5), assists (7) and plus/minus rating (+15).

Hnidy was originally selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the seventh round (173 overall) of the 1994 draft. He was traded to the Ottawa Senators on June 25, 2000 for an eighth-round pick in the 2000 NHL draft and made his NHL debut with the Senators on Oct. 5, 2000 against the Bruins. Hnidy played three-plus seasons in Ottawa before being dealt to the Nashville Predators on March 9, 2004. After playing the 2004-2005 season in Florida of the ECHL, he was acquired by the Atlanta Thrashers on July 30, 2005. He signed with Anaheim as a free agent on July 5, 2007.

Bochenski appeared in 20 games this season for the Bruins and registered six assists. Obtained by the Bruins in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on February 3, 2007, Bochenski tallied 11 goals and 11 assists in 31 games last year. Bochenski has 21 goals and 26 assists over his 101-game NHL career.

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