SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 12/9/2011

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1 SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 12/9/2011 Anaheim Ducks Ducks lose, 4-2, to St. Louis Ducks continue to find ways to lose Final: Blues 4, Ducks 2 Boston Bruins Zero-sum game Thomas less than perfect Hamilton signs for three years Team seems to want Seguin issue put to bed Theodore saves 40 and Florida beats Bruins Bruins sign top draft pick Hamilton for 3 years Crosby to miss 2 games after colliding with Kunitz Game was lost, not confidence Panthers thumbnails Final: Panthers 2, Bruins Bruins sign Dougie Hamilton to entry-level contract Tonight's Bruins lineup Game 27: Panthers at Bruins Tyler Seguin won't discuss benching Offense leaves post, pipes Tim Thomas B s handled Tyler Seguin situation right way Get this, Bruins lose again Jordan Caron supports sleepy roommate Jose Theodore saves 40; Panthers shutout Bruins Penguins star Sidney Crosby to miss 2 games after colliding with teammate Buffalo Sabres Buffalo's Leino suspended one game for head shot Panthers visits to Buffalo to become more common One-game ban for Leino Sabres getting healthier but might lose Leino Leino may hear from NHL Buffalo Sabres preaching patience Calgary Flames Brooks set to honour Glencross Game Story: Flames 3, Avalanche Flames bury Avalanche with three third-period goals Horak sits against Avs, Moss builds speed Morrison tips power-play with intermission scheme Morrison looking sharp in return to Flames lineup Chicago Blackhawks Hawks Game Day: Lead Islanders 2-1 after 2 periods th isn't pretty, but Hossa will take it Patrick Sharp scores winner in overtime for Blackhawks Marian Hossa scores 400th goal in victory Frustrated Sami Lepisto back on the ice Hossa rings up goal No. 400 in Hawks victory Hawks Crawford has confidence in Waite Sharp scores twice, including OT winner for Hawks Spellman s Scorecard: Buehrle s class act Emery earns another start; PK terrific Sharp's 2nd goal sends Hawks to overtime win Colorado Avalanche Avalanche may be missing Kevin Porter vs. Flames Avs' Porter suspended four games for hit on Canucks' Booth Avs bow to Flames on third-period goal Columbus Blue Jackets Predators 4, Blue Jackets 3 (OT): In the end, collapse Blue Jackets notebook: Brassard gets his shot with Huselius injured Michael Arace commentary: Taking positive tack backfires on Jackets Blue Jackets collapse leads to overtime loss to Predators Transcript of today's Blue Jackets chat Dallas Stars Penalty Parade: Do The Dallas Stars Take Hard To Play Against Too Far? Stars activate Brenden Morrow and Alex Goligoski in time to face Sharks Stars-Sharks Preview Mark Fistric: ``It's a tough pill to swallow.'' Stars announce plan to lower ticket prices, starting immediately For Stars, road struggles come at worst possible time Shark attack: San Jose's relentless offense buries Andrew Raycroft, Stars Stars hope drop in ticket prices will help fill the AAC again Dallas Stars go retro, slash ticket prices Detroit Red Wings Live scoring: Filppula back in lineup tonight as Wings host Coyotes Detroit Red Wings 5, Phoenix Coyotes 2: Wings wrap up easy victory with 5-goal 1st period Red Wings notes and quotes from Thursday night's win Mike Babcock: Pavel Datsyuk's injury no cause for Red Wings concern Protected by Kevlar, Wings Valtteri Filppula will play tonight Five first-period goals lift Red Wings Red Wings: Notebook Five first-period goals lift Red Wings Red Wings' Valtteri Filppula back in lineup tonight Red Wings' Danny Cleary struggling to score, but can contribute in other ways Red Wings score five goals in first period, defeat Coyotes, Red Wings' Pavel Datsyuk is fine, according to Mike Babcock Red Wings' Pavel Datsyuk leaves game with lower-body injury Detroit Red Wings start fast, bury Coyotes Edmonton Oilers Oilers aim to return to early-season form NHL suspends Sutton indefinitely Sutton out of Oilers lineup indefinitely Should Andy Sutton be suspended for hitting Ponikarovsky? No excuses for uninspired Oilers Sutton out of Oilers lineup indefinitely Oilers veteran stars need to light it up Sutton suspended indefinitely Florida Panthers Florida Panthers (15-8-4) at Boston Bruins (17-8-1), 7 p.m. (ET) Florida Panthers tough stretch is a stern test Thursday Afternoon Florida Panthers/Boston Bruins Pregame Notes Florida Panthers Jose Theodore shines in victory against Bruins Florida Panthers Keep on Trucking Florida Panthers: Theodore and Panthers stymie Stanley Cup champs 2-0

2 Los Angeles Kings Another loss for Kings, who remain in search of an identity Murray postgame quotes (Dec. 8) Kopitar postgame quotes (Dec. 8) Brown postgame quotes (Dec. 8) Scouting the Wild Minnesota Wild Hackett to make first NHL start; Setoguchi, Clutterbuck out Wild recalls former Gopher Jeff Taffe; Setoguchi to miss at least 3 games Wild-Los Angeles game recap Gopher joins Badger on Wild first line Hackett leads Wild past Kings 4-2 in 1st NHL start Wild wins sixth in row on road Wild return to scene of one of their season lows as a team on a roll Guillaume Latendresse, Marek Zidlicky could return to Wild lineup soon Montreal Canadiens Canucks dig themselves out of hole in Montreal Canucks turn to Luongo against Habs Montreal Canadiens: Jacques Martin says team experiencing 'growing pains' Vancouver Canucks' Roberto Luongo redeems himself after tough start Vancouver Canucks riding high after shootout win over Montreal Canadiens Réjean Houle has many memories with Montreal Canadiens Montreal Canadiens blow 3-0 lead in loss to Vancouver Canucks About last night Canadiens can ill afford Gimmick giveaways Nashville Predators Nashville Predators beat Columbus Blue Jackets in overtime Pekka Rinne finally breaks slump Predators rally past Blue Jackets for 4-3 overtime win Predators get offense going just in time, beat Blue Jackets New Jersey Devils Devils Rally From 3 Down to Top Sens in Shootout Devils, After Trailing, 3-0, Beat Senators in Shootout Devils-Senators: As they play Devils say they won't rush Travis Zajac; he takes part in morning skate Devils' Andy Greene has foot and ankle X-rayed; Mark Fraser will play Devils' Andy Greene to miss four weeks with toe fracture Devils' Adam Henrique completes 5-4 shootout win over Senators Devils' Cam Janssen was scared broken bone pierced his heart Devils prevailed in an unusual overtime victory over Ottawa Devils-Senators: As they play Devils notes Devils rally from 3-0 deficit to beat the Senators in a shootout Devils rally to win in shootout New York Islanders Isles claw back to earn point in OT loss Islanders fall to Blackhawks in OT Grabner recovers quickly and plays New York Rangers Mark Messier returning to NY Rangers for NHL alumni game against Philadelphia Flyers Artem Anisimov's mock rifle celebration irks Tampa Bay Lightning and John Tortorella as NY Rangers lose in sho Anisimov Apologizes for Gesture In a Loss, a Ranger s Gesture Leads to a Fight Rangers struggle in shootout again Anisimov sparks melee with goal reaction Moore scores tying goal and SO winner for TB Rough night for Rangers' Ryan McDonagh Rangers fall in shootout to Lightning Rangers lose to Lightning in shootout NHL Kirk Muller echoes Badger Bob Don't create outsized fears because of Graham James sex abuse case Gilhooly gets justice for others by having his own case dropped Ottawa Senators Flames score three in the third to burn Avalanche Senators notebook: Carkner could return Saturday Senators blow yet another lead in loss to Devils Senators prediction panel: Game Sens start Auld vs. Devils Philadelphia Flyers Parent to play in Winter Classic alumni game Leino gets hearing, Bourdon walks Flyers beat Penguins, 3-2, move into first place Flyers Notes: Ed Snider honored by U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame induction Flyers Maximize defensive strategy against Penguins Flyers know they can count on Timonen Eagles could learn from Flyers about regime change Flyers top Penguins, take division lead Giroux's OT goal completes Flyers' comeback Flyers edge Pens, take over first place Parent: Be patient with Bryzgalov Winter Classic Countdown: Giroux again sizzles in OT as Flyers surge past Sabres Bryzgalov pens a masterpiece Giroux handling elite status with Kid gloves Flyers Scoop: Flyers goalie great offers advice to Bryzgalov Messier will play in Winter Classic alumni game Penguins on Giroux in '09: 'Who is this guy?' Flyers, Parent throw support behind Bryzgalov Game notes: Flyers vs. Penguins Penguins at Flyers: CSN Broadcast Notes Bobrovsky should start tonight vs. Penguins Flyers move to top of division with win over Pens Flyers move to top of East with win over Pens An emotional victory for Flyers' Talbot Messier to play in Winter Classic alumni game Flyers, Parent show support for Bryzgalov Phoenix Coyotes NHL wants faster Phoenix Coyotes deal Red Wings pound Coyotes with first-period barrage Pittsburgh Penguins Penguins say Crosby doesn't have concussion Injuries strike Penguins lineup again Crosby wary of returning too soon Pens powerless in defeat Bruins' hits make Penguins cautious with Crosby

3 Crosby stays home as precaution One specific hit did not cause Crosby's headache Penguins caught napping, fall, 3-2, to Flyers Penguins fall to Flyers, 3-2 San Jose Sharks All four lines get in the act as San Jose Sharks beat Dallas Stars Three-goal flurry gives Sharks a 5-2 win. St Louis Blues nd period update: Blues 2, Ducks Arnott to play in 1,200th NHL game tonight Oshie, Halak pace Blues' victory over Ducks Cole, Porter jump into lineup and score Tampa Bay Lightning Bolts' St. Louis hurt; playing streak over at 'Ridiculous' streak for Bolts' St. Louis: 499 straight games Moore makes amends for St. Louis injury as Lightning win Connolly leaves for world juniors Tampa Bay Lightning W Marty St. Louis sustains facial and nasal fractures, team says Tampa Bay Lightning W Marty St. Louis hit on (near) eye with a puck; likely out tonight vs. Rangers Tampa Bay Lightning gets 3-2 shootout victory over New York Rangers Tampa Bay Lightning's Marty St. Louis out indefinitely with facial fractures Tampa Bay Lightning allows Brett Connolly to play for Canada in world junior tourney Tampa Bay Lightning's Marty St. Louis out indefinitely with facial fractures Toronto Maple Leafs Ron Wilson has fond memories of coaching Dale Hunter Dion Phaneuf becomes a hit by taking fewer of them With the Leafs getting healthy, someone has to go Jury s out on whether Ovechkin can overhaul his game Leafs send Joe Colborne back to the Marlies High ankle sprain a painful lesson for Colby Armstrong Sale of MLSE to Rogers, Bell is close Phaneuf a changed man Hunter puts fight back in Caps Armstrong's back, so is the fire Vancouver Canucks Canucks OK with goalie 'controversy' Bill Sweatt living the lifelong dream Canucks battle back to defeat Canadiens in shootout, Avs' Kevin Porter suspended for four NHL games for sidelining Canucks' David Booth Oreskovich gone and probably won t be back Is Mason Raymond behind the thirteenth forward curse? Canucks Game Day: Look to snap Bell Centre goal drought vs. Canadiens Canucks wipe out three-goal deficit to take Canadiens 4-3 in shootout Concussions doesn't mean dementia for hockey players Habs up: Kesler, the Sedins and Luongo need to throw down Porter cuts Booth groove short for Canucks Canucks Game Day at Montreal NHL suspends Avalanche s Porter four games for reckless knee-to-knee on Canucks David Booth Washington Capitals Capitals defenseman Jeff Schultz deals with reduced playing time Alex Ovechkin will not be disciplined for apparent spear Capitals hold optional skate at KCI Jeff Schultz skates season low of ice time against Senators Capitals Alex Ovechkin: I don t try to spear somebody Capitals vs. Senators: Late surge lifts Alex Ovechkin and Washington over Ottawa, Capitals coming up big playing a man short Why Caps D Jeff Schultz saw limited ice time vs. Ottawa Limited updates on Caps injuries NHL's playoff format is out of alignment Caps haven't forgotten rout by Maple Leafs Websites ESPN / Hackett's whirlwind ride continues in L.A ESPN / Kings shrinking back from expectations NBCSports.com / Smith-Pelly, Connolly loaned to Hockey Canada NBCSport Rogers, Bell close to purchasing controlling interest in Maple Leafs NBCSports.com / Starting Friday, you can go to Stars games for nine bucks NBCSports.com / Canucks GM: Source of Luongo trade rumor has zero credibility NBCSports.com / Glendale to NHL: It s up to you now Ovechkin finally ended his scoring slump on Wednesday YAHOO SPORTS / Wild life: Meet Minnesota, the best team in the NHL Winnipeg Jets Antropov may return to ice Friday Mason has the measure of Hurricanes We might see Nik tonight Inner-city kids get a taste of big-time hockey Jets Report No slacking off Hnidy recalls playing for James Thorburn can see humour in goal drought Mason to get call against Hurricanes SPORT-SCAN, INC Anaheim Ducks Ducks lose, 4-2, to St. Louis T.J. Oshie scores twice for the Blues, who are since Ken Hitchcock took over as coach. The Ducks, meanwhile, are under Bruce Boudreau. Staff and wire reports December 9, 2011 ST. LOUIS T.J. Oshie scored twice, defenseman Ian Cole had his first goal of the season and Jaroslav Halak made 20 saves, leading the St. Louis Blues to a 4-2 victory against the Ducks on Thursday night. St. Louis won for the sixth time in eight games. The Blues have at least one point in 13 of their last 15 games and improved to under Coach Ken Hitchcock, who took over for Davis Payne on Nov. 6. The Ducks have won three times in their last 19 games. Chris Porter also scored for the Blues, who have won their last four home games against the Ducks by a combined 24-9 score. Cole, who also had an assist, broke a 1-1 tie at 7:39 of the second period with his second goal in 37 career games. He converted on a rebound of a shot by Matt D'Agostini. Cole, the 18th overall pick in the 2007 draft, was a healthy scratch in the Blues' 3-2 win against Detroit on Tuesday. Halak improved to after a 1-6 start to the season.

4 Bobby Ryan and Devante Smith-Pelly scored for the Ducks. Ryan's goal was his 10th of the season and third in the last two games. The Ducks fell to under Coach Bruce Boudreau, who took over for Randy Carlyle on Nov. 29. Oshie scored late in the second period, giving St. Louis a 3-1 lead, and added an empty-net score with 45.3 seconds left for his ninth goal of the season. The Ducks got to within 3-2 on Smith-Pelly's third goal of the season at 3:17 of the third period. Porter got the Blues out to a 1-0 lead, poking a rebound behind Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller in the first period. Hiller, who stopped 37 shots in a 3-2 win over the Kings on Tuesday, fell to Jamie Langenbrunner added two assists for St. Louis. Etc. The Ducks announced a handful of changes to their pricing for single-game tickets. Many other NHL teams are rolling out similar initiatives. "Launching a dynamic pricing system will allow us to mirror current market conditions," Tim Ryan, the Ducks' vice president and chief operating officer, said in a statement Thursday. "With our 'dynamic deal' each week and our 'no-surprise-fees' ticket policy, fans will find great offers and flexible prices for games that work best for them." The first "dynamic deal" is for the Ducks' game against the Phoenix Coyotes on Wednesday at Honda Center. Savings on tickets in the plaza goal upper east and terrace value east seating sections range from $9 to $15 per ticket. For more information, go to anaheimducks.com/dynamic. That web page will also let fans register to receive s about future "dynamic deals" and other ticket offers on a weekly basis. Lisa Dillman LA Times: LOADED: Anaheim Ducks Ducks continue to find ways to lose By MARK WHICKER ST. LOUIS In four games, Bruce Boudreau has seen enough to believe the Ducks are still haunted by the previous 24. They chased St. Louis all the way to the hump but couldn't get over it Thursday night losing, 4-2, in front of 18,591 in Scottrade Center. "A confident team, with a record opposite of ours, would have put one of those shots in, in the third period," Boudreau said. "This team's got a lot of heart, but they need to get on a little bit of a roll to get that confidence. It's a little bit lacking right now." A tough second period put the Ducks behind, 3-1, with goals by Ian Cole and T.J. Oshie. Early in the third, Devante Smith-Pelly cut the lead to 3-2 by scoring on Jaroslav Halak after a feed from Ryan Getzlaf, but a frenzied effort couldn't produce a tying goal, and Oshie scored into the empty-net at the end. The Ducks were also hampered by a lower body injury to Saku Koivu in the second period. "I thought we played a pretty good game against a hot team," Teemu Selanne said. "We're playing way better than we did a couple of weeks ago. But mistakes are killing us. We can't get away with a mistake. That's the story of our season." Two, in particular, sent the Ducks to their 15th loss, and their second in four games since Boudreau became coach. Goalie Jonas Hiller saved a shot by Jamie Langenbrunner but the puck got stuck behind him, and no one seemed to know where it was until the Blues' Chris Porter swooped in and knocked it into the net. "I didn't want to move real quick and have it go in," Hiller said, "and I didn't hear any of our defensemen tell me where it was. Too bad the referee was right behind the net and could see the play behind me." Bobby Ryan scored to tie it near the end of the first period, fed by Selanne after Luca Sbisa carried the puck into the zone. Cole, who hadn't scored this season, swooped in to cash a rebound after a shot by Matt D'Agostini for 2-1. Boudreau thought Andrew Cogliano "missed an assignment' on the play. But the play that haunted the Ducks came late in the second when Cam Fowler dumped the puck into the middle of the Blues zone. Cole took it and quickly whipped it to Oshie, who skated in on Hiller and beat him on Hiller's low left side. "He has to dump it harder," Boudreau said of Fowler. "We're too flimsy. That comes from being cute. That's not just from Cam, but skilled players have a tendency to think they can do everything perfectly cute instead of getting it deep. If you do that you take the worry out of it." Hiller gave Oshie credit for the shot but said he should have stopped it. "He conned me a little bit," he said, "and had me thinking he was going short side high. He had me going in the wrong direction." He also mentioned "unforced errors" and said the Ducks "have to do a better job getting the puck deep. Sometimes we're a little too soft." "He (Hiller) has played great the three games before this," Boudreau said, "but tonight I thought the other goalie (Jaroslav Halak) played better." Again the third and fourth lines played tightly and tenaciously, and Nicklas Hagman, who began the game with Getzlaf and Corey Perry, had several chances. But it's too late to worry about anything but bottom lines. "This team reminds me of the Miami Dolphins," Boudreau said. "They lost their first six games or whatever and the coach (Tony Sparano) said they were playing hard. Then they turned it around and won four out of five. I think we're ready to do that. "We held a good team in their own building to 20 shots until the very end (24 overall), and that's after they had 11 in the first period." Orange County Register: LOADED: Anaheim Ducks Final: Blues 4, Ducks 2 December 8th, 2011, 7:36 pm posted by Eric Stephens, Staff writer T.J. Oshie scored twice for St. Louis, including a goal into the empty net with 45.2 seconds left for some insurance in a 4-2 victory over the Ducks on Thursday night at Scottrade Center. The Ducks (8-15-5) fell behind 3-1 after second-period goals by the Blues Ian Cole and Oshie but made a big push in the third and cut the lead to one on rookie Devante Smith-Pelly s third goal of the season at the 3:17 mark. Smith-Pelly chopped a puck in off St. Louis defenseman Barret Jackman. Blues goalie Jaroslav Halak was a difference maker in the period as he made several key saves, including one late in regulation on Teemu Selanne after Bobby Ryan hit him in stride with an entry pass. Halak, who made impressive glove stops on Selanne and Niklas Hagman earlier, stopped 21 shots in all. The teams traded goals in the first period. Chris Porter scored on a rebound when Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller couldn t fully secure a shot by Jamie Langenbrunner but Ryan tied it when he one-timed a pass from Selanne. Hiller made 20 saves. The Ducks began a stretch of seven road games in their next eight contests and will finish off a quick two-game trip Saturday in Nashville. Saku Koivu

5 left the early in the third because of an undisclosed lower-body injury and did not return. Orange County Register: LOADED: Boston Bruins Zero-sum game Bruins' effort goes for naught in shutout loss to Panthers at Garden By Kevin Paul Dupont Globe Staff / December 9, 2011 A heavy game. A fast game. Goal scoring was at a premium, but there was plenty of action, including a couple of decent fights, fierce skating, and the suspense a scoreless game summons as the clock ticks down. All of that and more was on display at the Garden last night when the Bruins and Panthers staged their battle at the top of the Eastern Conference standings. When it was over, though, the Bruins were 2-0 losers, their first defeat on home ice since Oct. 27, and it was also their second loss in a row after clicking off a streak through November and into this month. Tomas Kopecky scored the backbreaking goal, snapping the 0-0 deadlock with 2:32 remaining off a turnover by Milan Lucic at the opposite end of the ice. Ex-Bruins prospect Kris Versteeg then canned an empty-netter with 42 seconds left, leaving the Bruins with their first back-to-back losses since dropping a pair to the Canadiens at the end of their woeful October. One little mistake, mused Lucic, who was looking to land his third shot of the night when the play quickly transitioned the other way from high in Boston s offensive end. I mean, one poke and it goes the other way, ends up in our net. Sometimes that s the way it goes. Adding to their night s woes, the Bruins also lost superb checking winger/penalty killer Daniel Paille with a suspected concussion early in the first period when he took a stiff, somewhat awkward check from newly acquired Panther Krys Barch. The hit dropped Paille along the boards near the Bruins bench, and he had trouble straightening up afterward, falling back on to his rear end the way a punch-drunk boxer would tumble to the canvas. Coach Claude Julien, when asked after the game if Paille had been hospitalized, only said that Paille was still being examined and there was yet to be a conclusion as to his status. We re going to be cautious, said Julien. Look for Jordan Caron to move into the lineup tomorrow night in Columbus if the battered Paille can t answer the bell. Paille has been a one-man demolition derby this season, his nose badly broken and requiring surgery when taking a full-blast slapper against the Islanders Nov. 7. Last night s hit possibly redamaged that repair job. Moments before the Kopecky goal, the Bruins raced down the ice, Nathan Horton carrying the puck on the right wing. Horton dished to Lucic, who promptly lost possession, sending Shawn Matthias racing up left wing with the puck. Matthias, with a clear look at Tim Thomas once crossing the blue line, hammered a hard slapper on the Bruins netminder. The rebound popped to the middle, where ex-canuck Sean Bergenheim missed with a shot, but Kopecky came racing in to pot the 0-0 tiebreaker. The Bruins have scored only one goal in their last two games, their lowest two-game output of the season. They generated some superb scoring chances against Jose Theodore, and hit no fewer than five posts, three in the first 9:30 of the first period, but in the end it all added up to a disappointing evening for the standard sellout crowd of 17,565. I was going to shoot it, said Lucic, detailing his last touch of the puck prior to the Panthers dashing up ice, Matthias leading the jailbreak. And I fumbled it. For our line [with David Krejci and Horton], we created so much, and one little mistake... The Bruins outshot the Panthers, 70-45, and landed 40 of those shots on Theodore vs. the 30 landed by the Panthers. The Krejci line landed 10 of their 12 shots. Rich Peverley and Horton tied Versteeg with a game-high five shots. We spent a lot of time in their end, said Julien. We had some opportunities. But not a lot of our passes were crisp, on the tape... nothing was really clean tonight. Overall, noted Julien, his club was guilty of some poor decision-making, in the offensive zone in general and around the net in particular. They weren t dull on double-runners, but they did lack that fine edge and requisite bite to their game that was present over the protracted successful run, during which the Bruins outscored the opposition, Another issue was Boston s dysfunctional (0 for 4) power play. They ve now gone without a power-play goal in four of their last seven games, going 3 for 27 in that stretch. I think the main thing right now, said Lucic, is that we can t get down on ourselves, we can t get frustrated. We have to pick ourselves back up and start over again and remember what got us those 14 wins in 15 games. Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at dupont@globe.com. Follow him on Boston Globe LOADED: Boston Bruins Thomas less than perfect No margin for error for Bruins netminder By Fluto Shinzawa Globe Staff / December 9, 2011 The man who entered last night with a career-best 10-game winning streak proved to be just that: a man. It is rare when Tim Thomas looks human. There were few indications of such mortality during Thomas s winning streak, which included three shutouts and a nomination for the NHL s No. 1 star in November (9-0-0, 1.76 goals-against average,.941 save percentage). Thomas s style looked as impenetrable as the bushy moustache that s been keeping watch over his upper lip since the beginning of last month. But in the third period of last night s 2-0 loss to the Panthers at TD Garden, Thomas booted out a Shawn Matthias shot, then placed the rebound in the net-front danger zone. Florida took advantage of Thomas s rare misplay. Tomas Kopecky jammed the puck home at 17:28 for the winning goal. The rebound kind of stuck there, Thomas (28 saves) said. I thought it was going to come off my pad a little harder than that. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn t. With my first push to get over there, my foot slipped. I thought my D was going to clear it, so I relaxed. I realized he missed it. Then I didn t have time to get back over before Kopecky got a stick on it. The play started with much promise at the other end. The No. 1 line of David Krejci, Milan Lucic, and Nathan Horton had gained puck possession in the offensive zone. The forwards (10 shots total) were down low and putting heat on the Florida defenders. But Lucic lost control of the puck, which gave the Panthers speed and numbers going the other way. For a goalie, staring down onrushing forwards such as Matthias and Sean Bergenheim can be a scary sight. It s what the Bruins, while transitioning rapidly from defense to offense, had done during their 15-game rumble without a regulation loss. A lot of teams nowadays, that seems like their best way to create offense, Thomas said. When they get the puck, it s the transition offense. Some teams are good at dumping it in and getting it back. Some teams are both ways. Some teams thrive off the transition. At least based on tonight, they seemed to get their best chances off the rush. Although Thomas didn t place Matthias s rebound where he wanted (he usually steers such pucks to the edges of the rink), his teammates couldn t bail him out. Dennis Seidenberg, who had supported the attack at the other end, was racing to get back in the play. Joe Corvo couldn t keep a tight gap

6 on Matthias and was backtracking the entire way. Krejci was back to cover for Seidenberg, but the center couldn t do much to slow down Bergenheim s middle drive. Finally, a backchecking Lucic couldn t catch up to Kopecky in the slot. We did have numbers back, Seidenberg said. Just couldn t clean up the rebound. Maybe I should have stayed back. I don t know. It s tough to say. With some stronger finish and better luck, Thomas could have stretched his streak to 11 wins. The Bruins clanged five pucks of posts. The Bruins had the better scoring chances. Conversely, the Panthers were limited to counterattacks and occasional down-low sniffs on Thomas. Thomas entered with the longest winning streak of any Black and Gold goalie since Andy Moog. From Feb. 27-March 25, 1993, the old-school standup puckstopper had also posted W s in 10 straight appearances. Last night, Thomas wasn t as busy as Jose Theodore. Thomas s counterpart submitted a 40-save shutout, with his best stop coming when he gloved Lucic s close-range chance at 4:09 of the third. It marked the second straight game the Bruins were foiled by top-shelf goaltending. On Tuesday in Winnipeg, Ondrej Pavelec turned aside 39 shots in the Jets 2-1 win. Thomas, however, had his sterling moments. His best sequence came in the third when the game was still scoreless. Thomas turned back a shortrange Jack Skille shot. Then when old friend Marco Sturm tried knocking on the door off the rebound, Thomas stood tall against the ex-bruin. Thomas could get another crack at getting another win tomorrow against Columbus. We d like to get back on the winning track, Thomas said. That was obviously our intent going into tonight s game. We ve had a little bit of a power outage, which is to be expected when we re scoring at as great a clip as we have been. Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com. Follow him on Boston Globe LOADED: Boston Bruins Hamilton signs for three years Johnny Boychuk of the Bruins engages in a spirited tussle with the Panthers Jack Skille in the second period. Johnny Boychuk of the Bruins engages in a spirited tussle with the Panthers Jack Skille in the second period. (John Tlumacki/Globe Staff) By Fluto Shinzawa and Kevin Paul Dupont Globe Staff / December 9, 2011 They are big words for Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli, who already has one of the game s top defensemen, Zdeno Chara, in the fold through But with his latest signing of 18-year-old Dougie Hamilton, Chiarelli believes he has another top-pairing defenseman in the mix - one who could quarterback the power play while also playing shutdown minutes against first lines. He s going to put up points just because of his skill, his skating, and his passing, Chiarelli said of Hamilton, who yesterday signed a three-year, entry-level contract. His cap hit is $925,000. We want him to focus on his two-way play, because we know he can do that other stuff. The other stuff isn t his meat and potatoes. It s his two-way play. I hope he ll be a No. 1 defenseman. Hamilton was the final piece of the Phil Kessel deal with Toronto. The No. 9 overall pick of the 2011 draft, Hamilton could be the home-grown, top-four defenseman the Bruins have gone without since Chiarelli became GM in Lot of factors involved, but I think he ll challenge for a spot next year, Chiarelli said. In 29 games this season for Niagara, Hamilton is leading his Ontario Hockey League club in scoring, with 11 goals and 31 assists. The righthanded-shooting Hamilton is on Team Canada s preliminary World Junior Championship roster. Chiarelli projects Hamilton to make the final roster because of his skating, hockey sense, and two-way presence. He s got a real good stick, Chiarelli said. He knocks pucks down. He s always in the lane with his stick. That s hockey sense. But it s also a real mature attribute to have. He s got a lot of mature skills that are already developed. And he s still growing. Hamilton is eligible to play another year of junior next season. However, he may start collecting his NHL paycheck in if he fulfills his employer s expectations. Hamilton is not eligible to play in AHL Providence next season. That s what I m working toward right now, Hamilton said of his chances of making the Boston roster next year. I think I ve improved a lot since I got drafted and over the course of the year. Obviously, the team is really good and they re doing well right now. I think next summer is going to be an important summer for me as far as my development and for my future. Attack mode Brian Campbell juices the Panthers attack, giving them that extra dimension a puck-moving defenseman brings. Campbell came to Sunrise, Fla., over the summer from Chicago, aiding ex-blackhawks general manager Dale Tallon in the rebuilding of the long-suffering franchise. On the power play, he s not so much the shooter as he is the setup guy, said Bruins coach Claude Julien, asked how much attention is given to Campbell in Boston s game plan. And they ve got some shooters back there - [Jason] Garrison, [Dmitry] Kulikov, guys that can shoot the puck well. And [Tomas] Fleischmann s been good. So you ve got to dissect that in regards to, We need to take his space away from him, make him move the puck. But at the same time, you ve got to be aware of what he brings and where he s dangerous and in what areas. Campbell, also an ex-sabre, yesterday morning ranked second among NHL defensemen with 23 points, only one behind Ottawa s Erik Karlsson. Garrison, signed as a free agent out of Minnesota-Duluth in 2008, began the day with eight goals, tops among blue liners. The Panthers also started the day with three players averaging a point per game or more, all of whom were among the game s top 16 scorers. Stephen Weiss entered at , followed by ex-bruins prospect Kris Versteeg ( ) and Fleischmann ( ). No other NHL team placed three players with averages of a point per game or better among the top 16 scorers. Whale of a job The Panthers have ex-hartford Whaler Kevin Dineen directing their bench as a rookie head coach. And I m fortunate to have a couple of stinky old Bruins - Robbie Tallas, Gord Murphy, and Craig Ramsay - with great experience to help us out, said Dineen. Dineen then noted that the task of taking on the Bruins these days isn t what it might have been earlier in the season. We certainly would have liked to catch the Bruins in the first two weeks of the season, noted Dineen, when they had that little hangover going. The Bruins were in October, then spent the next five weeks as the hottest club in the Original 30 prior to Tuesday s 2-1 loss in Winnipeg. Travel plans The Bruins will work out today, then board their flight for tomorrow night s matchup in Columbus with the Blue Jackets. Boston Globe LOADED: Boston Bruins Team seems to want Seguin issue put to bed

7 Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company. By Kevin Paul Dupont Globe Staff / December 9, 2011 Tyler Seguin was back at work last night, some 48 hours after he was told to take a seat in the press box after not reporting on time for a team meeting Tuesday morning in Winnipeg. He s fine. I m fine. He s in the lineup, said a slightly agitated Claude Julien following his club s morning workout at the Garden. He missed a game, paid his dues. He s 19 years old and he s fine with the organization. He s a good professional. The page is turned and we move on. Seguin was not much of a factor in last night s 2-0 loss to Florida. He landed three shots in 18:18 of ice time and three of his other offerings went off net. His ice time included 4:11 on the 0-for-4 power play. Unlike two days earlier, when the club opted to make public the reasons for Seguin not playing against the Jets, the Bruins yesterday moved into lockdown mode on all things related to Seguin sleeping late in Winnipeg. Matt Chmura, the club s top public relations operative, was at Seguin s side from the moment the dressing room doors opened after the morning workout on Causeway Street. After Seguin offered one very generic answer to a question, Chmura abruptly closed off all other queries related to the incident. Now, said Chmura, if there are any other questions about hockey... Which was followed by another question about Seguin s Big Sleep. We are done talking about this issue, said Chmura. Everybody in the organization has talked about it. That s as far as we are going. All in all, it was a curious shielding of the sophomore winger and a decided move away from the transparency the club offered Tuesday. Julien made it clear in Winnipeg that the move was disciplinary, that Seguin was guilty of the same discretion in his rookie season and was scratched from the lineup then without the media being told why. It was obvious that the club, by going public this time, wanted their young star to feel the heat that comes with being exposed to an inquiring media. The Bruins traveled Wednesday and did not practice, which meant yesterday was the first opportunity for the full Boston media contingent to be informed about the Seguin incident. But Chmura was positioned as the firewall and Julien, meeting with the media about a half-hour later, tried to dismiss it. Old news, said Julien. Two days old. By that standard, the media should have skipped the Stanley Cup parade June 18. The Bruins won the Cup in Vancouver on the night of June 15, which made the whole delightful triumph three days past tense when the Duck Boats pulled out of the Garden parking lot the morning of the 18th. There were parts of the Seguin story that didn t add up in Winnipeg. For starters, Seguin, the club s top scorer and fastest skater, said in Winnipeg that part of his problem was that his alarm clock was operating on Eastern Time. Central Time, which encompassed Winnipeg, is one hour behind Boston time. If the clock setting were the issue, it should have gone off an hour before and not after he anticipated. Another curiosity is that Jordan Caron, Seguin s roommate both in Boston and on the road, said Seguin was still sleeping when Caron left the room that morning. As time wore, said Caron, he attempted to call his roommate but failed to connect as the meeting time drew closer. I called a few times, said Caron, who labeled Seguin s transgression an accident. I guess his phone was off or something. Asked if he considered going back to stir Seguin, Caron said he did, but that timing worked against such a move. I didn t have time, said Caron, who moved into the lineup that night in Seguin s absence. The meeting was starting right after breakfast. Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at dupont@globe.com. Follow him on Boston Globe LOADED: Boston Bruins Theodore saves 40 and Florida beats Bruins 2-0 By Jimmy Golen AP Sports Writer / December 8, 2011 BOSTON Jose Theodore saw his share of the Bruins when he was with the rival Montreal Canadiens. So he needed no extra motivation against Boston, even though the defending Stanley Cup champions were the hottest team in hockey and one point ahead of the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference. "There's always something that gets you going," Theodore said after making 40 saves to beat Boston 2-0 on Thursday night and snap Tim Thomas' winning streak at 10 games. "And when you play against the best, you want to raise your game." Tomas Kopecky broke a scoreless tie with 2:32 left, and Theodore notched his second shutout of the season to lead the Panthers. "It was just one of these games I was seeing the puck well, and I knew right away that it was going to be tough for them to score goals," said Theodore, who faced the Bruins in the playoffs in 2002 and `04 and beat them both times. "When I feel like I'm on top of my game, I'm tough to beat. And tonight we just played well, stuck with the game plan, didn't panic and got away with a win." Thomas made 28 saves in his first loss since Oct. 27. In the 11 games since, he has allowed just 18 goals while posting three shutouts. He was on his way to a fourth when Shawn Matthias took the puck wide and shot on net. Thomas made the save but left the puck in front; Sean Bergenheim skated over it and missed, but Kopecky followed up and put it in. "I just wanted to make sure I got everything I had on it, because he's a really goalie," Kopecky said. "We knew he's going to be playing hard, we knew it's going to be a tight game. So after the second period we just said, `We need to stay patient.'" Kris Versteeg added an empty-net goal with 42 seconds left, outracing the Bruins to a loose puck and backhanding it into the net to give Florida its third consecutive victory. With the win, the Panthers moved ahead of the Bruins and into second place in the Eastern Conference. The Bruins went all of November without losing a game in regulation, but they are 2-2 in December. They have lost two in a row for the first time since back-to-back losses to Montreal at the end of October. "We did a good job of getting shots and scoring chances, but that's all they are if you don't get results," forward Milan Lucic said, noting that the Bruins hit the post three times in the first 10 minutes. "We've got to get back and remember what got us those 14 wins in 15 games (in November)." The Bruins dominated the scoring chances for most of the game, but Florida put pressure on Thomas with 5 minutes left and then struck quickly after Lucic whiffed on a puck in the Florida zone to allow the game-winning break. "You could see they were just waiting for a mistake to take advantage of," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "And that's just what they did." The Bruins hadn't been shut out since the third game of the season. But they suffered from sustained bad luck, hitting the post a handful of times and failing to capitalize on chances even as they outshot Florida NOTES: It was the 101st consecutive sellout for the Bruins.... Eight of the top 10 plus-players in the NHL were in the game, five on Boston and three on Florida. Zdeno Chara and Tyler Seguin of the Bruins entered with a league-best plus Seguin returned from a one-game benching for

8 missing a team meeting in Winnipeg. He played in his 100th career game, and Theodore played in his 600th.... The Bruins announced before the game that they signed first-round draft pick Dougie Hamilton, a defenseman who was the ninth overall choice this summer.... Bruins forward Daniel Paille left the game after one shift and didn't return. Julien said he was "dinged up." Boston Globe LOADED: Boston Bruins Bruins sign top draft pick Hamilton for 3 years December 8, 2011 BOSTON The Boston Bruins have signed top draft pick Dougie Hamilton to a three-year contract. The 18-year-old defenseman was the No. 9 overall pick in this year's draft. He is tied for seventh in the Ontario Hockey League in scoring, with 41 points. He also leads all OHL defensemen in goals assists and points. Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli says he expects Hamilton compete for a spot on the NHL club next season. Chiarelli projects Hamilton as a No. 1 defenseman and praised his two-way skills. The Bruins acquired Hamilton with one of the draft picks they obtained in last year's trade that sent Phil Kessel to Toronto. Hamilton must remain in the juniors all season. But if his team finishes before the Bruins' American Hockey League affiliate in Providence, he can play for it at the end of the season. Boston Globe LOADED: Boston Bruins Crosby to miss 2 games after colliding with Kunitz PITTSBURGH Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby's will miss the next two games as a precaution following a collision with teammate Chris Kunitz in Monday night's loss to Boston. General manager Ray Shero said Wednesday the former MVP wasn't "feeling 100 percent" after inadvertently running into Kunitz in the third period and will sit out Thursday's game in Philadelphia and Saturday's visit to the New York Islanders. Crosby and Kunitz were skating near center ice when they ran into each other. Both players were slow to get up and took their time making their way to the bench. Crosby later returned to the game, playing over 21 minutes while being held scoreless in a 3-1 defeat. The 24-year-old Crosby downplayed the incident after the game but did not skate on Tuesday. "I don't know what I hit my knee on, if it was his leg or, yeah, just kind of a bit of a stinger," he said. "Nothing major." Shero says Crosby visited with his medical team on Wednesday and showed no recurrence of the concussion-like symptoms that sidelined him for more than 10 months this year. "He saw Dr. Micky Collins of UPMC today and took an ImPACT test, which showed no problems," Shero said. "However, we all think it's best that he sits out the next two games as a precaution." The 2007 MVP has two goals and 10 assists in eight games since his return. He could be available when the Penguins host Detroit next Tuesday. Boston Globe LOADED: Boston Bruins Game was lost, not confidence Winnipeg seen as a bump in the road By Fluto Shinzawa Globe Staff / December 8, 2011 WINNIPEG, Manitoba - On Oct. 29, after the Bruins lost their seventh game of the season, they entered crisis mode as management, coaches, and players attempted to right what had started out all too wrong. On Tuesday, following only their eighth regulation loss of the season, there was no such panic. A loss is a loss. Nobody likes it, especially in this locker room, said Andrew Ference after a 2-1 setback to the Jets at the MTS Centre. But that s part of what makes us successful. We weren t flying on top of the rainbow when we were winning so many games. We didn t get ahead of ourselves. In the same way, we re not going to beat ourselves up. The Bruins remain in second place in the Eastern Conference, courtesy of their rumble through all of November and the start of December. They are 1 point behind league-leading Pittsburgh, a club they dispatched by a 3-1 score Monday at the Consol Energy Center. They remain the beneficiaries of good health. However, they are only a point ahead of third-place Florida, which visits TD Garden tonight. The new-look Panthers are led by their top line of Tomas Fleischmann, Stephen Weiss, and Kris Versteeg, who have been shredding opposing goalies all season. We ve just got to turn the page, said coach Claude Julien. Probably the next game is the tell-tale. We can t let those kinds of things deflate us. At the same time, we should be happy with the consistency that s been part of our game for over a month now. In Tuesday s loss, the Bruins were without point-per-game forward Tyler Seguin. The second-year pro was banished to the press box for missing a team breakfast and meeting that day. Julien acknowledged that Seguin had committed such an offense more than a few times. Seguin will play tonight. The Bruins played better in the loss to Winnipeg than they did in some of their wins last month. They had more puck possession against the Jets than they had in a 2-1 shootout win over Columbus Nov. 17. They pressured Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec far more stoutly than they did against Carey Price in a 1-0 win over Montreal Nov. 21. But Pavelec turned in a 39-save beauty to help his club score 2 points. That s exactly what Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask did on several occasions during the team s 15-game streak. Rask played well enough to record the win against the Jets. He was perfect in the second period, when the Jets put 10 shots on goal and attacked the net with speed. He was sharp in the third, especially on a point-blank Evander Kane shot that he deflected into the netting. I thought he was good tonight, Julien said. When you don t play on a regular basis, you ve got to give him a chance to get into it. I thought he made some unbelievable saves at the end to keep us in there. I liked his game and his effort. The other goaltender was just as good at the other end. It was a good battle in regards to those two. Considering their effort, their pushback against the Jets, and their secondplace standing in the East, it was a loss the Bruins could absorb. A month ago, such an outcome could have had far more painful consequences. I hate losing, Shawn Thornton said. But at least we put ourselves in a position where we re not we were at a month and a half ago. This loss would have devastated us. We ve worked hard to get where we are. We played good enough to win. I think as long as we re doing the right things and be consistent, we can take a loss every now and then. Corvo victimized