| Dennis Seidenberg returns for Game 5, Dougie Hamilton out | 05.25.13 at 5:30 pm ET |
Dennis Seidenberg is back in the Bruins’ lineup for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals after being out since the first period of Game 7 of the first round with a lower-body injury.
With Seidenberg back, Dougie Hamilton is out. Seidenberg was paired with Zdeno Chara in warmups, while the other pairings were Matt Bartkowski-Johnny Boychuk and Torey Krug-Adam McQuaid.
| Dennis Seidenberg a game-time decision for Game 5 | 05.25.13 at 4:32 pm ET |
Bruins coach Claude Julien said Saturday afternoon that Dennis Seidenberg will dress for warmups prior to Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Rangers. The team will decide after the warmup whether Seidenberg will then play in the game.
Seidenberg has not played since Game 7 of the first round against the Maple Leafs, as he suffered a lower-body injury on his first shift and skated only one more shift in the contest.
If Seidenberg is to play, Dougie Hamilton would be the most likely player to come out of the lineup.
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| Bruins notes from Friday: Up-tempo practice as Dennis Seidenberg, Wade Redden pick it up | 05.24.13 at 5:43 pm ET |

The Bruins wrap up practice Friday at TD Garden in advance of Game 5 Saturday in Boston. (Mike Petraglia/WEEI.com)
The Bruins took to the TD Garden ice for a 30-minute up-tempo, intense practice after coach Claude Julien and players admitted that their effort was there on Thursday night but not their execution.
Friday was an effort, even after a tough overtime loss, to pick up the intensity level for Saturday afternoon’s 5:30 start against the Rangers, with yet another chance to close out the series in Game 5.
“It was just a good flow, good practice,” David Krejci said. “Hard and short. We don’t know what’s going to happen [Saturday] morning but it’s kind of an odd time for the game, 5:30. We’re just taking it day-by-day and we felt that, and the coaches felt the same way, that we needed to go out there for a short, hard practice. And we did that. Now, we’re just going to focus on [Saturday].”
Krejci wasn’t overly critical of his teammates and their well-documented mistakes in Game 4 that caused them to blow a 2-0 lead and lose the game in overtime.
“It was an OK game,” he said. “There were chances on both sides but the game is behind us now. They won in OT. [Saturday] is a new game and we’re going to do everything we can to get over it.”
All Bruins were accounted for except defenseman Andrew Ference, out with a lower body injury. Dennis Seidenberg (lower body) and Wade Redden (unspecified) skated together as a D-pair Friday and have been skating all week with the team. There’s a sense that Seidenberg could return on Saturday in place of Dougie Hamilton or Matt Bartkowski. Seidenberg hasn’t played since injuring himself on the second shift of Game 7 against Toronto on May 13.
“I felt comfortable out there today,” Seidenberg said. “But again it’s a decision where I have to talk to them first. We’ll see. They’re going to ask me a couple of a questions and go from there.
Seidenberg said he is itching to get back on the ice.
“Really bad,” Seidenberg said of his desire to return. “No one likes watching hockey games, especially around this time of year, so hopefully I get back in there soon, and hopefully can help.”
Seidenberg watched from upstairs Thursday night as the Bruins failed to close out Game 4.
“We know we played a good game,” Seidenberg said. “A couple of hiccups there but for the most part, we put a lot of pucks on the nets, had quite a few chances, especially on the power play so we know we could’ve won it. We just have to stick in the moment and try to win the next one.
“Every game we want to finish with the win, especially being up 3-1, it would be nice to finish it off but again, we have to play a good game first because they have the momentum now.”
| Tuukka Rask on butt stumble: ‘Some days it sucks to be a goalie’ | 05.24.13 at 5:04 pm ET |

Tuukka Rask falls backward for his now infamous "butt stumble" in Game 4 Thursday. (AP)
New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez gave us the “Butt Fumble” against the Patriots last Thanksgiving. Tuukka Rask gave us the “Butt Stumble” right across the Hudson River from MetLife Stadium Thurday night.
Say this much for Rask: He has a lot of patience with repetitive questions from reporters and he has a good sense of humor.
Both were on display Friday after practice at TD Garden as he was peppered with more questions about Thursday’s “Butt Stumble on Broadway” and the Bruins losing Game 4 in overtime just like they did three years ago when the collapse began in Philadelphia.
“I don’t even want to compare,” Rask said when asked whether the bizarre loss in overtime in Game 4 Thursday night reminded him of 2010. “It’s a totally different team. We beat Philly out the next year, 4-0. We won the Cup. Lots of things have happened. As we’ve said all along, we don’t like to look in the past or too much ahead. We like to live in the moment and focus on the task.”
And as for the blooper of all hockey bloopers this season?
“I think you either decide to cry about it or have a sense of humor about it and that’s it,” Rask said. “You just have to move on. You let in goals and at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what kind of goals you let in, it’s still a goal. Some days it sucks to be a goalie.”
Rask lost an edge and fell backwards in the second period Thursday night, allowing Carl Hagelin‘s weak backhander to slide past him and into the net to cut Boston’s 2-0 lead in half.
“Yeah, I saw it. I saw it many times in my head, too,” Rask said. “I mean, you can either cry about it or laugh about it and I decided it’s better to have a sense of humor and laugh about it. Tough break, those happen. But to be honest, I think throughout the years I’ve been pretty good in making those ‘Not-so Top 10 lists’ so there we are again.”
Enough of the funny business. As for the serious business of getting ready for Game 5 Saturday night, Rask said he liked what he saw at the 30-minute up-tempo practice Friday at TD Garden.
“Absolutely,” Rask said. “It’s been a few days since we had a full team practice on an off day and today we just want to make everybody’s minds are in the right place and we’re making crisp passes and executing the plays and keeping it short and sharp, and that’s what it was.”
Does he wish he could play right away and not wait until Saturday?
“No, no. I’ll take my rest,” Rask said.
| Claude Julien happy with his power play: ‘Especially [considering] the lack of them’ | 05.24.13 at 4:29 pm ET |

Jaromir Jagr skates with the puck Friday at Bruins practice with Brad Marchand as the B's get ready for Game 5 Saturday. (Mike Petraglia/WEEI.com)
Claude Julien has been happy with his power play unit in this series, that is when the Bruins actually get a power play.
He made that much perfectly clear on Friday after practice as his team prepares for another chance to wrap up the series against the Rangers in Game 5 at TD Garden Saturday evening.
The Bruins were 2-for-4 on the power play Thursday in the Game 4 loss to the Rangers, with one of the two misses actually resulting in a goal as Tyler Seguin scored his first goal this postseason as a penalty was expiring in the third period. The Bruins didn’t get a single power play in Game 3 and had only one in Game 2. Boston is 3-for-9 in this playoff series while the Rangers are now 1-for-14 on the man-advantage.
With Nathan Horton and Torey Krug scoring on the power play Thursday night, is Julien pleased that his power play is making the most of its chances?
“Well, yeah especially the lack of them that we’ve had in this series,” Julien said. “It was nice to see us score a couple of goals. It’s been tough. It’s a good thing we’re a good five on five team and that we’ve managed to win hockey games, but last night two for four, and certainly it could have been three for four I guess two seconds after the power play ended, so our power play did a good job of producing and whenever you can count on that it’s always a bonus.
Other notes from Friday’s practice:
The Bruins skated hard for 30 minutes in an up-tempo, early afternoon practice on the TD Garden ice. All players were present and accounted for except for Andrew Ference, who is still nursing a lower body injury that has kept him out since Game 5 in the first round. Dennis Seidenberg and Wade Redden were the fourth defensive pairs to skate in drills Friday. Julien kept his defensive pairings the same, with Zdeno Chara and Dougie Hamilton leading the way, followed by Johnny Boychuk and Matt Bartkowski and then Adam McQuaid and Torey Krug. There were no changes on the lines either as Tyler Seguin remains on the third line with Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley.
“I think it was one of those practices today where you wanted to get a good sweat, knowing it’s an early game tomorrow, or afternoon game,” Julien said of the odd 5:30 p.m. start time on Saturday afternoon. “And we just want to make sure we’re ready for tomorrow.”
| Bruins recall goaltender Niklas Svedberg from Providence | 05.24.13 at 3:52 pm ET |

Providence Bruins goalie Niklas Svedberg (1) makes a glove save as Wilkes/Barre Scranton Penguins' Brian Gibbons closes in during the first period in Game 7 of their AHL Eastern Conference semifinal. (AP)
Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced Friday the club has recalled goaltender Niklas Svedberg from Providence (AHL).
Svedberg will join Boston on Saturday, May 25. In his first season with the Providence Bruins, Svedberg appeared in 48 regular season games, compiling a 37-8-2 record with a 2.17 goals against average (fifth in the AHL) and a .925 save percentage (third in the AHL) with four shutouts. The netminder’s 37 regular season wins ranked second among AHL goaltenders. Svedberg was in net for 12 postseason games for the P-Bruins, where he racked up a 6-6 record with a 3.29 goals against average and .889 save percentage.
Svedberg was part of the nightmarish end to the P-Bruins season as the Baby B’s lost a 3-0 series lead to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and fell in seven games. He was pulled from the Game 7 5-0 loss to the Penguins on Wednesday night in Providence after allowing four goals on 19 shots.
Prior to joining Providence this year, the 23-year-old Svedberg spent four seasons in the Swedish Elite League from 2008-12. He helped lead Brynas to the SEL title in 2011-12 after registering a 1.70 GAA, .947 save percentage and four shutouts in 13 playoff games. The 6’0″, 176-pound native of Sollentuna, Sweden was signed as a free agent by the Bruins on May 29, 2012.
| Pierre McGuire on M&M: ‘Virtually impossible play’ for Dougie Hamilton on game-ending goal | 05.24.13 at 2:01 pm ET |
NBC Sports hockey analyst Pierre McGuire joined Mut & Merloni on Friday to offer his take on the Bruins’ mistake-prone 4-3 overtime loss to the Rangers in Game 4.
McGuire said that despite Thursday’s loss, the Bruins have no reason to be overly concerned.
“The Rangers can talk about coming back and getting back in this series. It’s still 3-1. You’re going back to Boston for Game 5. And the Rangers should have lost that game last night,” McGuire said. “The Boston Bruins were full of self-inflicted wounds. … Whether it’s Tuukka Rask falling down, Tuukka and Zdeno Chara not communicating properly, Chara being lackadaisical with the puck. But also give credit where credit’s due: Henrik Lundqvist was phenomenal, especially in overtime.
“So, stuff’s going to happen in a playoff series. You can’t overreact to it. You move along, you play Game 5 and you do a good job in front of your fan base.”
McGuire said he was impressed with how the Bruins started Thursday’s game, and surprised at the Rangers’ performance.
“The Rangers had nothing going on,” he said. “The first period I was shocked. The shots were 12-4 and I was absolutely shocked at how the Rangers were playing. Jaromir Jagr in particular really had a sense of urgency to start that game. You could see the Bruins were jumping. They were good. They were ready to play.”
Added McGuire: “I’m telling you guys straight up: People are underplaying how deep Boston is and how good Boston is. And the Rangers don’t match up particularly well with Boston. That’s just the reality because they don’t have the same kind of offensive depth, especially down the middle, as they have in Boston. That’s a big problem. You compound that with the Chara factor and with the [Johnny] Boychuk factor in terms of size. You’ve got some very big defensemen. Whatever offensive press you might have if you’re New York, it gets shut down pretty quick.”
Bruins defenseman Dougie Hamilton was beaten on the game-winning goal when Chris Kreider redirected a pass from Rick Nash past Rask in overtime. McGuire said Hamilton was in a tough spot.
“That play, by the way, you’ve got numbers back, you’re in a good position,” McGuire said. “I will say this, and I’m not trying to be overly defensive of the young player: You tell me, in this new NHL, what Hamilton’s supposed to do against a player that’s 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, and can skate as fast as almost anybody in the league. That is a virtually impossible play. It’s a beautiful pass by Nash. And the only thing Hamilton could have done — and if he’s a little bit older, maybe he does do — he takes a penalty. … Because that is an unbelievably difficult play to defend. Because of the size of the man attacking the net, because of the speed of the man attacking the net, and because of the precision of the pass made by Rick Nash. That’s an unbelievable pass by Nash and a great finish by Kreider. This is something he’ll learn over time. In that situation you may just take a penalty. Just tackle the guy as he goes to the net.”




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