Sport-scan daily brief

In 10 NHL seasons, plus one game, Seidenberg has 34 goals and 154 assists. As Zdeno Chara’s partner on the Bruins’ No. 1 defensive pairing, Seidenberg helped Boston win the Stanley Cup in 2011.

Seidenberg was sixth in the NHL in blocked shots and was third among defensemen with a plus-18 last season, when the Bruins returned to the finals, losing to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games.

Boston Globe LOADED: 10.05.2013

719469 Boston Bruins

Bruins brace for a visit by Red Wings

By Amalie Benjamin

October 05, 2013

It could have been Detroit.

Before the Blackhawks faced the Kings in the Western Conference Finals last season, the Red Wings took Chicago to seven games before bowing out, putting a scare into the eventual Stanley Cup champions.

Now, with realignment, the Red Wings have moved east — and become a significant stumbling block as the Bruins attempt to defend their Eastern Conference title.

“Who knows? They might have won the Stanley Cup,” said Bruins center Chris Kelly. “They’re a team that you need to get up for.”

And now they’re a division foe. The Red Wings, along with the Lightning and Panthers, have joined the Bruins in the newly formed Atlantic Division, and they come to town Saturday for their first meeting of the season with Boston.

“I think they’re an elite team,” coach Claude Julien said. “They always have been.

“They’re a good, experienced team. They’re a smart team, they play a good, smart game. That’ll certainly bring an element of an even bigger challenge for all the teams in our conference right now to add them in there.”

As Julien pointed out, the Red Wings aren’t exactly a new franchise coming in, one that will be playing out the string in the basement. They’ll be competing to win the division. They’ll make life tough for the Bruins.

“I think it’s good for our game,” Julien said. “I think it’s good for the fans here to see those teams a little bit more. An Original Six team is always welcome in the cities that have seen those teams for years.”

With the Red Wings comes Daniel Alfredsson, the former Senators captain who entertained the idea of coming to Boston this offseason. They also bring Pavel Datsyuk, one of the best two-way players in the NHL, along with Patrice Bergeron.

“Two great two-way players,” Julien said. “You saw Datsyuk in action here that one night [in the preseason] when we didn’t have Patrice in the lineup. You could see the type of damage he could do.

“There’s no doubt he’s an elite player. But we’re fortunate to have Patrice, who we feel is an elite player as well.”

Traditionally, the Red Wings are a team built on high-end skill players, as Julien said. They play a puck-control game, much more so than the Bruins. It’s something the Bruins admire — even if they play their own style.

“As much as we envy them, there’s a lot of things that they envy from us,” said Julien. “I don’t think we should have an inferiority complex here. But you do respect the way they play. They’ve been like that for many, many years.”

Sibling rivalry

There was a near-miss for Reilly Smith and his brother Brendan in the 2010 Frozen Four. Had Reilly’s Miami (Ohio) team not lost to Boston College in the semifinals, it would have gone to the final against Wisconsin — Brendan’s team.

The pair, however, will square off Saturday with the Red Wings in town. They did see each other in Detroit for a preseason game, but this time it will matter.

“I think my parents are pretty happy about it,” said Reilly, who added that his parents won’t be at the Garden Saturday. “Might have to see them a little more because I think they’re planning a lot more road trips.

“Usually it’s pretty competitive against each other on the ice. We’ll see what happens.”

Reilly said the two have always been that way, whether it was hockey or basketball or lacrosse.

“It’s kind of just carried over into everything we’ve done,” Reilly said.

No rush on Soderberg

Carl Soderberg is making progress as he comes back from a left ankle injury, which he suffered in the Bruins’ final preseason game Sept. 27. He was placed on injured reserve and is eligible to come off for Saturday’s game, though Jordan Caron’s play in the season opener gives the Bruins more leeway. “It’s a hard injury to say, ‘Listen, he’s going to be in on Sunday or Monday,’ ” Julien said. “It’s hard to really pinpoint with that type of injury, but he is definitely getting better every day. I think he really is getting close. Hopefully, if there’s no setbacks, he should be on the ice soon.” . . . The second line of Brad Marchand, Bergeron, and Loui Eriksson is still finding its way. Bergeron said he’s not worried, that it will simply take time. “It’s like anyone going to another system, you need to adjust,” Bergeron said of Eriksson. “After a while, when you’re used to that system, you don’t think, you just execute. I think that’s what he’s doing right now. He’s used to something different, he just needs to get used to it. You can tell how good he is as a player.” . . . Julien said he might talk to Red Wings coach Mike Babcock about Team Canada while Detroit is in town. The two are serving together on the coaching staff for the upcoming Olympics in Sochi, Russia, in February.

Boston Globe LOADED: 10.05.2013

719470 Boston Bruins

Red Wings land in B’s division

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Stephen Harris

A Garden visit by the Detroit Red Wings in years past has been a rare and special event, a test for the Bruins against one of the NHL’s elite franchises. Now, the matchup will become routine.

That’s good news for fans, who should see some high-class hockey between the Original Six rivals, but it makes the playoff chase in the East just a little more crowded at the top.

The Red Wings, who this season switch into the Eastern Conference, play their first of two games in Boston tonight. Overall, the clubs will meet four times in the coming months, and it’s a fair bet they’ll be chasing the top playoff seeds at season’s end.

“They’re an elite team (and) they always have been,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said after his team’s 45-minute skate at the Garden yesterday.

“You have to look, for example, at their third line,” said Julien. “When you have guys like (Dan) Cleary and (Todd) Bertuzzi on your third line, you’ve got some pretty good depth.

“They’re a good, experienced team. They’re a smart team and they play a good, smart game. They will certainly bring a bigger challenge for all the teams in our conference. This is a team that’s at the top of the league almost every year. They don’t win the Stanley Cup every year, but they’re always a contender.”

Julien spoke about how the Wings over the years have sought fast and highly skilled players, many from Sweden or other European countries, including current superstars Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg.

But he noted that as much as the Wings try to play a high-level, puck-possession style of hockey, they also emulate some of the grittier attributes of a team like the Bruins.

“I’ve worked with Babs (Detroit coach Mike Babcock) and (spent time) in the summer chatting,” Julien said. “They’re trying to do some of the same things as us. As much as we envy them, there are a lot of things they envy from us. I don’t think we should have an inferiority complex here.

“They really go for guys with high-end skills who will control the puck as much as they can. You see them trying to hang onto the puck a little bit more. But that doesn’t mean they don’t try to do a lot of the same things other teams do.”

Indeed, it’s a reasonable assumption that as much as the Bruins view tonight’s game as a major test, so do the Red Wings. Preseason games mean little, but the B’s did play their heavy style of hockey very effectively in shutting down the Red Wings in Detroit on Sept. 21.

It won’t be as easy tonight to forecheck and defend as well as in that game. The B’s perhaps get a slight edge in that the Wings played last night in Carolina.

The Bruins played OK, but not great in their season-opening 3-1 win over Tampa Bay on Thursday.

“It’s nice to get that first game out of the way, but also to get the first win,” center Patrice Bergeron said. “We obviously had some things to work on and we did that (yesterday). But we can build from (Game 1) and be ready for a big game (tonight).

“Our transition has got to be a little quicker. Also collectively we have to close a little quicker on their forwards in our zone. Those are things that should come back on their own. We should be fine.”

The fascinating battle within the battle will be the matchup of Bergeron and Datsyuk, two of the finest all-around centers in the game.

“He’s a very smart player and tough to play against,” Bergeron said. “So it’s going to be a good challenge to play them, and a good challenge to play against him.”

B’s notes

Julien will be a Team Canada assistant coach for Babcock at February’s Sochi Olympics, and said he may try to find time to speak with him about what they’ve seen early in the new season. . . .

Winger Carl Soderberg (ankle injury) will not play. Julien said he is close to skating, but declined to speculate when that may happen. In the opener, Jordan Caron took good advantage of filling Soderberg’s third-line slot, playing quite well. . . .

New winger Loui Eriksson hasn’t yet shown Bruins fans the quality of play of which he’s capable. But linemate Bergeron figures it’s just a matter of growing accustomed to a new team.

“He’s used to something different, so he just getting used to it,” Bergeron said. “You can tell how good he is as a player and how smart he is. I’m excited to have him on my right wing.” . . .

Julien hopes young defensemen Dougie Hamilton, Torey Krug and Matt Bartkowski didn’t regard Dennis Seidenberg’s four-year contract extension as bad news for them.

“I think all three of those young players right now are in the NHL for good; if it’s not here it’ll be somewhere else,” Julien said. “They shouldn’t look at this is a negative thing; they should look at (it as) a real positive thing. They should say, ‘Listen, we’ve got an opportunity here to see a defenseman who is reliable, durable and has been around the league a long time. I can probably learn and make myself better because of that.’ ”

Boston Herald LOADED: 10.05.2013

719471 Boston Bruins

Bruins prep for Red Wings

Friday, October 4, 2013 -- Stephen Harris

The Bruins, who played okay but not great in their season-opening 3-1 win vs. Tampa last night, are looking forward to the Garden visit by the Detroit Red Wings tomorrow night. The Wings, of course, have moved this year into the Eastern Conference -- making life a bit tougher for the Bruins and each other club in the East.

"They're an elite team (and) they always have been," said Bruins coach Claude Julien after the team's 45-minute skate at the Garden this morning.

"You have to look, for example, at their third line. When you have guys like (Dan) Cleary and (Todd) Bertuzzi on your third line, you've got some pretty good depth. They're a good, experienced team. They're a smart team and they play a good, smart game.They will certainly bring a bigger challenge for all the teams in our conference. This is a team that's at the top of the league almost every year. They don't win the Stanley Cup year, but they're always a contender."

Julien spoke about how the Wings have sought fast and highly-skilled players, many from Sweden or other European countries. But he noted that as much as the Wings try to play a high-level, puck-possession style of hockey, they also emulate some of the grittier attributes of a team like the Bruins.

"I've worked with Babs (Detroit coach Mike Babcock) and (spent time) in the summer chatting," said Julien. "They're trying to do some of the same things as us. As much as we envy them, there are a lot of things they envy from us. I don't think we should have an inferiority complex here."

Julien will be a Team Canada assistant to Babcock at next year's Olympics, and said he may find time to speak with him about what they've seen early in the new season. The B's coach said injured winger Carl Soderberg (ankle) is close to skating, but no firm day is set.

Boston Herald LOADED: 10.05.2013

719472 Boston Bruins

Claude Julien: 'We still have some work to do'

Thursday, October 3, 2013 -- Mark Daniels

The Bruins started off this new season with a 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, but head coach Claude Julien said there’s a lot of work that needs to be done.

The B’s got two shorthanded goals by Chris Kelly and Patrice Bergeron and another by Milan Lucic to outlast the Lightning tonight at the Garden. Julien noted that the team got off to a slow start, getting outshot 15-6 to in the first period.

He said some of the rustiness was to be expected.

“Yeah I think so. That first half anyways, and maybe even a little more,” Julien said. “We had some penalties we had to kill and certainly gave them some life and some momentum but I thought maybe the last five minutes of the second and the third period we were a little but more like the team that we want to be. So it was nice to see our team get better as the game went on.”

Tuukka Rask & Co. survived two 5-on-3 penalties that ended up being another story of the game. The first happened at the end of the first period and the next in the third. Julien wasn’t happy about the penalties but said it was good to see the penalty kill in top form.

“Those 5-on-3’s, I thought the guys did a great job killing them,” Julien said. “Tuukka made a couple of big saves when he had to. So those are really positive signs for our team and the fact that we were able to score a couple shorthanded goals as well. But again, it’s the first game, it’s the first game for a lot of those guys that were in the lineup tonight; real game I guess. Overall, happy with the win and we know we still have some work to do.”

Boston Herald LOADED: 10.05.2013

719473 Buffalo Sabres

Razor-thin loss leaves a sting for Sabres

By John Vogl

on October 4, 2013 - 10:22 PM

updated October 5, 2013 at 1:28 AM

The Sabres opened their season in Buffalo with a packed house that cheered record-setting saves, gasped at great scoring chances and moaned when the home team lost with 95 seconds left. Despite the 1-0 setback to Ottawa, the fans seemed to like what they saw.

Ron Rolston admired almost none of it.

“We didn’t play a very good hockey game at the end of the day,” the Sabres’ coach said in First Niagara Center. “The compete’s got to be way, way, way, way higher at this level. … We’re in trouble in terms of elite in this league, so we’ve got to fix some things.”

Rolston bemoaned the lack of intensity shown by his top two lines. The team’s puck movement peeved him. What else didn’t he like?

“Pretty much everything,” he said.

So far, the Sabres have shown they are just good enough to lose by one goal. Their coach wants more. He concedes it’ll be a learning process that won’t be complete by the time Buffalo (0-2) plays its third game of the season tonight in Pittsburgh.

“We’ve got to take baby steps at this point,” Rolston said.

They certainly took steps from Wednesday’s 2-1 loss in Detroit. The biggest one was increasing their shot total from 20 to 35, but Senators goaltender Craig Anderson outdueled Ryan Miller by stopping them all.

“It’s not a fun way to lose, especially in our opener,” said Miller, who was fantastic with 45 saves. “I just needed to make one more save there. It’s disappointing.”

The goaltenders dominated the shooters right from the start, which was especially impressive considering all the opportunities generated.

Miller made 23 saves in the opening 20 minutes, including 10 during the Senators’ three power-play chances. Anderson answered with 16 stops, all but three coming at even strength.

It was a historic performance. The 39 combined shots were the most in a scoreless period in the NHL’s expansion era (1967-present).

“We gave them too many shots, and Millsie stood on his head,” alternate captain Christian Ehrhoff said. “We didn’t reward him for his good efforts.”

Erik Karlsson ruined the night for the 19,070 fans when he scored on Ottawa’s 45th shot.

The defenseman slipped behind the defense and put a cross-ice pass from Clarke MacArthur between Miller’s pads.

“I thought we had coverage,” Miller said. “I thought it was going to be junk thrown to the net, so I kind of searched for it with one knee down. When he held it a little longer, I caught a glimpse of him passing it.”

It was a testament to the goalies’ talent that Karlsson’s shot was the only one that found the net.

The Sabres took their 30th shot of the game with 12:25 left. The Senators passed the 40 mark with more than eight minutes to play.

Buffalo helped Anderson by missing the net or shooting into him on numerous open-net chances.

“I’m not trying to hit him, but you’ve got to give him credit,” said Sabres co-captain Thomas Vanek, who led all players with nine shots.

“Both teams deserved a point. We were the first team to break at the end, which is disappointing.”

Buffalo lost defenseman Henrik Tallinder to an upper-body injury, and blue-liner Alexander Sulzer was summoned from the Amerks, according to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.

Miller is expected to get tonight off in favor of backup Jhonas Enroth, and the starting goalie hopes the team can stay upbeat despite the setbacks.

“There’s room to improve in a lot of areas, and we just have to come together as a group,” Miller said. “It’s part of the process here in a young season, and we have to stay positive. We have to stay true to the plan here.”

Buffalo News LOADED: 10.05.2013

719474 Buffalo Sabres

Suffering is optional, so just enjoy the ride

By Mike Harrington

on October 5, 2013 - 12:54 AM

updated October 5, 2013 at 2:03 AM

You can’t read a national website or hockey magazine that has the Sabres within a sniff of a playoff spot this year. Most sites peg them for the bottom five in the league, and that was before the Florida Panthers – a new Atlantic Division cousin, remember – went out and added a huge X-factor guy in goaltender Tim Thomas.

You may be a bottom-line person but there’s no way to be that way with this team. Not this year.

Yes, Terry Pegula talked Stanley Cup when he walked in the door. Yes, Darcy Regier has more lives than any other GM on the planet but he’s not going anywhere, so there really shouldn’t be any more breath or newspaper ink wasted on that subject. What’s the old saying? It is what it is.

This season can be fun. You really don’t have to suffer. The assumption is you will when you look at the standings, and punches to the gut like Friday’s 1-0 heartbreaker against Ottawa certainly stink. Fair enough.

But you’re looking deeper when you go to Orchard Park. Why can’t you do it when you come downtown?

The Bills have been wild fun so far until, of course, EJ Manuel forgot he was supposed to be a quarterback and run out of bounds Thursday night in Cleveland. They’re 2-3. They could be 5-0. They could be 0-5. Their season is gauged in progress more than wins and losses, at least for this year. Especially now that it’s all about a wounded knee.

The Sabres’ season can be viewed through the same prism, especially since there’s no telling how long Ryan Miller or Thomas Vanek will be here.

Miller and Ottawa’s Craig Anderson played Friday’s home opener like they were in the UFC cage battling for the Team USA starting job in Sochi. Everyone else on the ice wasn’t worthy. Rarely can a scoreless game through 58 minutes be so much fun. Does that make me some sort of cockeyed optimist or apologist? Nah.

The coaches, of course, hated it. Ottawa’s Paul MacLean said a lot of guys on each bench “played for both teams,” in a funny reference to all the turnovers being made.

Sabres coach Ron Rolston wasn’t laughing. At all. And I get it.

“It’s a simple game,” a clench-jawed Rolston said. “We don’t have enough guys playing the right way right now early in the season so we’re back to square one.”

He’s right. The power play is an 0-for-11 train wreck with too many players allergic to winning battles for the puck with the man advantage. Drew Stafford has played 39 minutes in the two games and has two shots on goal. (Memo to Marcus Foligno: Please get healthy so Stafford can join me upstairs).

Rolston didn’t want to hear much about Mikhail Grigorenko, who had a strong enough offensive game that he spent time on the second line. He did say that the line of Kevin Porter between Zemgus Girgensons and Brian Flynn was the team’s best. That’s true and the Sabres aren’t winning many games if that’s the best trio.

Rolston’s ire was clearly directed at his veterans. Thus far, I’ve been about as much a No. 1 center as Cody Hodgson has. Not much from Tyler Ennis either. Vanek had nine shots on goal but also had some terrible giveaways and made a fatal mistake in coverage on Erik Karlsson’s winning goal.

On one sequence in the second period, old friend Clarke MacArthur outworked a pair of Sabres to gain control of the puck and help his team clear it – even though he had given his stick to defenseman Chris Phillips and was simply kicking at it with his skate. Can’t happen.

The good news is that the recent No. 1 draft choices are playing to their labels. Rasmus Ristolainen is, quite simply, a stud on defense. And it’s pretty obvious to see how Mark Pysyk was a top pick and captained a championship team in junior hockey. Just a heady, heady player.

Ristolainen made a great maneuver on an Ottawa two-on-one break in the second period, cooly standing his ground in the middle of the ice to stop the pass and allow Miller to make a save. How many two-on-one’s the last couple of years have produced easy tap-ins? Far too many because the Buffalo defense would stray too early.

Girgensons had the only goal Wednesday in Detroit and has been bouncing his body around like he did during the playoffs last year in Rochester. He almost had the winner Friday, too, as Anderson whipped him with the glove on a laser from the slot with 2:07 left.

Hockey can be a game of mistakes. Watch how the kids bounce back from them. They’re doing well in that area so far. Some veterans could take a hint.

“I think our young guys can take a lot from tonight,” said co-captain Steve Ott. “It was a great learning experience. Even though we lost – and we hate losing – we’re sticking with one of the best teams in the league playing chance for chance.”

Barring major surprises, the Sabres aren’t likely to win a ton the next six months. That’s well-established. Look for small nuggets. They’re there. You don’t have to suffer for every second of 82 games.

Buffalo News LOADED: 10.05.2013

719475 Buffalo Sabres

Fighting ban idea is unpopular with Sabres

By John Vogl

on October 5, 2013 - 12:52 AM

The annual argument is back – should the NHL ban fighting? – and this time the pacifists have heavyweights throwing punches. Scotty Bowman and Steve Yzerman have come out in favor of getting rid of fisticuffs, leading many to believe real change might be coming.

Those people don’t hang out in the Buffalo Sabres’ dressing room.

“It’s been a part of hockey for a long time, and I think it’s going to be a part of hockey,” coach Ron Rolston said Friday.

Serious injuries to the Sabres’ Corey Tropp (broken jaw) and Montreal’s George Parros (concussion) have revived the fighting debate. Cringe-inducing video of Parros crashing forehead first to the ice and getting knocked out Tuesday caused the latest outcry.