Bruins trade for experience (Recchi), depth (Montador)

Looks like Pete Chiarelli's going to settle on 2 moves today:

To Anaheim:
F Petteri Nokelainen
To Boston:
D Steve Montador

To Tampa:
D Matt Lashoff
F Martins Karsums
To Boston:
F Mark Recchi
2010 2nd round pick

It would appear that these deals went hand-in-hand. By acquiring Montador, Chiarelli gained enough depth on the blueline to safely unload Lashoff. Ultimately, this means that the Bruins traded 3 futures for 2 roster players and a decent draft pick.

It's not the blockbuster Kessel-for-Pronger deal that the media would've loved, but this certainly improves the Bruins' prospects in both the present and future.

For the present - The Bruins just got a little more experienced, a little deeper and a little more stable. Recchi is a much-needed left handed winger, but more importantly a steadying hand in the locker room and a resource for young LWs Lucic and Wheeler. Montador adds depth to the defensive corps, and in the event that a defenseman is injured he will make Claude Julien's decisions a little easier. Neither move will have a dramatic effect on the roster, but both make the Bruins slightly more playoff-ready.

For the future - Lashoff is a solid prospect for Tampa but he didn't appear to have much of a future in Boston after making little out of his chances with the Bruins. Karsums was simply a casualty of the depth chart. The only significant loss is Nokelainen, who has been on IR for a month and looked to have been leapfrogged by prospects like Bitz and Sobotka. And in the process, the Bruins acquired a 2nd round pick -- recent players the Bruins have drafted in the 2nd or later include Lucic, Sobotka, Hunwick, and rookie sensation Kris Versteeg.

Considering the Bruins' cap constraints and the conservative nature of this trading season, I have to give Chiarelli props for improving the Bruins' Cup chances without making any painful sacrifices.

Bruins vs. Caps: Stuff To Look Out For

Tonight there is a marquee matchup in both conferences: Boston (#1) vs Washington (#3) in the East, and Detroit (#2) vs. Calgary (#4) in the West. One gets the sense that all of these teams will wake up tomorrow with a slightly different sense of self, depending on how these games go. Fans with access to the NHL Center Ice broadcasts will be able to watch the landscape changing before their very eyes -- what a great time to be a hockey fan.

Washington is happy to host this game, because they are far better at the Verizon Center (10-1-1) than anywhere else (5-9-2). I am always suspicious of teams that play a completely different game in one building than they do elsewhere. I am also suspicious of any team which is leading its division with the 6th-best record in the conference. The Caps are a talented team, to be sure -- but they're also one of the streakiest in the league.

Things to watch for tonight:

To make things uncomplicated, you can just stare at Alex Ovechkin the whole time. Chances are, all the interesting stuff will involve him anyway.

This game will feature two of the East's three best power-play units. The Bruins penalty-kill is slightly uncertain, pending news on whether Stephane Yelle plays tonight. If not, Julien is apparently considering Phil Kessel to be PK material these days (the most unlikeliest of turns), which should be a huge red flag to the Caps defensemen to keep an eye out for shorthanded rushes. Meanwhile, the Caps are missing power-play stalwarts Mike Green (6 ppg from the blue line) and Alex Semin (6 of 27 points on the PP), and former Selke winner Sergei Fedorov. Fedorov is one of those great two-way players whose absence will be felt in every part of the game.

The Caps have a slew of other injured players, frankly too many to list or try to keep track of. Suffice it to say: they are playing with about half their normal quality players. The Bruins are still waiting on good news from Marco Sturm or Aaron Ward, whose replacements (Nokelainen and Lashoff, respectively) have been more or less silent.

RUMOR ALERT: Semin apparently took part in a closed morning skate and was upgraded to a game-time decision. Bruce Boudreau is a smart coach and might bring Semin in for limited action in this key game.

The goaltending matchup is slated to be Manny Fernandez vs. Brent Johnson. Manny's start confirms that we are back to a 1A/1B rotation, an extremely impressive feat on his part and a testament to Julien's fairmindedness in handling the Bruins' goalie (non)controversy this season. Johnson is one of those guys who you know is good, who can beat you any night, but you just don't think about when someone asks you to name the top 30 goalies in the league.

TIDBIT: Fernandez' 7-game winning streak is the longest for a Boston goalie since.... wait for it.... Jon Casey. Half the Bruins couldn't even walk when Casey was a B-list starter for the Bruins.

Things got a little heated last season, when these teams were in fierce contention for a playoff berth. Both lost in the first round, but took a big step toward legitimacy in the process. Both are still using each other as measuring sticks, but now from the other end of the playoff bracket. Expect this one to be feisty and fast-paced, and to make some waves in the power rankings.

Rask Leaves Camp Disappointed (that the Bruins aren't being sold)

Quick updates today, as we draw ever-closer to games that count:

- Sadly, Jeremy Jacobs is not interested in selling the Bruins. So much for my proposal that the Federal Government bail out Jacobs by purchasing the team and selling it to someone who gives a rat's ass.

- Four more players were sent back to Providence: Tuukka Rask, Matt Lashoff, Jeff Penner and Martin St. Pierre. Rask and Lashoff will be on the short-list for a callup to the NHL, and Penner might see a little ice time later this season. St. Pierre is an AHL lifer.

- Gabe and John at the Jumbotron put together a player-by-player preview for MYFO that will make you far more intimate with the Bruins' roster than you really would've wanted.