Bruins: Deeper than a Zen monk.

One thing that every Cup-winning team has in common: depth. As we go deeper into the playoffs, it becomes more and more important to be able to match up all 4 lines and insert new players into the lineup to cover for injury.

Boston has been blessed with an embarrassment of riches this season, dealing away two solid prospects (Lashoff and Nokelainen) at the trade deadline and still retaining more NHL-quality players than can fit on a roster. Here are the guys who could have a big impact despite watching the occasional game as a scratch:

Shane Hnidy

Why he's on the bench: Lack of skill, mostly. Hnidy has a hard time moving the puck under pressure, especially when he's forced to make a quick and accurate pass. He also offers relatively little upside when he has the time and space to make a play.

How he could play a role: The "Sherriff" is a decent defensive player, but his most valuable contribution is grit. He goes into the tough areas with reckless abandon and is always the first to jump into a scrum. In a tough Montreal series he added much-needed snarl.

Steve Montador

Why he's on the bench: Since his deadline trade from Anaheim, Montador hasn't really found a place in the Boston lineup. He's not quite skilled enough to justify a regular shift on defense, and his time as a forward was unproductive.

How he could play a role: Utility players are more valuable in the playoffs, when substitutions are more urgent. Montador's ability to play at nearly any position could make him an attractive "band aid" when injuries start to pile up.

Byron Bitz

Why he's on the bench: Because he's redundant as long as Shawn Thornton is in the lineup. Both are cut from the same mold -- large, bruising enforcers with enough skill to justify a regular shift. Bitz is a little larger, but Thornton's skill set and leadership make him a safer play.

How he could play a role: Bitz and Thornton showed they were capable of playing effectively together, combining for a key goal against Montreal. If a Bruins forward goes down with injury, Bitz is likely Julien's first choice off the bench. He'll be expected to hit, hit, and hit some more to generate offense off the forecheck.

Vladimir Sobotka

Why he's on the bench: The Boston system has proven a bit too deep for the NHL-ready forward. Sobotka would most likely be an "energy" player in most organizations, but veteran forwards like Kobasew and Yelle have kept him in Providence for most of the season.

How he could play a role: Sobotka gives the Bruins a little extra yap when he's on the ice. If Kobasew were to go down, he might be a better replacement than Bitz or Montador. He's hardly a blue chip prospect, but can hold his own in the big leagues.

Tuukka Rask

Why he's on the bench: Manny's making too much money to be the towel boy.

How he could play a role: To be honest, if Tim Thomas gets injured it doesn't really matter what role Rask plays. We could hope for him to have an experience similar to Varlamov in Washington, but realistically it would be asking too much for him to carry a late playoff run.

Other depth options for Boston:

Johnny Boychuk - Stud defensive prospect, not yet ready for prime time.
Jeremy Reich - Depth winger lost in the system after blowing his chance in Boston.
Martin St. Pierre - Undersized but skillful, he won't sniff a callup unless something truly horrible happens.
Peter Schaefer - Remember this guy!? His massive cap hit will keep him safely in Providence, where he can do less harm.

Bruins History 101: The Best and Worst Names Ever

Best of the Bruins

10 - Bob Beers

Admit it, you loved this name when you were a kid playing NHL '94. Granted, by that time Beers was stuck on pushover teams like the Islanders and Oilers, who you would only pick if you were trying to make Cam Neely score 10 goals. But this is a giggle-to-yourself classic that was perfectly fit for the tone of an early-90s game at the Garden.

9 - Dit Clapper

This name should only be spoken out loud in the nasal voice of an old-time radio announcer.

8 - Red Green

Nothing says "Canadian" like Red Green, the Canuck equivalent to Tim Taylor (the Tool Man, not the former Bruin). Obscure Canadian-pop-culture references aside... who names their kid Red Green???

7 - Byron Bitz

The second of three entries on this list whose initials are B.B... what better monogram for a Bruin?

6 - Sprague Cleghorn

Though his name suggests he was a small-town sherriff from 1920s Alabama, in fact this guy is a certified inductee of Hockey Hell and one of the true badasses of the early NHL.

5 - Zellio Toppazzini

Save for documentary evidence of this man's existence, I would be inclined to believe he was actually a fictional character... perhaps a lost Willy Wonka villain.

4 - Buzz Boll

It almost automatically becomes the compound word "buzzball" when spoken out loud. This is a picture of an actual buzzball:

3 - Butch Goring

Nothing comic about this one, this name is pure intimidation. Would you have guessed that this is the man who had only 102 career PIM in 1107 games? Or that he would've had the distinction of wearing the same leather helmet he received as a childhood gift? The world is a strange place.

2 - Bronco Horvath

Another colorfully-intimidating name, of the sort that only existed in the early years. The combination of "Bronco" -- a Western word suggesting speed, power, and murder -- and the Magyar surname "Horvath" -- which sounds like it was at some point the name of a Satanic figure -- is a case study in the use of subtle phonetic blends to make a guy sound totally badass.

1 - Terry O'Reilly

What other name could have been #1? Nothing encapsulates the spirit of the Bruins like a pugnacious, brawling Irishman who can be your captain, enforcer AND leading scorer at the same time.

Artist's Rendering of Terry O'Reilly, circa 1985.

Worst of the Bruins

5 - Teddy Graham
Maybe this wasn't so bad in the 1930s, but anyone alive today will associate his name with harmless-looking cracker snacks. Can you imagine a guy named Teddy Graham wearing this?

4 - Quackenbush, Bill and Max

It's hard to imagine an announcer feverishly calling a game with these guys on the ice. If only their names had been Hewie and Dewie, we'd have been pretty close to a Duck Tales crossover.

3 - Spunk Sparrow

Seriously? I felt dirty even typing it.

2 - Weiner Brown

Standing 5'8" and weighing 150 lbs, he was undoubtedly the smallest Weiner in NHL history.

1 - Jean Pusie

According to Wikipedia, "for some reason" his name was left off the Cup in 1931. What a mystery!

What To Do With Axelsson?

Prior to Thursday's game I suggested that it's time for Claude Julien take Axelsson out of the lineup -- Douglas Flynn of the New England Hockey Journal picks up that same tune in yesterday's article.

Flynn:
"This is not a call to see the end of Axelsson’s days as a Bruin, just a suggestion that his name should not be automatically penciled into the lineup every night, especially against more physical opponents where some added size up front could come in handy."

The Bruins shouldn't be callous toward P.J., who has been a pretty loyal and classy player through some of the organization's darkest times. But with as much class and dignity as possible, it's time to start rotating him out of the lineup if he's not going to produce at least as many goals this season as guys like Stuart and Hnidy.

Over the past several games, the Bruins have been pushed around by teams like the Ducks and Flyers. And even when they are physically aggressive, as they were in out-hitting the Coyotes 31-10, the Bruins are still having trouble creating traffic in the crease and -- most importantly -- burying rebounds and deflections.

Byron Bitz is 4 inches taller and 40 pounds heavier than Axelsson, and despite his low skill set he's a better goal-scorer because he does a lot of dirty work in front of the net. More importantly, he's got great chemistry with Thornton and Bitz on the 4th line. Even in the Bruins' worst games this season, the grinders have generally pulled their weight and frequently create offensive chances off the forecheck.

With all due respect to P.J. -- and I don't mean that to be a cliche', he really does deserve the respect of the organization -- it's time for him to become a utility backup rather than a nightly contributor.