Today, in the Garden...

Monday Morning
Bear Force One traveled to La Belle Provence yesterday afternoon and the B's were scheduled to have ice this morning at the Bell Centre.

I am awaiting word from my moles on scratches and a starting goalie.

By the way, those of you who are not in Boston can't imagine the good feelings around here sports wise. And right now our Bruins are the icing on the cake. The Red Sox are in the World Series starting Wednesday, the Patriots are undefeated and even the Boston College Eagles are ranked #2 in the nation.

On top of all of that, the B's four game winning streak has them winning time on the local sports broadcast reports.

It is downright amazing!

Surely, the Bruins hope to ride that wave of emotion in an attempt to tame any ghosts that commute from their haunt at the Pepsi Forum down to the Habs current home on Rue de la Gauchetière.

Oh, to be at St-Hubert's or La Cage Aux Sports enjoying poutine right now!

Maybe I will have to grab a slice from Pizzeria Regina in the North End to drown my sorrows in mozzarella.

Our Boys should be getting off the ice sometime soon.

1:33 p.m.

John Bishop is the beat writer for BostonBruins.com. He covers the Black & Gold hoping to offer a positive look at the team, not only from the stands and the press box, but also from inside the locker room. A graduate of Boston U. and Northeastern, 'Bish' grew up in Connecticut and moved to the Hub of Hockey in 1993. Since then he has made all four rinks at the Beanpot schools, as well as both Gardens, his icebound homes away from home. Prior to joining the TD Banknorth Garden staff in 2005, Bishop had written for several publications, with his primary focus being college hockey. He coauthored the book Bygone Boston in 2003 and hopes someday to pen a bio of Hobey Baker.

While I am at it...here are some upcoming promotions. No word from the Montreal contingent as of yet.

10.23.07: Join the Boston Bruins as they work behind the bar of the Sports Grill, Boston. Boston Bruins players will be at the Sports Grill, located at 132 Canal Street, Boston, MA (across the street from the TD Banknorth Garden) from 6-8pm. Fans will have the opportunity to take photos and receive autographs all while being served cold drinks from one of their favorite Bruins' players!

THIS EVENT IS 21+ and is FREE ADMISSION!
 
10.23.07: Don't miss your chance to skate with the Boston Bruins! On October 23rd the Boston Bruins and Bay State Hockey present "Skate with the Bruins" at (2) local ice rinks. Boston Bruins players and alumni will be at local rinks to host an open skate session, meet fans and sign autographs. Each skate session is free to the public and open to the first 200 people.

The Bruins will be at the Simoni Skating Rink in Cambridge, MA from 6:00pm-6:50pm and Chelmsford Forum in Chelmsford, MA from 6:10pm-7:00pm.
 
10.24.07: Boston Bruins Executive Vice President Charlie Jacobs and Boston Bruins Foundation Director of Development Bob Sweeney will speak at the Career Collaborative Annual Leadership Breakfast. Career Collaborative looks to end working-class poverty by helping adults get and succeed at life changing jobs, making Massachusetts and it's families stronger.

For more information on Career Collaborative please visit www.careercollaborative.org.
 
10.25.07: On Saturday, October 25th the Boston Bruins are partnering with the American Cancer Society and the NHL's Hockey Fights Cancer campaign to raise proceeds and awareness for these two great causes.

The Bruins are pleased to offer $30 tickets with $5 from every ticket going to the American Cancer Society.  To purchase tickets please click here and enter promo code: pinkribbon (all lower-case).

If you have any questions regarding tickets please contact Chris Spano at 617-624-1829.

The night will also include a 50/50 raffle benefitting the American Cancer Society and breast cancer survivors and their families singing the national anthem, riding the zamboni and acting as the Boston Bruins bench assistants.

2:11 p.m.
My mole says that Tim Thomas remained on the ice with presumed Bruins scratches (Allen, Bochenski, Reich). So that should indicate that Manny Fernandez is getting the nod in goal in his hometown...

I've spoken with Manny about this possibility in the past, and he denied any extra pressure or meaning behind starting against the Habs. That being said, I can't imagine he doesn't relish the opportunity to play on the big stage in the Bell Centre...

4:23 p.m.
No updates from Montreal. But given the guys skating late, it sounds as if the lineup should be pretty similar to the squad who played against New York and Tampa.

New York's was:
Schaefer-Savard-Kobasew
Sturm-Bergeron-Murray
Axelsson-Krejci-Kessel
Lucic-Metropolit-Thornton
Chara-Ward (sg) Fernandez
Alberts-Ference (bg) Thomas
Stuart-Wideman

Tampa Bay's was:
Schaefer-Savard-Kobasew
Sturm-Bergeron-Murray
Lucic-Krejci-Kessel
Axelsson-Metropolit-Thornton
Chara-Ward (sg) Thomas
Alberts-Ference (bg) Fernandez
Stuart-Wideman

Notice the only changes were the placement of Lucic/Axelsson and Thomas... Timmy looks like he is the back up tonight, and we'll see where Lucic/Axelsson land.

4:57 p.m.
Reported by TSN.ca:
For the first time since the second game of the season, head coach Guy Carbonneau will keep the same lines and pairings in consecutive matches... Forward Bryan Smolinski will play in his 1,000th NHL game tonight, ironically against the team with which he started his career - the Boston Bruins.

Lineup:
Higgins-Koivu-Ryder
Latendresse-Plekanec-Kovalev
Grabovski-Smolinski-Dandenault
Begin-Chipchura-Kostopoulos
Markov-Komisarek (sg) Huet
Hamrlik-Brisebois (bg) Price
Bouillon-Streit Scratches: Kostitsyn, Gorges

6:57 p.m.
No lineup changes as of yet. I am really getting excited about this matchup. As always, don't forget to follow the action via the running recap at story #1 on the front page.

I will probably post one more time here before moving over that way...

7:12 p.m.
No lineup changes. My mole says that the Bell Centre is filling up and that Our Boys looked ready to go. See you over on the Running Recap.