The Injury-Bug Strikes the Boston Bruins Yet Again

Tuesday night could very well be a prelude to the NHL Stanley Cup finals.

The first place Eastern Conference Boston Bruins (85) host the Western Conference leaders, San Jose Sharks (79) at the TD Banknorth Garden—a nationally televised game on Versus, at 7pm.

Former Bruin, Joe Thornton, will make just his second appearance in Boston since November, 2005, when he was shockingly traded away to San Jose. Oh what a dreary day that was.

As the Bruins get ready for this highly-anticipated match-up, the injury bug has struck the Black and Gold once again.

Michael Ryder is out with an orbital bone fracture and his short-term future is still unclear. The forward may need to go under the knife to repair the damage, which could result in an added number of weeks out of the lineup. Ryder missed the last contest against the Philadelphia Flyers back on Saturday.

After taking a shot off the left foot in the first period of the Flyers game, Milan Lucic’s status is still unclear for tomorrows game. Coach Claude Julien said “everything looked good” following Wednesday’s X-Ray on the 2008 Seventh Player Award winners injured foot.

The possibility of Lucic being out of the lineup tomorrow would be a tremendous blow to the team. His physical presence would be paramount to this game, as the Sharks have a couple of  agitators in Jody Shelley and the newly acquired gritty veteran, Claude Lemieux.

Injuries have plagued the Bruins all season long, and just as we finally see a full, healthy lineup, is just as fast as we see players hit sidelines yet again.

Boston is 6-0-3 in their last nine games,  but you have to wonder if the perseverance alone is settling enough for GM Peter Chiarelli to make a trade or not.

San Jose is on a three-game losing streak after winning their four games prior.

This is the only regular season meeting between the two teams this year, so the two “top-dogs” in the NHL are sure to be at their best with a healthy lineup or not. Two points and a win are the main focus for the B’s, while bragging rights and extra trash talk for its fans would make it even better.

• Just in (ok, 4 hours ago) Michael Ryder has surgery.