For the last two seasons, they were Team Turmoil. It seemed as if a week didn't go by without a serious injury, controversy or complaint. Management was at times stymied and often very unhappy with what it was seeing on the ice. At one point around the millennium, general manager Mike O'Connell said his players were not playing as a team.
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Hockey talk
"First of all, I wouldn't tell my friends that. I wouldn't talk about something like that, especially right now. I'm happy as hell in Boston. I'd like to stay. That's such a crazy thing."
-- Boston Bruins' right wing Bill Guerin, responding to an item in Newsday. Guerin, who is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, supposedly told his friends recently he was unhappy in Boston and he wanted to play for the Islanders.
The number
That's the number of goals that Ottawa forward Shawn McEachern had in his last 22 games. McEachern, who has scored 30 or more goals twice -- both coming in the last three years -- has just six goals all season in 47 games.
Infirmary report
No one would be more amazed than the Canadiens themselves if their captain -- forward Saku Koivu -- was able to return sometime this year. Koivu, who was diagnosed with abdominal cancer in September, just finished his final chemotherapy treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He has been skating a little and taking some shots but appears a long way from a comeback. "He has a long way to go to get into shape," said his teammate and close friend Craig Rivet. "Right now, he's fat. He's a bit chubby from hitting the meat and potatoes and it doesn't make sense to push it."
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This 2001-2002 edition of the Boston Bruins couldn't be any more opposite. Yes, some of the players are the same but the atmosphere is a world apart from what it was then.
There is leadership across the board, despite it still being a pretty young squad.
There is a mix of nationalities -- with Canada, the United States, Finland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden and England represented, but all blending together. There's grit, tenacity, a strong work ethic and talent. Coach Robbie Ftorek has made sure they're all on the same page.
Most of all, said forward Bill Guerin, who for all intents and purposes is the spiritual leader, this is a group of people with a single purpose.
"I don't think guys on our team care who makes this or who plays in this position," said Guerin. "There's no separation by salary or by points or by position. There's no separation at all. We don't have any huge egos."
There are sports where teams have had warring factions and gone on to win championships, with one of the more famous groups being the Oakland Athletics of the 1970s. But Guerin doesn't believe that can happen in hockey.
"I think baseball is just a completely different sport," he said. "It's more of an individual effort and mindset. In hockey, you're constantly relying on somebody else. It's always been said and it's always been proven, you can't do anything on your own in this game. Every little success that a team has, every goal you score, always involves more than one person. You have to be willing to work together. The tighter your team is, the better you're going to be."
It's not unusual for small groups of players to hang out together. On some teams, it's the veterans hanging out with the veterans, the youngsters socializing among one another or perhaps the group from overseas who may have a better command of their own first language than they do of English. That scenario doesn't exist in Boston.
"There are no cliques, not one," said Guerin. "We had very tight teams in Edmonton, too. But there were always guys coming in and out. There was always a revolving door somewhere along the line. In New Jersey, we were pretty tight, too. As for right now, this team is as close as I've seen any. There are probably fewer cliques than I've ever seen anywhere. You know what? Don't even say fewer because there are none. And I'm not saying that just to sound good. That's the truth."
Certainly, winning can make any team happier than they would be otherwise, but this team is an unusually jovial group. For example, Guerin keeps a Joe Thornton bobblehead doll in his FleetCenter stall and has since they were first delivered for the club's giveaway night. P.J. Stock, who doesn't get a lot of ice time but leaves a memorable impression when he does, is the team chatterbox. Veteran Don Sweeney's sense of humor is sly. Across the board, a bad mood is a rare thing. Despite being quiet and a little on the shy side, Sergei Samsonov is close to a number of his teammates. Whether they're from this continent or another, Guerin said it doesn't matter and it's never an issue.
"I think that's important," said Guerin. "I think it's a good sign from our European players and I guess it kind of goes both ways. They're willing to do anything and that's not always the case. We don't have five guys from one country. They can't do that. If they want to just hang out by themselves or with one guy all year, that's what they're going to have to do but we don't have that. We all hang out together and it's nice. It's good, you get to know guys like that and it makes it more fun."
On Thursday night, Guerin and his teammates put an exclamation point on their unity in the third period when they brawled with the Ottawa Senators. In all, 168 penalty minutes were called, as goaltender Byron Dafoe beat the tar out of Ottawa netminder Patrick Lalime. It was just another example of where it looks like this team is headed.
"I just think it's a good bunch of guys," said Guerin, "who don't care about anything but each other and winning games."
Atlantic Division
At some point, it becomes a case of piling on when it comes to criticizing the Rangers. But really, one for 15 with a two-man advantage? That's just mind-boggling.
Nice to see good-guy Ted Donato get another kick at the NHL can. When no teams came calling last summer and into the fall, Donato signed a deal with the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League. The Islanders, in need of midseason help, signed Donato for his second stint with that team.
Despite the return of Mario Lemieux, the Penguins have continued to struggle. "We need to get better everywhere," said goaltender Johan Hedberg. "That's all the mental part of the game, I believe. That's where it all starts."
Flyers' forward Jeremy Roenick said he'd be happy to give up his All-Star spot to teammate Simon Gagne, who was passed over. "I am thoroughly shocked," said Roenick of Gagne's exclusion. Roenick, as well as his team, has been on fire of late, scoring 11 of his 14 goals and 24 of his 45 points in the last 21 games.
Northeast Division
Don't look now but the Canadiens are making a respectable run toward playoff contention. Despite a long list of awful injuries to key personnel, goaltender Jose Theodore has helped the club pull it together. Theodore, who was added to the North American All-Star team, has quietly moved up the ranks in statistics among goaltenders. Through Wednesday, Theodore had the sixth-best goals-against average (2.15). His .927 save percentage was third and only trailed Avalanche netminder Patrick Roy by one-thousandths of a point (.928).
It's hard to explain why some players play well against certain opponents or why some goalies have success in certain enemy rinks. Buffalo forward Vaclav Varada doesn't have a clue as to why he seems to feast on Southern California teams but he does. Varada had four goals and three assists in seven games against Anaheim and potted three goals and six assists in seven games against the Los Angeles Kings (not including Thursday night). Varada, who went into the contest Thursday with 16 points -- seven of them goals -- in 42 games, had four goals in his last five games.
It didn't take the sting out of being passed over for the Canadian Olympic team, but Ottawa defenseman Wade Redden said it was a nice honor to be asked to the All-Star Game. "It makes me feel good because it's nice to be recognized ... I was pretty disappointed at being left off the Olympic team," said Redden.
He hasn't scored a lot of points, but rookie defenseman Nick Boynton has carved a niche for himself on the Boston blue line. He was rewarded Thursday when he was included on the YoungStars Game roster, who will compete in a four-on-four game on Feb. 1 during All-Star weekend.
Southeast Division
The Hurricanes are getting a big boost with center Jeff O'Neill rounding from the back spasms that sidelined him earlier. The club was 1-3 in the four games O'Neill missed. Coach Paul Maurice is easing him back into the lineup. He played fewer than normal minutes against Edmonton and Vancouver, but Maurice said he saw good signs that O'Neill was soon to be back to his old self.
With Bret Hedican now in Carolina, Robert Svehla may be the next one on the Florida roster to pack his bags. Svehla, who along with Hedican, is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, has a $3.25 million club option for next season. Reportedly, the club would rather deal him than pick that up.
They may still be in last place in the conference, but Atlanta has picked up its play of late. The reason has less to do with the offensive forces of Dany Heatley and Ilya Kovalchuk than it does with the netminding of Milan Hnilicka. Heading into their game against Philadelphia, Hnilicka had allowed just four goals on 118 shots in his last three contests for a .966 save percentage.
Zdeno Ciger's hat trick -- the 15th in team history -- in Tampa's 5-4 overtime win over the Devils was the first for the Lightning since Fredrik Modin completed one on Oct. 22, 2000.
Nancy Marrapese-Burrell of the Boston Globe is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.
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