COVERITLIVE.COM

11:48

Fluto Shinzawa - Fluto will be here in a while - there's some breaking news to deal with. You can send your questions now, though.

12:26

Fluto Shinzawa - Folks, thanks for dropping by. We're dealing with H1N1 here at the Garden. Bruins are hopeful that the virus will be contained around David Krejci. In the meantime, break out the hand sanitizer...

12:27

[Comment From Lou]
Not a single player on the B's backline is playing as well as they did last year - what's up overall with their defensive play?

12:28

Fluto Shinzawa - The defense is not the team's problem right now (three goals allowed in last two games). But you're right, as individuals, players have not been as good as they were last year. We saw an enormous performance from Zdeno Chara against Edmonton, but that effort has to be there every night. I think once Chara gains some consistency, the rest will fall into line and follow. Wideman's been better lately.

12:28

[Comment From Mike Cappucci]
Fluto - with the huge scoring drought any chance the Bruins will use their abundant draft picks to make a big move. Any names you think they might be interested in?

12:29

Fluto Shinzawa - They will not consider trading Toronto's No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft. And given how they're playing right now, the Bruins would be silly to give up their own first-round pick. How about picking first and second in the draft? Seriously, I think they tread water for now until Savard and Lucic come back. Not much available on this roster that would bring back an impact player without hurting the team.

12:29

[Comment From Patsy Petty]
With the lack of depth due to injuries, any chance we'll see the Bruins try to bring over Axelleson?

12:29

Fluto Shinzawa - No chance.

12:30

[Comment From Bob Smoot]
Given the injuries and the lack of scoring, do you get the sense Chiarelli is regretting the Kessel trade right now?

12:30

Fluto Shinzawa - No chance.

12:30

[Comment From JR]
Fluto, are the B's a couple of weeks (of continued bad hockey) away from having there season be over (ie no playoffs)/

12:31

Fluto Shinzawa - Don't know if that exact timeframe is quite right, but yes, they have to get it going. As we've seen before, it's very difficult to leapfrog over 4-5 teams to put yourself into the top eight in the conference. They have to start finishing on their scoring chances. Bottom line.

12:31

[Comment From Joe P]
Will the Bruins make a trade for offense? What about trading Thomas for a goal scorer? I feel he's starting to show his age, and im comfortable with Rask as the starter.

12:31

Fluto Shinzawa - Thomas has a no-trade clause. He's not going anywhere.

12:31

[Comment From Dennis]
Ignoring the H1N1 issue, I suspect that David Krecji's slow start is largely due to the process of recovering from surgery. Clearly the guy has guts given how he played through the injury last year, but it takes time to heal up from this. Your thoughts?

12:33

Fluto Shinzawa - Somewhat agree. The team expected him to start out slow because of missing the entire preseason. But we're a month into the season now. That's plenty of time to find your rhythm again. With Savard out, Krejci's mediocre play has been a big, big hit. I'll give him 6-8 games to start the year. But after that, he should have been back to the old Krejci.

12:33

[Comment From Joe]
Fluto, is the fourth line getting too much ice time? I know they have been the hardest working line on the team, but they are what they are. A fourth line. They cannot and will not score on a consistent basis. And right now we need as many goals as we can get.

12:34

Fluto Shinzawa - The problem is you're not getting any kind of production from your top-six forwards either. What good is leaning on guys like Sturm and Ryder if they're not going to score? Thornton was probably the team's best forward against Detroit.

12:34

[Comment From mike]
Why not go with a powerplay set up with Wideman and Morris at the points and Chara in front?

12:35

Fluto Shinzawa - Agree with that. Concern is that net-front play is very taxing. Might take away from Chara's defensive play. But yes, when you have the worst PP in the league, it's time to make moves like getting Chara in front. The priority right now is scoring.

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