Bruins might surprise rivals; New faces may lead to success.

Byline: Bud Barth

COLUMN: BRUINS

With the Red Sox in a red-hot pennant race, the Patriots riding a 21-game winning streak, and the Celtics preparing to launch defense of their 17th NBA championship, the Bruins are right where they always find themselves at this time of year - choking on the dust of their Boston brethren.

The B's begin training camp for their 2008-09 season this week, news that probably won't bump Barack Obama and John McCain off the front pages. And yet some hockey fans have been raring to go ever since Boston's scintillating comeback from a 3-1 playoff deficit against Montreal last spring.

The Canadiens eventually prevailed in seven games, once again denying the Bruins a ticket beyond the first round. If the B's don't break the spell this coming spring, it will mark one full decade since they've won a playoff series (they beat Carolina in six games in the first round in 1999), and approaching 40 years - 37, to be exact - since the franchise's last Stanley Cup (1972).

That first drought seems destined to end very soon, perhaps even this season. Certainly the fans have been patient, the disgruntled ones possibly outnumbered by those who are finally gruntled - sorry about that - by the promise of Boston's playoff metamorphosis.

Rookies are already skating at Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington, and the first mandatory session for veterans is at 10 a.m. Saturday. There was a rookie game last night between the B's and Islanders in Shelton, Conn., and the first full-fledged exhibition game is at 6 p.m. Monday against the Montreal Canadiens in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Is this global warming, or are we rushing hockey here?

Whatever.

In a league where Original Six is a revered term, here are six reasons - hardly original - why the 2008-09 Bruins should be significantly improved over last year:

1 New blood - The acquisitions of goal-scoring right wing Michael Ryder and defensive center Stephane Yelle were inspired moves, tailor-made to replace the departed Glen Murray (bought out) and Glen Metropolit (lost in free agency).

Yes, Ryder is coming off an unproductive season, but he's replacing a guy who had the mother of all unproductive seasons. He also has a long and strong history since his junior days with B's coach Claude Julien. While he's a (normally) terrific scorer and very good in the corners, his defensive shortcomings have been duly noted, but that's why he's got a centerman and a left wing, right? Besides, Murray wasn't exactly Selke Trophy material.

Yelle, on the other hand, is. He has played on Stanley Cup winners with Colorado and Calgary and is a much better faceoff man than Metropolit. A net gain in both areas.

2 Super sophs - Young forwards Milan Lucic and David Krejci picked up valuable crunch-time experience, and could be in a position to help ease the offensive inadequacies that starved the Bruins' chances of upsetting the Canadiens. There are 20-goal seasons in the future of both these Super sophs - Lucic as a classic planted-in-front slot machine, Krejci as a legitimate sniper - but can they immediately beef up last year's dismal production of 2.51 goals a game, which ranked Boston 24th in the NHL?

3 Welcome back - The "X" factor is the healthy return of center and assistant captain Patrice Bergeron and goalie Manny Fernandez, both coming off early season-ending injuries. Bergeron is the key figure here, given that he's arguably the best two-way player on the roster, but it's vital that Fernandez return to something approaching his old Minnesota Wild form now that the B's have lost Alex Auld to free agency. This is one case where Manny being Manny will be good.

4 Show me the money - There's the possible emergence of Phil Kessel up front and Dennis Wideman on the back line as big-time players after multiple seasons of underachievement - two in the case of Kessel, three for Wideman. Kessel is playing for a new contract this time around, which never hurts, and Wideman will be trying to prove he's worth that new four-year, $15.5 million deal. Nothing motivates like money.

5 The strong get stronger - The improved health of 6-foot-9, 260-pound Zdeno Chara and 6-foot-4, 220-pound Andrew Alberts, arguably the team's top two defensemen, can't be overstated. Chara had successful offseason surgery on the shoulder that limited him late in the season and into the playoffs, but might be held out of exhibitions and some practices in this camp while he recovers fully. Alberts, sidelined by post-concussion symptoms after the Philadelphia Mugging Part II, missed 47 games and was a shell of himself in the postseason. Having both back at full strength is a blessing.

6 Lining them up - Playoff absentee Chuck Kobasew returns to man the right wing on what should be a lightning-quick second line with Bergeron and Marco Sturm. Kobasew will have to learn to shoot more now that he's replacing Murray, but he might not see the kind of passes he got last year from Marc Savard on the No. 1 line. Still, the Bruins are looking at better balance if Savard centers Lucic and Ryder on the first unit; Krejci and Kessel anchor the third line with left wing P.J. Axelsson; and Yelle, Shawn Thornton and either Peter Schaefer or Petteri Nokelainen make up the fourth unit.

NAME: BOSTON BRUINS