Allen: Bruins thumbnails

I’ll admit that I’m not a huge hockey fan. I’ll watch the Bruins occasionally, follow them in the papers, and will keep up with the latest transactions. That’s about it. With the Patriots and Celtics grabbing most of the sports headlines during the season, the Bruins were a bit of a surprise, qualifying for the postseason and getting to play their old rivals, the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the playoffs. It’s Boston’s first trip to the postseason since the NHL lockout, so if you haven’t yet gotten familiar with this year’s team, here’s a quick glimpse at some of the key figures on the Bruins:

Claude Julien
The Bruins coach was around the last time that these two teams hooked up in the playoffs ... coaching the Canadiens. In his first year at the helm of the Bruins, he has led Boston back to the playoffs after the one-year disaster that was Dave Lewis.

Zdeno Chara
He’s the tall guy. Really tall. Six-foot-nine, without skates. To put that in perspective, he’d be looking down at all but four (Kevin Garnett, P.J. Brown, Kendrick Perkins and Scot Pollard) of the players on the Celtics roster. In his second year with the Bruins, Chara has stepped up his game, even being mentioned as a Norris Trophy candidate as the best defenseman in the league. He is capable of shutting down an opponent, and will need to be on top of his game against the high scoring Montreal offense.
 
Tim Thomas
The whipping-boy goaltender. Capable of coming up with the big save just as much as letting the easy one through. Serves as a lightning rod for many Bruins fans.

Marco Sturm, Marc Savard
I’ll show my ignorance here — I get these two confused all the time. They don’t even play the same position. Savard is a center while Sturm is a forward. Savard is a top-notch playmaker, and Sturm is more of a goal scorer. With Patrice Bergeron (see below) out much of this season, Savard has stepped into the top-line center role and produced for the Bruins. Sturm led the team in goals with 27.

Patrice Bergeron
Ever since the Bruins traded Joe Thornton, Bergeron has been tagged as the franchise player of the future. This season has been a wash for Bergeron who suffered a broken nose and Grade 3 concussion after a cheap hit early in the season from the Flyers’ Randy Jones. He has not played since, and has only recently resumed full workouts and been cleared for contact. Bergeron could play in this series, and I would expect a short stint in Game 3 at the Garden in an effort to provide the team and fans an emotional lift.

Milan Lucic
Hard-hitting rookie and fan favorite. He’s the one most likely to mix things up and drop the gloves with an opponent.

Chuck Kobasew
Right wing had the second most goals on the team (22). He played one season at Boston College before going pro. He spent some time in the minors with the Lowell Lock Monsters, so the trade with the Calgary Flames that brought him to Boston in February 2007 was something of a homecoming.

There are, of course, many other players who made contributions to the Bruins this season, and who could come up big in the postseason, giving the Bruins the chance to defeat their long time rivals. Hopefully now at least, you’ll know a couple of the guys out there on the ice as you watch the playoff games.

 Bruce Allen is the creator of Boston Sports Media Watch, which has recently been recognized by SI.com as one of the best non-corporate sports web site's on the Internet.