Bruins Puckbag: An Assortment of Observations on Boston and Providence

Unless he is back in the organization for an unheard-of fifth season and spends a substantial amount of that season in Providence, Andrew Bodnarchuk’s inadvertent endeavor to become the P-Bruins’ all-time career games-played leader was terminated with Monday’s recall to Boston. The 23-year-old blueliner needed to suit up for all but one of the remaining games on the schedule to reach 279 and surpass Jay Henderson at the top of that list, but will inevitably miss a few so long as he is going along on Boston’s upcoming road trip.

The timing of Bodnarchuk’s promotion to the parent club, only the second of his four-year career and first since April 2010, makes this author wonder if general manager Peter Chiarelli is hoping to dangle another trade deadline commodity.

It is certainly surprising that the P-Bruins drew their greatest crowd of the season (11,235) to a Sunday afternoon game, namely this past Sunday versus Albany. But if it was going to occur at any point, it is no shock it happened on the Sunday after the Super Bowl and one of the few remaining weekends before spring training and March Madness pick up.

The two crowds from both weekend games allowed Providence to pole-vault from fifth to second on the AHL’s attendance leaderboard within three days. But there’s no catching the top dog from Hershey, whose average audience eclipses that of the Bruins by 2,352.

With 53 games behind and as many as 29 still ahead, Patrice Bergeron has already equated his power-play scoring totals of 3-8-11 from 80 appearances in the 2010-11 regular season.

One reason the Bruins can reassert themselves with a win over the New York Rangers Tuesday night: The Rangers’ divisional cohabitants from Philadelphia have now dropped five out of five meetings with the first-place Blueshirts.

Providence has not tallied a shorthanded goal since Zach Hamill inserted the team’s only strike in a 4-1 loss to Connecticut Dec. 2. And as a team, Bruce Cassidy’s pupils have as many shorthanded points (six) as former P-Bruin Keith Aucoin and Chris Bourque have each singlehandedly collected as members of the Hershey Bears this season.

Captain Trent Whitfield’s unsuccessful penalty shot against Albany Sunday afternoon was the first such play awarded to a P-Bruin since none other than Whitfield was stoned by Worcester’s Harri Sateri on March 18 of last season. The last P-Bruin to capitalize on a free one-on-one was Brian McGrattan, now the Nashville Predators’ resident enforcer, precisely one year ago today against Connecticut’s Dov Grumet-Morris.

Bergeron, Joe Corvo, Chris Kelly, Dennis Seidenberg and Shawn Thornton are the five remaining Bruins who have seen action in every game up to this point. Kelly has dressed for all 82 games in a regular season three previous occasions with the Ottawa Senators (2005-06, 2006-07 and 2008-09) while Corvo did the same with last year’s Carolina Hurricanes.

Meanwhile, on the farm, Craig Cunningham is the lone P-Bruin to have dressed for all 51 games to date.

Benoit Pouliot started his first season in Boston with an eight-game production drought. If he fails to put his name to the scoresheet against the Rangers Tuesday night, he will match that season-high skid. This coming after he had surged to charge up 6-9-15 totals in 25 games between Nov. 26 and Jan. 22.

It might just serve the common good if re-concussed forward Nathan Horton were simply shelved for the balance of this season, giving him eight-plus months between now and the next training camp to thoroughly recover. Bergeron from four years ago and Marc Savard from two seasons all but represent the two extremes on the historical barometer.

This Date In Providence Bruins History: February 13

1994: In their final confrontation at the Providence Civic Center, the P-Bruins tie the Moncton Hawks, 5-5.

1999: Initially trailing, 2-0, the P-Bruins roar back for five unanswered goals and cement a home victory over Hartford.

2002: Representing the Canadian All-Stars, defenseman Jonathan Girard takes first place in the skills competition’s fastest skater and hardest shot contest.

2003: Matt Herr’s go-ahead power-play goal proves to be his 11th game-winner of the season as it finalizes a 3-2 home win over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

2005: Andy Hilbert wins the shooting accuracy event at the AHL All-Star Skills Competition in Manchester.

2008: Matt Hendricks and Aaron Slattengren (game-winner) each insert two goals to beat the visiting Manchester Monarchs, 6-4.

2010: The P-Bruins win their fourth consecutive game and their sixth in a span of seven tries, edging the Springfield Falcons, 3-1, at MassMutual Center.

This Date In Providence Bruins History: February 12

1993: The P-Bruins score six goals in the first period-including four within 92 seconds via Jozef Stumpel, Darren Banks, Andrew McKim and Dominic Lavoie-en route to an 8-7 home win over the Springfield Indians.

1995: Scott Bailey backstops a 1-0 shutout of the Worcester IceCats at the Centrum.

1999: Landon Wilson’s hat trick stokes a 7-2 win over the visiting Portland Pirates.

2005: Hannu Toivonen’s shutout streak ends at 237 minutes and 27 seconds, less than 13 minutes short of a league record. But Patrice Bergeron and Brad Boyes both convert in a shootout to beat the host Springfield Falcons, 2-1.

2010: Five multipoint outings―Jordan Knackstedt’s goal and playmaker hat trick, Mikko Lehtonen’s two goals and a pair of assists apiece for Zach Hamill, Brad Marchand and Trent Whitfield―highlight a 7-1 battering of the Hartford Wolf Pack at The Dunk.