Big skates to fill for B's

This is going to hurt. This is a thought that probably went through a couple heads on Thursday night at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston. It was most likely on the mind of Bruins defensemen Andrew Ference's mind when he was nailed with the puck after Montreal Canadiens' Andrei Markov fired a slapshot wide of the net, striking Ference in the tibia.

Ference went down in a heap, but was able to actually make a clear and skate off on his own power. But General Manager Peter Chiarelli saw this incident and eventually found out that Ference, Boston's leading player in plus/minus (9), had broken his tibia and would be out for the next 6-8 weeks, he had to come up with a way to replace Ference in the lineup, whether it be a callup from Providence or a trade. This is going to hurt.

During Thursday's 6-1 rout of the Canadiens, everything was looking in sync. Players on the fourth line were scoring goals, such as Shawn Thornton and Stephane Yelle (2 goals, actually). Milan Lucic was continuing to pound opposing skaters and even contributed a goal himself right from a faceoff, and Manny Fernandez showed that even though he's officially a backup, he's only one in name.

After making 27 saves that looked almost effortless, Fernandez proved that either the Bruins have a two-headed monster in their net, along with Tim Thomas, or that some other team in the NHL has realized their new number one goaltender is in New England.

With the game well in hand and everyone in the crowd ecstatic over the win against the team's most hated rival, the first in 13 regular season games, it was tough to even think about or remember the moment Ference went down and barely came up. However, the pain of Ference's tibia would be felt just two days later in New York against the Rangers.

The Bruins had their five game win streak on the line when both they and the New York Rangers stymied each other in the first period of Saturday night's game because of their cautious defensive play.

Ironically enough, it was two defensemen, Zdeno Chara and Dennis Wideman, who scored goals for the Bruins in the second period.

However, after those goals, Boston looked stale. Trouble carrying the puck out of their own zone and into the attacking area was prevalent and the Rangers continued to knock on Thomas' door because they just wouldn't get off his property. The Bruins had plenty of trouble getting the "Broadway Blues" off their backs, and Ference's absence was already apparent.

With seven assists on the season, leading all Bruins defensemen, Ference definitely has a knack for creating offensive chances; something to be desired come the second half of the second period on Saturday. Being able to bring the puck out of his zone and get involved in the productive play is a skill that will be sorely missed for the next two months.

For now, it seems as if Matt Hunwick, a call-up from the Providence Bruins, will have to do yeoman's work in order to replace Ference.

The depth of the Bruins will be tested as for the second year in a row, and their young players will have to develop at an accelerated rate.

Although a trade or even moving defensive-minded Stephane Yelle, who played some defense with the Calgary Flames, to the blue line could be sufficient bandages to heal the wound caused by Ference's absence, another young Bruins player coming into his own is an outstanding plus.

Although the Bruins could be in a lot of trouble for the next several weeks when it comes to overall defense and some offense, this is a great test of depth. If this team is going to stay in first place in the Northeast Division, a little adversity wouldn't hurt, unless you're Andrew Ference.