BOSTON - After Bruins forward Rob Zamuner was injured in Toronto last Tuesday, he got a variety of medical opinions on the extent and precise nature of the damage he suffered.
The final prognosis, received days later, was a bit scary: a dislocated sterno-clavicular joint on the right side of his chest and a punctured lung.
"When it first happened, I thought I just got my wind knocked out," said Zamuner, hurt on an open-ice hit by an unknown Maple Leaf. "Obviously it turned out to be a little worse than that. I kind of had a hard time breathing right after it happened."
The initial prognosis was a fractured collarbone, but that was subsequently amended to only a deep bruise. Zamuner went to Mass. General for X-rays and was told there was no fracture. He left and began his drive home.
"Then I got a call in my car and they told me I should come right back to the hospital," said Zamuner, who was then informed about the dislocation and a partially deflated lung.
He does not know how long he'll be out of action and hopes to have a better idea after seeing a lung specialist on Friday. It would seem a good bet he'll need a few weeks at least for the dislocated joint to heal. ...
B's defenseman Kyle McLaren, sidelined by a torn chest muscle since Oct. 8, continues to improve, but estimates he's two weeks away from playing.
"It's getting better, for sure," McLaren said. "I can do a lot of things now that I couldn't do last week without a lot of discomfort. But I don't know when I'll be back. I'm hoping in the next two weeks."
***
The reaction of general manager Mike O'Connell to agent Neil Abbott's request late last week that his client, P.J. Axelsson, be traded? He is ignoring it.
"Yep, that's it," O'Connell said. "Really, there's nothing to be said about it. He's part of this team. We've heard all of these things before. 'I want to be traded. . . . I want this or that.' But I don't see any need to do anything."
O'Connell's attitude: Even if Axelsson was averaging only 11:43 in icetime going into last night's game against the Devils, playing 11:17 last night, that's still a sizeable chunk of time that would have to be filled by someone else if he were gone. And the B's might not have anyone better. Hence, it makes no sense to make a trade merely because a player is displeased with his role.
***
Referees usually don't have their own rooting sections, but there was for one of last night's game officials at the FleetCenter.
Referee Chris Rooney of South Boston last night officiated his first NHL game in Boston. The 26-year-old Rooney, a Catholic Memorial and Northeastern grad, is the youngest of 11 brothers and he needed to obtain about 30 tickets for friends and relatives.
"It's exciting, growing up in Boston and watching the Bruins all my life," Rooney said.
Steve Conroy contributed to this report.
