Rucchin, Pahlsson Linked to a Legend

BOSTON —  Ray Bourque’s jersey will be hoisted to the rafters at FleetCenter tonight. And two Ducks who had their careers altered by the former Boston and Colorado defenseman--centers Steve Rucchin and Samual Pahlsson--will be there.

For Rucchin, the memory isn’t pleasant. It was Bourque who cross-checked Rucchin into a Teemu Selanne slap shot last Nov. 15. Rucchin suffered a broken nose and cheekbone and missed 60 of the final 62 games.

And, indirectly, Bourque was responsible for putting Pahlsson on the path to Anaheim. Pahlsson was part of the deal that sent Bourque to Colorado in March 2000.

Returning to Boston is less emotional for Pahlsson than it will be for Bourque. “I was only there a few months, then I was in Anaheim,” Pahlsson said.

Bourque capped his 22-year career by winning the Stanley Cup, his first title, last spring. Pahlsson played 17 games for the Bruins last season, then was traded to the Ducks Nov. 18 for Patrick Traverse and Andrei Nazarov. Pahlsson, though, nearly held up the Bourque deal, as the Avalanche was reluctant to part with him. He was a 10th-round pick in the 1996 draft, but had developed rapidly, scoring 33 goals in his final two seasons with MoDo Hockey in the Swedish League.

TONIGHT

at Boston, 4:30 PDT

Fox Sports Net 2

Radio-XTRA (690).

2000-2001 records-Ducks 25-41-11-5, Bruins 36-30-8-8.

2000-2001 record vs. Bruins-0-0-0-1.

Update-The Ducks play their first four games on the road against the Bruins, Pittsburgh, Toronto and Montreal. Any success, no matter how limited, will be positive. The Bruins are without center Jason Allison, who is a holdout.