He'd like tuneup before the opener

By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, Globe Staff 

Sergei Samsonov maneuvered easily around the ice, practicing the power play with his teammates during the Bruins' double-session workout yesterday at the TD Banknorth Garden. The deft-skating left wing didn't appear to be hampered by his back, which has been ailing throughout training camp.

He's hoping to make his first appearance of the exhibition season tomorrow night in the team's final tuneup, against the New York Rangers at the Garden. However, it will depend on how he feels when he wakes up this morning and how the coaches feel about putting him in a game without much preparation.

''I thought he looked pretty good," said coach Mike Sullivan. ''That was his first full practice with the team. We'll see how he responds but he was skating well and I thought he was moving the puck well."

Samsonov acknowledged practice isn't a game -- exhibition or otherwise -- but his presence was a step in the right direction.

''I went pretty hard," said the 26-year-old. ''Obviously, we didn't do any contact drills, so I think that's the next step. As far as skating and everything else, I'm feeling pretty good. We're taking it day by day. We'll see how it is [today] and I'll talk to [Sullivan] and see what he thinks. Hopefully, I can get into the game [tomorrow]."

Samsonov said it hasn't been easy to be so far behind his teammates in terms of preparation. Because of a series of severe headaches last spring, which prevented him from working out for months, Samsonov's fitness going into camp was below what it normally would have been, and that made him vulnerable to the back strain. He set his sights on suiting up for the final part of the exhibition schedule and he said he'd be disappointed if he couldn't play in the last tuneup.

''To tell you the truth, I'd like to play one exhibition game, at least get in and see what it's like," he said. ''With the rule changes, it would be nice to give it a shot before the season starts. I'm pretty happy with the progress as long as there are no setbacks."

Should the coaching staff decide to hold him out, he'll have three days of practice left before opening night Wednesday against the Montreal Canadiens.

''There's a lot of time left," he said. ''The way things are right now, I'm pretty close. I'm not ruling out [tomorrow]. If I am doing well [today], I'd like to play, absolutely. If not a full game then [some of it]. Obviously, I have to talk to the doctors and coaches before, but I'd like to play."

Sullivan has taken a cautious approach with injured players, especially given Samsonov's inability to practice all out until yesterday, and Samsonov said he understands that sometimes players need to be protected from themselves.

''During a practice, it's a controlled environment," he said. ''You're doing drills and you're going straight. You can cut at your own pace. During games, you don't have that luxury. You have to play the game and not think about it. It's definitely a test.

''Sully has been pretty careful, especially in training camp. It's a long season and that's the last thing you want to do is go out, get injured in training camp, and sit out [part of] the regular season. [What he's done already] is not really close to five on five, but you're still playing sort of a game. [Today] if we do any three on threes or two on twos, that's going to let me know how it feels, but so far it's been good."