Wally Szczerbiak's season is over after an MRI on his left knee Thursday revealed a previously undetected bone bruise. He is currently scheduled to undergo arthroscopic surgery early next week.

Szczerbiak has battled through the injury since early February, and missed the February 22 game against Phoenix after injuring the knee after a first quarter collision with Milt Palacio in Utah the previous night.

Szczerbiak, who averaged 17.5 points in 32 games with the Celtics after being acquired from Minnesota on Jan. 26, is expected to be ready for training camp in October, but an official timetable for his return to basketball activities cannot be set until the procedure is completed.

According to team spokesman Jeff Twiss, Tony Allen worked out with the first team at shootaround in Philadelphia on Friday morning, and he is the likely candidate to replace Szczerbiak in the starting lineup.

The supposedly new and improved Boston Bruins have been on the job for close to seven weeks, yet it seems very much like old times on Causeway Street.

With a quarter of the regular season schedule in the books, supporters of the black and gold are beginning to hum an all too familiar tune. And it is the same song and dance routine they've put up with for over a decade.

The Bruins haven't advanced past the second round of the NHL playoffs since the spring of 1992.

For those of you keeping score at home, the Bruins have only won two playoff series since the 1991-92 campaign. And the Bruins appear to be headed no place fast once again this season.

Owner Jeremy Jacobs went out and spent some serious coin on this year's club. He locked up captain Joe Thornton long-term, as well as signing a talented group of free agents that included defenseman Brian Leetch, center Alex Zhamnov and winger Shawn McEachern.

Coming out of training camp it appeared the Bruins had enough talent on hand to make a lengthy playoff run come April. This may prove to be the case, but as the losses pile up fan interest is waning along with expectations.

The Bruins have lost six straight games overall, and eight straight on the road. Ouch!

Despite its defensive shortcomings, this edition of the Bruins had the look of a team that was poised to take the next step. Who knew it would be off a cliff?

When this free-fall ends is anybody's guess. With upcoming games at Toronto, home against Philadelphia (Friday) and at Ottawa (Saturday) there appears to be nothing but dark clouds looming on the horizon.

Considering the investment Jacobs has made in this club, the Bruins brass probably isn't going to raze the team's foundation and drastically overhaul the roster. Still, with the Bruins sitting in last place in the Northeast Division with a 7-10-5 (19 points) record, one can't help but feel that unless things turn around sooner rather than later, changes will be made.

We're talking something more substantial than shipping center Dave Scatchard to Phoenix for defenseman Dave Tanabe.

If you had to pick a potential fall guy, the most likely candidate would be head coach Mike Sullivan. Isn't this always the way with the Bruins?

The list of recently vanquished Bruin coaches includes Robbie Ftorek, Mike Keenan, Pat Burns and Steve Kasper.

The feeling here is Sullivan is the right guy for calling the shots on the Bruins' bench. Sure the team has had some third period meltdowns. But for the most part the Bruins have played hard for Sullivan even with key players such as Leetch and Zhamnov missing long stretches due to injury.

It's not Sullivan's fault that Boston's best all-around defenseman Nick Boynton missed all of training camp and the start of the regular season before coming to terms on a contract. Boynton has yet to flash the all-star form he displayed prior to last winter's lockout.

The way this team was constructed you had to believe defense was going to be the mole on the face of an otherwise attractive club. Having Leetch miss time with an injury, coupled with Boynton's slow start, has put added pressure on the Bruins defense.

Boston's brass was, obviously, counting on goalie Andrew Raycroft to serve as a cureall for the Bruins' defensive ills. But Raycroft's performance has been sporadic at best, and he could very well end up being pushed for playing time by backup Hannu Toivonen.

This isn't the time to make any panic moves. Give this group a chance to get healthy and see where they stand come mid-season.

If Sullivan is eventually shown the door, general manager Mike O'Connell should do the honorable thing and fall on the sword with him.

After all this is O'Connell's team. And the Bruins have consistently come up short in the playoffs on O'Connell's watch.

The rules of the game have changed. The roster has turned over. But this looks very much like the same old Bruins.

Orlando Magic: Magic center-forward Tony Battie escaped with minor injuries after he rolled his car and hit a utility pole in a one-car wreck early Friday.

Battie, 28, was cited by Florida Highway Patrol for leaving the scene of an accident and careless driving. The Highway Patrol said the investigating officer said that no alcohol or drugs were involved in the crash, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Battie did not attend the team's tipoff luncheon Friday but is expected to play when the Magic open their season Wednesday at home against the Indiana Pacers, the paper said.

Tony Allen rejoined the Celtics on Saturday after being arrested for aggravated battery and spending two nights in a Chicago prison.

The Celtics guard returned to Boston Friday after posting $150,000 bond and traveled with the team for Saturday's preseason game against New Jersey at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn.

“ I'll let God and my lawyer take care of everything. ”
— Tony Allen
Allen told The Boston Globe he is "very confident" he will be vindicated on an aggravated battery charge.

"I'll let God and my lawyer take care of everything," Allen told the paper. ''I just feel that I let my team down, by getting into this situation."

Allen remains sidelined as he rehabs from offseason surgery on his right knee.

Allen was charged by police late Thursday night in connection with an Aug. 28 incident in which a man was shot. He is not a suspect in the shooting, but police allege Allen was involved in a fight, during which a man's eye socket was broken. Both the shooting victim, Marktwain Johnson, and victim of the punch, Nigel Odum, are seeking money from Allen and have filed civil suits against Allen.

Allen now faces charges of aggravated assault, which carries a penalty ranging from probation to a five-year prison sentence. He must return to Chicago for a preliminary hearing Wednesday, the Globe reported.

Allen was drafted by the Celtics 25th overall in 2004 and started 34 games as a rookie. He averaged 6.4 points and 2.9 rebounds.

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) -- With the clock ticking down toward a shootout, Jason Blake had no trouble finding new linemate Shawn Bates.

Blake sent Bates in on a breakaway with only 28.2 seconds left and the New York Islanders recovered from two blown leads to beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 Tuesday night.

Bates, a Massachusetts native, took a breakout pass from Blake in front of defenseman Jiri Slegr and came in alone on rookie Hannu Toivonen. His quick shot got through for his second goal of the season.

"It was just a great play by Blakey to set me free," Bates said. "I was running out of gas, and I just wanted to put it on net, and maybe Blakey would be there for a rebound or something."

Islanders coach Steve Stirling shook up three of his forward lines, starting with the top unit. It paid off throughout as Oleg Kvasha, now centering new left wing Alexei Yashin and Miroslav Satan on the right, scored his first of the season.

Defenseman Janne Niinimaa also scored in the first period, on assists from Yashin and Satan, for the Islanders who led 2-0 and 3-2.

Joe Thornton tied it for Boston with only 1:01 left in regulation, just after the Bruins pulled Hannu Toivonen for an extra attacker. It was the Bruins' fourth overtime loss in six games.

It became even costlier as defenseman Brian Leetch left late in the second period with an injury to his right knee after a collision with Bates. Leetch said it was his first knee injury as a professional.

"My knee is sore, but we'll find out tomorrow," said Leetch as he limped out of Nassau Coliseum without crutches.

Thornton, who also assisted on Nick Boynton's goal that got Boston even at 2 in the second period, flipped a shot into traffic in front. The puck came back to him and he slid another shot that found its way under goalie Garth Snow's stick.

The late goal enabled the Bruins to earn a point for the sixth straight game.

"I'm disappointed but at least we got a point," Toivonen said. "It feels really bad. We're playing good enough to win the games."

Defenseman Chris Campoli gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead 4:39 into the third period by beating Toivonen with a 50-foot wrist shot.

Snow, filling in for regular New York goalie Rick DiPietro (bruised knee), made 29 saves in his second game as a starter. Toivonen stopped 19 shots in his third start in place of Andrew Raycroft, out with an injured hamstring.

For the second straight game, the Islanders couldn't protect a third-period lead at home. They dominated the first half of the first period in which they grabbed a 2-0 advantage.

But former Islanders player Dave Scatchard cut the Bruins' deficit in half with 4:39 left in the first period and Boynton tied it 10:06 into the second off a faceoff win by Thornton.

Snow kept the Islanders from falling behind in the middle period by stopping 16 shots as Boston controlled play. New York led Buffalo 4-3 in the third period Saturday before yielding three straight goals for the Islanders' third loss in four games.

"I think we've played as well as we've played all year tonight," Snow said. "We definitely wanted the two points in regulation, but at least we wound up with them anyway."

Kvasha gave the Islanders the lead just 52 seconds in, scoring from the slot. Niinimaa made it 2-0 at 11:56 off a nice pass from Yashin.

Yashin, a longtime center, was shifted to left wing after playing the position in Russia last season during the lockout. Stirling made the move to give Yashin less defensive responsibility and get him higher in the Islanders zone so he can break out quicker on offense.

"This was the first night I felt really comfortable as a coach," said Stirling, in his second season with the Islanders. "We only took six penalties, and hardly any were bad. If we can continue to do this on a regular basis, we'll be better for it."

Game notes
Islanders RW Mark Parrish returned after missing four games with a hip injury. ... Slegr played in his 600th NHL game. ... Scatchard, who took two of Boston's three penalties, scored 81 goals in 4½ seasons with the Islanders from 1999-2004. He has three goals and two assists in his last six games. ... DiPietro could be back Thursday for New York's home game against Pittsburgh. ... Boston LW Brad Isbister, who missed the three previous games with a groin injury, hurt it again in the second period and didn't return.