Boston Bruins forward Chris Kelly was injured and forced to leave Monday night’s game versus the Ottawa Senators after he and Senators forward Chris Neil collided knee-to-knee in the neutral zone. Kelly didn’t get up for quite some time and had to be helped off the ice while putting little to no pressure on his injured knee. Neil was not penalized on the play and apparently will not face any supplemental discipline.
Kelly was then able to travel with the Bruins to Pennsylvania after the game, but he was unable to play in Tuesday night’s horrific 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The reason Kelly couldn’t suit up is because his injured knee is so swollen that the Bruins’ training staff is unable to determine the severity of his injury. He will be reevaluated once the Bruins are back in Boston, which means the team should have some more information on the injury later today.
Bruins head coach Claude Julien had this to say about Kelly’s injury following Tuesday night’s loss to the Penguins, “We’re anticipating and hoping for minor, but for me to predict right now would be careless.” I should note that on the following morning (Wednesday) on the Toucher and Rich program on 98.5 the Sports Hub, Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli was a guest of the show and told them, “I know it (Kelly’s injury) was a lot better yesterday. I don’t think there is any structural damage so we’ll see in the next couple of days. I think he’ll be fine”.
March 9, 2013; Boston, MA USA; Boston Bruins center Chris Kelly (23) and center Rich Peverley (49) celebrate a goal during the first period against the Philadelphia Flyers at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
For now we wait and with Kelly out of the lineup Tuesday night the Bruins 3rd line consisted of Jordan Caron and Jay Pandolfo on the wings with Rich Peverley at center. The line was able to hold their own and all 3 finished the game even (+/- 0), with Peverley recording the only point for the line when he assisted on Zdeno Chara‘s first period power-play goal. However the look of this line could change however if Kelly misses any extended time as the Bruins may call-up Ryan Spooner, who leads the Providence Bruins with 10 goals and 31 assists in 47 games, if the team is looking for more of a scoring touch on their 3rd line.
For now the roster remains unchanged as the Bruins await the chance to learn just how serious Kelly’s injury is and exactly how long he’ll be out.