Feb 16, 2015; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Boston Bruins defenseman
Matt Bartkowski(43) and Calgary Flames center
Mikael Backlund(11) battle for the puck during the first period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory
Credit
: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
The Boston Bruins will have to get past their mental stumbling blocks if they wish to recover from this current slide. The Black and Gold have lost four straight, and are 0-1-1 in their current road trip. At the moment, the B’s are barely clinging to their precarious eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Boston Bruins have no choice but to make do with what’s available to them as they continue through their western road trip. Kevan Miller has returned to Boston, after re-injuring his shoulder in last night’s game against the Calgary Flames. Coach Claude Julien wasn’t very optimistic on Miller’s injury after the game.
“We’ll see what comes out of it, but it doesn’t look good. “He’s gone back home to be evaluated,” Julien said on Tuesday. “That’s the update. He flew back . We haven’t heard anything else from that.” He will be out for at least the remainder of the road trip.
Miller has already lost thirteen games from the initial injury. The Bruins have announced that Miller will likely have to have surgery on the shoulder in the off-season. Miller hasn’t had any fights since that injury and was told by the team doctors that any kind of fighting would lead to further aggravation of his shoulder.
The Bruins haven’t yet called in any defenseman to supplement their roster. This means that Matt Bartkowski will be back in the line-up until further notice. Bartkowski played in his first game with the Bruins since New Years’ Eve. Bartkowski was a -1 against the Flames, putting thirteen minutes on the ice without a shot on goal.
The Bruins will likely be calling up someone to fill the gap before the Bruins get back to Boston.
The B’s have again called up Malcolm Subban to fill in as the number two netminder. Claude Julien discussed the possibility of having Subban on the ice against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday. “I don’t expect him here tonight,” said Julien after the Flames Game. “But I know we were talking about calling him up, so I’m not denying it, I’m just saying – I haven’t talked to Peter yet today.”
The Bruins have no intention of removing Niklas Svedberg as the Bruins back-up netminder however.
“All it is – is No. 1, it’s competition, No. 2, it’s an opportunity. You know, Malcolm was with us for the week there, so we didn’t get a chance to play him. Maybe after a week and going back, he gets that opportunity,” said Julien of Subban.
Maybe this will be the B’s opportunity to shop Subban around. The Buffalo Sabres had approached the Bruins over Subban earlier in the season but had been rebuffed. Maybe Subban will provide a spark for the team. We’ll see what happens on Wednesday.