Boston Bruins: David Pastrnak Sent To AHL

With a few key players missing from the Boston Bruins’ lineup in David Krejci, and Brad Marchand, the team made a head-scratching transaction on Monday when they sent forward David Pastrnak to the Providence Bruins. David Pastrnak, coming off of a foot injury that has kept him out of the lineup in Boston since October 31st, just finished playing in Helsinki, Finland as a result of the Czech Republic being eliminated from the World Junior Championships. With the tournament ending early for Pastrnak’s home country, it seemed like a blessing in disguise for the Bruins who very clearly need a spark after losing the Winter Classic in embarrassing fashion.

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David Pastrnak shined at the World Junior Championships, scoring one goal, which was the game winner in his first game at the tournament, as well as three assists in four games with an astounding 19 shots on net. Pastrnak was declared one of the Czech Republic’s top three players of the tournament, but the news wasn’t all pleasant.

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Following the Czech Republic’s 7-0 stomping by the United States, reports started floating around stating that David Pastrnak had injured his hand during the tournament. Some reports went as deep as to say that Pastrnak had broken his finger, but Bruins’ head coach Claude Julien did not confirm or deny those reports when he said “He’ll probably be looked at by our doctors to see if there’s any severity to it, or just a minor thing.” He also added “So I don’t know myself, and we’ll probably give you guys a better answer once he sees our own doctors.” Julien finished by saying “He’ll be evaluated as soon as he gets back. From what I’m told, it’s not a serious thing — he played over there — so hopefully it’s not serious enough, but we’ll let our doctors make that decision.”

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Judging by the recent demotion to the Bruins AHL affiliate, the injury could be perceived as minor, as Julien described, but bad enough that it will still entail some review by the Bruins’ own training staff in game action before making the decision on playing him in the NHL.

With David Pastrnak in Providence, the Bruins are set to take off the red-hot Washington Capitals at home on Tuesday, and the practice lines were as follows, per the Bruins’ twitter account:

Brad Marchand – Loui Eriksson – Patrice Bergeron – Brett Connolly

Matt Beleskey – Ryan Spooner – Landon Ferraro

Frank Vatrano – Jonas Kemppainen – Jimmy Hayes

Zac Rinaldo – Maxime Talbot – Tyler Randell

With Brad Marchand set to miss the next two games to close out his three game suspension, the Bruins top line will consist of Loui Eriksson, Patrice Bergeron, and Brett Connolly. The addition of David Pastrnak to the lineup would certainly add a dynamic threat to the Bruins’ lineup which looked lost and predictable without David Krejci and Brad Marchand skating in the lineup. David Pastrnak brings a level of speed and skill to the lineup that commands a certain level of respect from opposing defensive players, opening up play for his line mates.

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While it isn’t certain how long David Pastrnak will remain in Providence, it is certain that the Bruins need him in the lineup now, more than ever.

Follow Brandon Share-Cohen on Twitter @BShareCohen to discuss all things Bruins and sports