Boston Bruins Prospect Anton Blidh Earns Call-Up With Patrice Bergeron Missing Practice
With Patrice Bergeron missing practice, the Boston Bruins needed to make a call-up. To satisfy that need, the team called up Providence Bruins’ forward Anton Blidh. The second-year P-Bruin joined the team at practice Friday at Warrior Ice Arena and looks in line to travel with the team to Buffalo on Friday.
Blidh has never been called up to the NHL yet in his career. Should he make the trip, this will be the first time Bruins’ fans will get a chance to see Blidh in action at the NHL level. In 19 games so far with Providence, Blidh has scored five goals and nine points along with 22 penalty minutes and a plus-eight rating. Blidh played in 65 games for Providence last season, scoring 10 goals and 14 points to go along with 48 penalty minutes.
In practice Friday, the Bruins lines looked as follows:
Forwards:
Brad Marchand – Ryan Spooner – David Pastrnak
Tim Schaller – David Krejci – David Backes
Matt Beleskey – Riley Nash – Austin Czarnik
Anton Blidh – Dominic Moore – Jimmy Hayes – Noel Acciari
Defense:
The defense that skated with the team this morning included Brandon Carlo, Torey Krug, Adam McQuaid, Colin Miller, Kevan Miller, Joe Morrow, and also the return of captain Zdeno Chara.
What do Those Lines Mean?
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In short, it means that Blidh may be in line to play on the fourth line against Buffalo. It’s also good to see Acciari skating with the team as he may be closer to a return than not. Both Claude Julien and Chara confirmed that the 6-foot-9 defender is still day-to-day, but it’s encouraging to see him skating with the team.
The biggest indication from Friday’s practice concerns the top line, however. With Bergeron out, the Bruins’ look ready to give Spooner a shot down the middle alongside Pastrnak and Marchand. While Spooner has had his share of defensive woes at the center position in his career, playing alongside two strong possession forwards like Pastrnak and Marchand – who are also offensively gifted – could help him flourish.
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Though Spooner is getting this opportunity, the news isn’t all good. The Bruins will definitely hurt without Bergeron in the lineup, which also hurts as they prepare for a divisional matchup in Buffalo. The Bruins’ are coming off of a tough victory in Carolina, however, and will hopefully find their offense earlier than the last minute of the game this time around.