Boston Bruins Team News: The Injuries Continue to Add Up
The Boston Bruins suffered a handful of injuries earlier this week. Recently, in their game against the New York Rangers, the team lost Brandon Carlo and Tomas Nosek to various injuries. Despite the Bruins being the league’s best team and only losing nine games in the year, this is not the time to get unhealthy. But thankfully, there has been good news on one of these players.
Boston Bruins’ Injuries Stack Up
Injuries are not fun, yet they are just part of the game. But for the Bruins, it is not the time for them to pile up. However, there has been an update on Carlo, who took a puck to the skate after making a blocking attempt and did not return to the contest against the Rangers. Upon returning to Boston, he has been skating since the team, and head coach Jim Montgomery went on to say this about his defensemen;
“We expect him to be available [for Sunday night’s game against the San Jose Sharks]. We’ll see how he feels after today’s skate,”. That is good news for the Bruins.”
Among defencemen playing 150 minutes together, Carlo and Hampus Lindholm rank 10th in expected goals percentage with 60%. As a pair, they have shut down opponents as they average 2.05 expected goals per 60 minutes. They are among the league’s elite pairs, and their impact is noticeable on the ice. In addition, the pair averaged 1.41 goals against per 60 minutes performing better than expected.
The other big blow is the injury to Bruins’ fourth-line center Nosek. He had already been playing through an injury he suffered days before the Winter Classic, sacrificing his body and blocking a shot. The initial diagnosis is that he will be out for the next four weeks, the same length of time Jake DeBrusk should miss.
How To Replace Nosek
Regarding fourth-liners, the Bruins have always had a next-man-up mentality. They have always managed to churn out fourth-line players like Tim Schaller and Joakim Nordstrom. Of course, how can we ever forget the infamous “Merlot Line” with Daniel Paille, Gregory Campbell, and Shawn Thornton? But with Nosek set to miss time, they could recall Joona Koppanen, who had recently spent time skating with the team. Lately, he’s skated in two games and will look to provide stability on the fourth line. Montgomery had high praise for him as well and went on to say;
“I mean, it’s the NHL. You’re going to sometimes be in situations where you’re going to say, ‘Next time, I’m going to be more aggressive, or next time I’m going to do this. But he didn’t hurt us at all. He helped us win that game. And then I think today in practice is the best I’ve seen him look.”
Personally, I would love to see Marc McLaughlin get called back up. He has been physically energized and just one of those Massachusetts boys general manager Don Sweeney loves. He scored three goals in 11 NHL career games thus far, chipping in seven goals, nine assists, and 16 points with the Providence Bruins in 2022-23.
The Road Ahead
The Bruins return home against the San Jose Sharks on Sunday but face some good competition leading up to the All-Star Game. Unfortunately, the Bruins’ injuries pile on, but they have the depth to overcome it. A playoff spot is all but locked up, and at this point, the focus should be on getting healthy and building momentum to go on a deep playoff run.
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