Don't look now, but as the Boston Bruins appear to be getting closer to being healthy, they suffer another injury. If Bruins fans don't hear the word injury again this season, they'll be very excited. However, with each passing media availability with head coach Marco Sturm, it seems like there is a new injury that pops up. That's the case once again.
Before the Black and Gold resumed their season following the Holiday Break over the last three days, Sturm told the media in Western New York ahead of the matchup with the Buffalo Sabres that Tanner Jeannot suffered an undisclosed injury against the Montreal Canadiens in Boston's 6-2 loss on Tuesday night at the TD Garden. That's less than ideal.
However, Sturm said that injured defensemen Jonathan Aspirot and Henri Jokiharju are both on the five-game road trip and have been upgraded from week-to-week to day-to-day, per Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe. It remains to be seen if either of them play on the trip, but you have to think that if they're on the trip, there's a chance that they play.
Bruins flight to Buffalo was delayed
The Northeast got hit with a snowstorm late Friday night and into Saturday morning. With the break ending, Boston was scheduled to travel to Buffalo on Saturday morning, but the flight was delayed because of the weather. That's less than ideal and makes it feel like a preseason game, which is the normal course of travel.
“These days are always kind of tough, same-day travel, sort of like travel in the preseason,” said Charlie McAvoy. “There’s just things that are going to be out of your control. We’ll be fine. We’ll try to pick up the schedule like a normal day — eat something, get a nap, and get back here ready to go.”
NHL News & Rumors
- Now that the league has resumed, there is going to be a lot of trade chatter over the next couple of weeks and months until the Olympic Break. Pierre LeBruin and Chris Johnston of The Athletic played NHL trade matchmaker again. In their first edition, Johnston had the Bruins acquire Kiefer Sherwood from the Vancouver Canucks. The second edition has Atlantic Division teams swinging big. LeBrun has the Toronto Maple Leafs as a landing spot for Jonathan Marchessault, while Johnston has the Montreal Canadiens acquiring him. LeBrun has Connor Murphy of the Chicago Blackhawks going to the Florida Panthers, while Johnston has the Buffalo Sabres getting Yegor Chinakhov. In a surprising move, LeBrun has the Tampa Bay Lightning getting goalie Marc-Andre Fleury out of retirement. The Bruins were shut out in the edition.
- Speaking of the Lightning, they locked up 25-year-old defenseman J.J. Moser on Saturday with an eight-year extension with an AAV of $6.75 million. Heading into Saturday night's in-state showdown with the Florida Panthers, Moser has three goals and nine assists with a plus/minus of plus-24.
- The Canadiens will be without forward Jake Evans for the next 4-6 weeks after he suffered a lower-body injury against the Pittsburgh Penguins before the break. He has five goals and 10 points this season for Montreal.