Over the last couple of weeks, the injury news has not been kind to the Boston Bruins. First, it was defenseman Charlie McAvoy who took a deflected shot to the face that required surgery, and he was placed on injured reserve.
In the game against the Montreal Canadiens on the road, Viktor Arvidsson was injured late in the game with a lower-body injury. Like McAvoy, Arvidsson was also placed on injured reserve and missed the four-game road trip out West. He also missed the two games at home against the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings following the Thanksgiving holiday.
Boston brought up prospect Georgii Merkulov from the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL), and he played against the Rangers before he was scratched against the Red Wings. He was sent back to Providence on Sunday, and there appears to be a reason why.
Bruins get positive injury news on Viktor Arvidsson
On Monday, after a full day off on Sunday, the Bruins practiced at Warrior Ice Arena, and Arvidsson was back and on the second line with Pavel Zacha (who also missed the New York game) and Casey Mittlestadt, according to team reporter Belle Fraser.
After practice, head coach Marco Sturm said that Arvidsson should be back in Boston's lineup on Tuesday night at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit against the Red Wings on the backend of their home-and-home two-game set. As for David Pastrnak, the news wasn't as promising.
Sturm said that Pastrnak remains day-to-day, and truth be told, that's not great. He wasn't on the ice at practice on Monday, and if he is going to return to the lineup anytime soon, you would think that he would go through at least one practice at full speed. He will not travel to Detroit.
The Bruins are in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race and can't afford to lose Pastrnak for a long period of time. We'll see if they get better news ahead of Thursday's game against the St. Louis Blues at home. Here's hoping they do.