The Boston Bruins just cannot get any injury luck. After being struck in the throat by a puck against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night, defenseman Kevan Miller has suffered cartilage damage to his larynx and will be re-evaluated in five weeks. Miller spent the night in a Toronto hospital, but is now back in Boston. Meanwhile, the team has recalled forward Ryan Donato from the minor leagues to take one of the roster spots left vacant by the recent Bruins injuries.
Miller was hit with a John Tavares shot in front of the net, leading to his immediate exit and hospital visit. The Bruins defenseman finished the game with just seven minutes of ice time, in just his fourth game back from injury. Miller has just 11 games under his belt this already frustrating season and now will be out of the lineup for more than a month with a fluke injury.
In his absence—that was compounded by the fact that Zdeno Chara, Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo and Urho Vaakanainen are all still out with injury—rookie Connor Clifton skated nearly 25 minutes in just his sixth NHL game, while Torey Krug and John Moore commanded their usual heavy ice time. The Bruins have been forced to dig deep into their organizational depth for options this season, and will now be tested even further given Miller’s extended absence. Luckily, Carlo practiced in full with the team today and could possibly return in time for the Bruins game tomorrow night.
WTF?!? I thought the B’s chose Miller and finally got rid of McQuaid because he was injured so much but now Chara may be breaking down, Carlo is injured for the third straight year, and we still don’t know what’s definitively wrong with McAvoy. I just hope this doesn’t make Don Sweeney seek defense help at the trade deadline instead of much needed scoring.