The Bruins will be without center Sean Kuraly for the next month after the team announced he has undergone successful surgery to repair a fracture in his right hand. The expected timeline for recovery is one month. Taking his place on the roster will be center Karson Kuhlman, who has been recalled from AHL Providence on an emergency basis (meaning it will not count against Boston’s four post-deadline recalls).
Kuraly was in the midst of a career year before suffering the injury back on Thursday against New Jersey. He has played in 71 games this season, setting career highs in goals (8), assists (13), points (21), and faceoff percentage (53.8%) while logging more than 13 minutes a night, also a new personal best. As a result of the surgery, he’s certainly out for the rest of the regular season while his availability for the first round of the postseason is very much in jeopardy as well.
As for Kuhlman, he’s in his first professional season after signing as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth. He has spent the majority of 2018-19 at the minor league level where he has 12 goals and 18 assists in 58 games. He also has five games with Boston where he picked up a goal and an assist. With Kuraly set to miss the next month, Kuhlman will have the opportunity to build on those numbers down the stretch.