The Boston Bruins could be without two centers when they take on the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2026 NHL Stadium Series on Sunday. Both Elias Lindholm and Pavel Zacha will not be joining the Bruins on their trip to Florida due to injury per Conor Ryan of the Boston Globe.
Lindholm was designated as out day-to-day with an upper-body injury after leaving Boston’s Tuesday win over the Nashville Predators early. Zacha left Thursday’s win over the Philadelphia Flyers with an upper-body injury of his own, sustained on a hit from Philadelphia’s Nicolas Deslauriers. No timeline has been provided for Zacha’s injury.
Boston recalled Matthew Poitras to fill in for Lindholm’s absence on Thursday. Poitras, playing in his first NHL game of the season, recorded one penalty and five shots in 11 minutes of ice time. He filled a fourth-line, winger role while Tanner Jeannot and Marat Khusnutdinov moved into elevated roles.
The Bruins beat Philadelphia handedly – by a score of 6-3 – largely thanks to the performance of their sole healthy line. The trio of Viktor Arvidsson, Casey Mittelstadt, and Fraser Minten combined for three goals and seven shots on net in Thursday’s game. That brings Minten up to 14 poitns in 14 games in January, third-most on the team behind David Pastrnak (25 points) and Charlie McAvoy (16).
Now down yet another center, the Bruins are sure to lean on their high-performing second-line in a tough matchup on Sunday. That focus will leave Pastrnak and wing partner Morgan Geekie free to support a fill-in center to round out the team’s top-six. Through the mess of injuries, this could present a rare chance for Khusnutdinov to step between strong wingers. The 23-year-old, Russian centerman has an impressive 11 points in 14 games this month – fifth-most on the Bruins – to go with a plus-nine and 15 shots on net. He has looked capable of handling the tempo of his top teammates – but has struggled at the faceoff dot, with a bleak 45.1 faceoff percentage on the season.
That could push the Bruins to give Mark Kastelic – and his team-leading 60.0 faceoff percentage – a bit more responsibility. Kastelic platooned with Jeannot on Boston’s third-line following Zacha’s absence. His season has favored the other side of the scoresheet, marked by 15 points and 106 penalty minutes in 55 games. That will limit Kastelic’s ability to fit into the top of the lineup. It could also push Boston to move Minten or Poitras from the wing to center, while leaving Khusnutdinov and Kastelic as alternatives on the wing.
The Bruins are not currently carrying an extra forward. They will need to make a recall before Sunday if they want to ice 12 forwards. Top candidates for a call-up include Fabian Lysell and high-speed winger Matej Blumel. Blumel managed no scoring and a minus-three in four NHL games earlier this season, while Lysell hasn’t appeared in the NHL since last year, when he scored three points in the first 12 games of his NHL career. The former first-round pick ranks second on the AHL’s Providence Bruins in scoring with 34 points in 35 games.