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Patrice Bergeron Leaves Game For Precautionary Reasons

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The Boston Bruins have announced that Patrice Bergeron will not be returning to tonight’s game against the Montreal Canadiens. Bergeron left the game in the first period with an apparent upper body issue. The Bruins stopped short of calling the issue an injury and the team’s official Twitter account tweeted that he would not return for precautionary reasons. The move makes sense given the fact that Boston has very little to play for at this point. The Bruins have already locked up the Presidents Trophy and will have home ice advantage throughout the playoffs. CBS Sports is reporting that they don’t expect his absence to affect his availability in the playoffs.

The Bruins have had to try and strike a delicate balance these last few weeks between resting players and staying sharp for the playoffs. Bergeron was recently quoted by Boston Hockey Now saying, “as we got closer to the playoffs, we thought maybe it was a good idea to play some games. Get involved in some of those because it’s a quick turnaround and you want to stay sharp.” While it makes sense to stay sharp, there will be a lot of criticism if Bergeron misses any of the playoffs with the ailment.

The Bruins have had very little to play for the last little while after a historic season. It’s rare to see a team display such utter dominance for an entire season. But the Bruins don’t have to look back far to find a 60+ win team that faltered in the playoffs. The 2019 Tampa Bay Lightning won 62 regular season games and were swept in the first round by the Columbus Blue Jackets. One might wonder if that playoff debacle for the Lightning played into Boston’s decision to dress their stars for meaningless games down the stretch.

End Of Season Bruins Injuries

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After a report yesterday signaling that Boston Bruins star center David Krejci would be shut down for the remainder of the regular season, head coach Jim Montgomery announces that he will be ready for Game 1 of the NHL playoffs. This is good news for the Bruins, as Krejci is one of their best playoff performers in franchise history.

For their depth players, primarily about injured defenseman Derek Forbort and forward Nick Foligno, the Bruins head coach says they are both, “checking boxes”. It’s unclear whether either will be ready for the Bruins’ first-round playoff matchup. With the depth Boston added to their blue line at the trade deadline, it’s also unclear whether Forbort would play for the Bruins in the playoffs regardless. Foligno would be a much more lethal addition, rebounding from a disastrous 2021-22 season, scoring 10 goals and 16 assists for the Bruins this year.

For this year’s playoffs, the Bruins will have a home-ice advantage throughout the entirety. Although the Eastern Conference wild-card race has not been entirely settled yet, they will play the Florida Panthers, New York Islanders, or the Pittsburgh Penguins for their opening-round matchup.

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  • Jameson Olive, the Senior Digital Content Manager for the Panthers, relays on a message from head coach Paul Maurice, announcing that forward Sam Bennett will not play in Florida’s final regular season game. Although the Panthers clinched a spot in the playoffs last night, they don’t know if they will be playing the Bruins or the winner of the Metropolitan division. The team has played well in Bennett’s absence, as the forward has not played since their March 20th win against the Detroit Red Wings. Bennett has had a similar year to his last, scoring 16 goals and 24 assists for the Panthers this season.

Boston Bruins Recall Brandon Bussi On Emergency Basis

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The Boston Bruins recalled goaltender Brandon Bussi from the minors on an emergency basis, according to a team release Wednesday morning. Bussi’s recall comes in response to Linus Ullmark leaving yesterday’s game with an undisclosed injury, which head coach Jim Montgomery later told reporters was a precautionary move.

David Krejci Shut Down For Regular Season

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Boston Bruins star center, David Krejci, will not be in the lineup for Boston’s final two games of the regular season. Joe Haggerty of Boston Hockey Now reports that Krejci will be out with a lower-body injury.

In missing the final two games of the season, this will be the sixth game Krejci has missed in a row and the 12th that he has missed all season. Krejci did skate this morning, and Boston head coach Jim Montgomery said, “Today was his best day. That has us optimistic about where he’s going to be for Game 1 [of the playoffs]”. 

In his return to Boston this season, Krejci has shown the Bruins what they were missing last year, scoring 16 goals and 40 assists in 70 games played for the President’s Trophy winners. Last year, after a 15-year stretch in Boston, Krejci famously left for Czechia, joining HC Olomouc for the 2021-22 season.

In his return to New England, Krejci has filled a vital role, aiding the Bruins on their quest to break the all-time single-season win record, something they did against the Philadelphia Flyers last Sunday. Outside of the regular season, Krejci’s playoff performances in his career have become legends in Boston.

During their Stanley Cup championship run in the 2011 playoffs, Krejci played in 25 games, scoring 12 goals and 11 assists, leading the playoffs in scoring. Two years later, the Bruins again returned to the Stanley Cup Final, and once again Krejci led the way for all players. In 22 games, Krejci scored nine goals and 17 assists, unfortunately failing to the Chicago Blackhawks for the sport’s greatest trophy.

In Krejci’s absence, the Bruins have received exceptional play at the center position from both Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha. However, when it comes to the playoffs, Krejci has historically been one of the very best, and Boston is optimistic that he will join the team for their effort.

Boston Bruins Reassign Five Players

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April 10: All five have been returned to the AHL today.

April 9: The Boston Bruins have announced that five players have been recalled from their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins, on an emergency basis. The players are: Vinni Lettieri, Oskar Steen, Jack Ahcan, Connor Carrick, and Brandon Bussi.

The moves come as the Bruins deal with some lingering injury issues while having already clinched the President’s Trophy. While former Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall has been activated off of LTIR and back on the ice, the Bruins placed two players on Long-Term Injured Reserve yesterday and have contributors such as David Krejci still on their active roster but out of the lineup.

Since the Bruins are taking on the Philadelphia Flyers on the second half of a back-to-back set of games today, these recalls give coach Jim Montgomery the breathing room he needs to rest certain veterans or at the very least avoid overworking certain players in order to cope with the injury-related absences.

For these recalls, only one has suited up in a game for the Bruins this season, Steen. The other four have played the whole season in Providence. Steen, 25, has already played for the Bruins twice this month and has played in three total NHL games this season, scoring one goal. The speedy Swedish forward has scored 14 goals and 31 points in 63 games for Providence.

The other forward to be recalled is the 28-year-old minor league veteran Lettieri. Lettieri scored 10 points in 31 games for the Anaheim Ducks last season and is an accomplished AHL scorer, with 225 career points in 264 games. This season, he’s leading all Providence regulars with 45 points in 45 games, and now has a chance to make his NHL debut this season on one of the winningest teams in league history.

The first of two defensemen to be recalled is the 25-year-old Ahcan, an undersized offensive defenseman who the Bruins signed as an undrafted free agent out of the NCAA’s St. Cloud State in 2020. Ahcan got off to a fast start to his pro career, scoring 10 points in 19 AHL games and earning three games in Boston with the Bruins.

The following season, 2021-22, Ahcan’s AHL performance was less consistent. But although he finished with an underwhelming 23 points in 46 games, he did manage to earn six NHL games.

Ahcan has taken a step forward this season and become Providence’s number-two scoring option from the back end, producing 31 points in 65 games.

Despite that increase in production, though, Ahcan hasn’t earned time on the Bruins’ roster until today.

The other defenseman to be recalled is Carrick, a veteran of nearly 250 NHL games. The 28-year-old was once seen as a promising up-and-coming blueliner in the Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs organizations, but a mix of major injuries and inconsistent performance scuttled his hopes of delivering on that promise in his early-to-mid twenties.

Despite that disappointment, Carrick has over the past two years established himself as a difference-making minor-league blueliner who can contribute on both ends of the ice and help his team make the playoffs. Last season he scored 32 points in 59 games for the Charlotte Checkers, and this season he leads all Providence defensemen with 41 points in 60 games.

Of this group of five players that has been recalled, Carrick is the one who possesses the most NHL experience. The opportunity for him to get NHL minutes is a  significant one, as Carrick is on an expiring league-minimum two-way deal and getting some solid NHL shifts on tape before he hits the market in a few months could be extremely useful.

The final player recalled is a goalie, Bussi. Unlike the four skaters recalled with him, the 24-year-old hasn’t yet suited up for an NHL game. In fact, Bussi only made his professional debut last season. He has had a strong 31-game season in Providence, though, and his 21-5-4 record and .925 save percentage are highly respectable figures.

It’s unclear whether Bussi will get any time in the Bruins’ crease as they close out their regular season, but given Vezina Trophy contender Linus Ullmark’s injury history over the course of his career, it seems logical that the Bruins would want to add another name to the mix in their crease to ensure their two established netminders are able to get the rest they might need before the playoffs.

Seeing as Providence doesn’t play until Saturday whereas Boston has a game today (after playing yesterday) and two more this week, it seems these recalls were made to help add some fresh legs to the Bruins’ roster with their regular-season fate already decided.

Since these moves likely won’t impact their AHL team’s chase of an Atlantic Division title, bringing them to the active roster to possibly allow some Bruins veterans to take a game off seems like a wise decision for a squad looking to make a deep run in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Linus Ullmark Dealing With Lower-Body Issue

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Goalie Linus Ullmark did not travel with the Boston Bruins to Philadelphia for their game against the Flyers on Sunday due to a lower-body issue, according to Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery. The Bruins recalled Brandon Bussi from the AHL (along with four others) this morning to serve as the backup to Jeremy Swayman in Ullmark’s absence. Bussi has played in 31 games for the Providence Bruins this season, posting a spectacular 21-5-4 record with a 2.38 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage.

Bruins Activate Taylor Hall From LTIR, Place Two Players On LTIR

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The Bruins will be welcoming back a key forward tonight against New Jersey as the team announced that winger Taylor Hall has been activated from LTIR.  To create the cap space to do so, Boston transferred winger Nick Foligno and defenseman Derek Forbort on LTIR while assigning center Oskar Steen to AHL Providence.

Hall has been out for more than a month with a lower-body injury.  The injury occurred just days before the trade deadline; his LTIR placement created the cap space for them to go add Tyler Bertuzzi from Detroit to further deepen their roster.  Hall isn’t the Hart Trophy-winning player he once was but the 31-year-old has been a capable secondary scorer for the Bruins this season, picking up 16 goals and 20 assists in 58 games.

The placements of Foligno and Forbort on LTIR shouldn’t be any cause for concern.  The team remains hopeful that Foligno will be available at some point in the first round while Forbort had been ruled out for the rest of the season nearly three weeks ago and could be back at some point in the postseason.  Neither player has suffered a setback and these moves were strictly for cap purposes.  There is no cap in the playoffs so when Foligno and Forbort are able to return, they will be eligible to play.

As for Steen, he has been shuffled to and from the minors quite a bit recently; this is his third demotion in the last two weeks.  The 25-year-old has played in three games with the big club this season, picking up a goal.  Steen has spent most of the year with Providence, tallying 14 goals and 17 assists in 63 contests and is likely to be one of the first recall options should someone else get injured in the coming days.

Garnet Hathaway Not Thinking About Possibility Of Re-Signing With Bruins

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  • While Bruins winger Garnet Hathaway is fitting in well with his new team, he told Boston Hockey Now’s Joe Haggerty that he hasn’t given any thought yet about potentially extending with Boston beyond this season. The 31-year-old has five points and 62 hits in 21 games since being acquired from Washington in February and is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.  For now, Hathaway is focusing on “short-term thinking” with Boston set to enter the playoffs as the top seed.

Boston Bruins Issue Injury Updates

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Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery provided updates today on the injury status of key players Charlie McAvoy, David Krejci, and Taylor Hall ahead of the team’s upcoming weekend games. McAvoy and Krejci are listed as day-to-day, with Krejci being labeled as “doubtful” for their upcoming games while Hall remains a “possibility” to play.

The Bruins, who have already clinched the Presidents’ Trophy for the NHL’s best regular season record and recorded their 61st win last night, are the second-highest-scoring team in the league and have secured home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. While the availability of these players may not impact the team’s regular season standings, their contributions in the upcoming playoffs (or lack thereof) will undoubtedly be critical.

McAvoy left last night’s win against the Toronto Maple Leafs with an upper-body injury and did not return. After sustaining the injury in an accidental collision with teammate Patrice Bergeron, however, Montgomery said postgame that he was removed for precautionary reasons. In all likelihood, McAvoy’s playoff ability will not be impacted, and with nothing left to play for, Boston will hold him out of the lineup to ensure he’s as close to 100% as possible when the puck drops on Game 1 of their First Round series.

Krejci has been a critical contributor after his one-year absence from the team, scoring 56 points in 70 games this season, but his lingering absence from the lineup is becoming concerning. Krejci hasn’t suited up since April 1, sidelined for the past two games with a lower-body injury. It’s unclear whether Krejci’s designation for the weekend’s game is precautionary or if his injury is significant enough to truly keep him out of action.

Montgomery’s update on Hall comes after he practiced in a regular jersey for the first time two days ago since sustaining a lower-body injury over a month ago. With Pavel Zacha’s versatility allowing Boston to shift him to center on the second line, Hall’s impending return could quickly help replace any offense lost by Krejci’s absence.

Boston Bruins Recall Oskar Steen

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The Boston Bruins have recalled Oskar Steen under emergency conditions ahead of their game tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He’ll serve as some insurance for Taylor Hall and David Krejci, both out for now.

Head coach Jim Montgomery explained this morning that Hall is still not cleared to play, and that Krejci will miss tonight’s game. Steen was not in the group that Montgomery announced, so he could be in the press box unless someone else misses action unexpectedly.

There’s not much for the Bruins to play for right now after hitting the 60-win mark and locking up top seed weeks (months?) ago. Not much, except for a chance to go down as the best regular season team of all time. The 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning both won 62 games, a mark within reach given Boston’s five remaining games.

The 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens might have something to say about the claim, however, given their .825 winning percentage, a number the Bruins can’t quite match even if they run the table. Either way, some history can be made over the last few weeks, even if it’s just playoff prep for Boston at this point.

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