Injuries Unending In Boston; Krejci, DeBrusk Join Sidelined
Boston Bruins beat writer Joe Haggerty could not have said it better: “You can’t make this stuff up”. The unbelievable rash of injuries continues in Boston, as center David Krejci and rookie winger Jake DeBrusk have been ruled out for Wednesday night’s match-up against the Atlantic-leading Tampa Bay Lightning.
The sheer number of injuries suffered by the Bruins this season, especially among the forward corps, is hard to comprehend. 22 games into the 2017-18 campaign the only forward to have played every game are David Pastrnak and energy-liners-turned-top-nine-mainstays Riley Nash, Sean Kuraly, and Tim Schaller. While there is no word yet on the extent of DeBrusk’s injury, the young scorer has been one of the Bruins’ more dependable forwards with 12 points in 21 games, but of course he now joins the long list of casualties. Currently out of the lineup alongwith DeBrusk and Krejci, who had only just returned to action, are 2016-17 leading scorer Brad Marchand, veteran David Backes, power play catalyst Ryan Spooner, promising rookies Anders Bjork and Peter Cehlarik and, of course, defenseman Adam McQuaid as well. Spooner just recently re-injured the groin that had kept him out all but eight games on the season. In the same game, Cehlarik suffered a leg injury that should keep him out at least a month. Marchand and Bjork have been sidelined since November 13th and there has been no concrete information on when exactly either can be expected back. Backes has made a remarkably quick recovery from major surgery to cure his diverticulitis, but he too is not quite ready to return and there are doubts about how he will play once he is back. Other Bruins forward who have missed time already this season: Patrice Bergeron (5 games), Noel Acciari (13 games), and Matt Beleskey (2 games).
The defense has done a bit better though, with captain Zdeno Chara and talented youngsters Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo all suiting up for every game. Kevan Miller has missed only one game, while Torey Krug‘s four-game absence seems like nothing. A platoon of Paul Postma, Rob O’Gara and Matt Grzelcyk has performed well enough in the absence of McQuaid.
In total, the Bruins have missed a whopping 100 man-games already this season, far more than any other team in the league and heavily weighted toward their forwards. That makes it all the more impressive that the team is still sitting pretty in the Atlantic Division. In terms of points percentage, the B’s are third in the Atlantic and just behind the two-time Cup-champion Pittsburgh Penguins overall. Their 60 goals for may a bottom-five number in the NHL, but what would you expect from a two-way team missing most of its offensive talent? A recent winning streak showed that the Bruins and head coach Bruce Cassidy can get it done, even with a makeshift roster. There is no sign of when Boston will get back to full strength, if ever this season, but if they do it could be dangerous for the rest of the NHL.
Boston Bruins Recall Tommy Cross, Matt Grzelcyk
The Boston Bruins have brought up some reinforcements for their game against the Ottawa Senators tonight. Both Tommy Cross and Matt Grzelcyk have been recalled on emergency basis. Cross, the captain of the Providence Bruins took part in the morning skate and should be paired with John-Michael Liles tonight, replacing the injured Adam McQuaid.
Cross, 27, was drafted in the second round, 35th overall in 2007 but has played just three games at the NHL level in his entire career. Fighting his way up through almost every level of hockey in the United States, Cross completed four years at Boston College before originally being assigned to the ECHL. A leader everywhere he’s played, he wore a letter (A, then C) on each of his two national college championships, and has captained the P-Bruins for two years. He’ll try to lend that veteran presence to the team, even if it is a brand new stage for him in the NHL playoffs.
Grzelcyk on the other hand is just 23-years old, and just completed his first professional season. Another graduate of a Hockey-East school, Grzelcyk captained Boston University his final two seasons. The undersized defender has excellent puck-moving skills, and racked up 32 points in his rookie AHL season. While he is still young, his experience in NCAA playoff games and the World Juniors in 2014 should help any nerves he may have about making his NHL playoff debut (should he get into the lineup). In two games with Boston this season, he has been held pointless.