After a stretch that saw their depth stretched to its limits due to a rash of injuries, the Bruins suddenly had a bunch of bodies available for Tuesday's practice.
Center David Krejci, who has missed the last four games with a lower-body injury, was back on the ice, as was defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, who has missed the last seven games with a lower-body injury. In addition, defenseman Jarred Tinordi joined the team for his first practice after Boston claimed him off waivers over the weekend.
Coach Bruce Cassidy said after practice that final decisions on the availability of all three for Wednesday night's game against the Capitals will be made Wednesday morning.
The team wants to see how Krejci and Grzelcyk feel the day after getting in a full practice before they get final clearance. Cassidy said they'll make a decision about Tinordi after further discussions as a staff about where he is in terms of getting up to speed and where he fits.
One interesting development is that Jack Studnicka remained at center in Tuesday's practice even with Krejci back, with Sean Kuraly moving to left wing. Studnicka has played well the last four games with Krejci out and has looked more comfortable in his natural center position vs. playing on the wing earlier this season, and Cassidy confirmed he's going to give Studnicka a longer run at center even after Krejci returns.
"He's a center first," Cassidy said of Studnicka. "…Krech goes out, we've always said it -- let's try to get Jack in there in the middle and see how he's developed, how he's progressed. That opportunity presented itself, and we liked what he did. He played very well in the middle. More noticeable in the middle than on the wing, for obvious reasons I think.
"…Now he's back in the middle and if Krech is healthy, we're still going to keep him in the middle, because we liked what he did. Move Kuraly to the wing and just sort of re-evaluate our fourth line, or what it looks like a little bit, and see where it goes."
Chris Wagner is set to draw back into the lineup after being a healthy scratch on Sunday, with Anders Bjork and Greg McKegg (who made his season debut Sunday) serving as the extra forwards Tuesday. Karson Kuhlman, who also got into the lineup Sunday, was sent back down to AHL Providence.
On defense, Grzelcyk was slotted in next to Brandon Carlo, with Jakub Zboril sticking on the top pair with Charlie McAvoy after playing well there Sunday. Tinordi lined up next to Connor Clifton on the third pair, with Urho Vaakanainen, John Moore and Steven Kampfer as extra defensemen.
Kevan Miller remains out as he deals with lingering soreness in his surgically repaired knee. Cassidy said he's been doing some off-ice work, but isn't ready to practice or play yet.
Ondrej Kase skated on his own before practice. While there's no timetable for when he'll be able to practice or play, it was certainly an encouraging sign to see him back on the ice given that he's missed a month and a half now with an upper-body injury suffered in the second game of the season.
Here's a look at how the Bruins lined up for Tuesday's practice, which could potentially be how they line up Wednesday night as well if Krejci, Grzelcyk and Tinordi all end up playing.
