Just as the Bruins got one of their top forwards back in Brad Marchand (who had two goals and an assist in a 5-1 win over the Red Wings), they lost another.
David Krejci left Thursday night’s game in the second period with some sort of upper-body injury and did not return. He will miss at least Friday night’s game in Columbus, and possibly more depending on what further testing reveals. Marchand will also miss Friday’s game, as the Bruins do not want him playing back-to-back nights just yet.
Adding to the sudden test of the Bruins’ depth is the other big piece of news from Thursday night: the trade of Jack Studnicka to Vancouver in exchange for minor-league goalie Michael DiPietro and 19-year-old defense prospect Jonathan Myrenberg.
General manager Don Sweeney acknowledged the awkward timing of the Studnicka trade being announced right after Krejci got hurt, but said the deal had already been agreed to earlier in the day and that the Bruins were committed to the path they had chosen.
So, what are the Bruins’ options now? In the immediate short term, they now have two spots in the lineup that must be filled for Friday night with Marchand and Krejci staying behind in Boston.
Pavel Zacha is expected to shift to center to replace Krejci, as he did Thursday night after Krejci left the game. That may have been the Bruins’ first choice for replacing an injured center even if they hadn’t traded Studnicka. A.J. Greer was the other extra forward along with Studnicka Thursday night, so it’s safe to say he’ll draw into the lineup.
With Studnicka gone, the Bruins now have an open roster spot for a call-up. It seems that the plan prior to Krejci’s injury was for that call-up to be Mike Reilly. Reilly was assigned to AHL Providence on Thursday to open the roster spot needed for Marchand, but it appeared to just be a “paper move.” Reilly didn’t actually go to Providence, as he was at TD Garden Thursday night and was probably expecting to be officially recalled after the Studnicka trade was finalized.
But now with Krejci and Marchand out Friday, the Bruins are down to 11 forwards. While Sweeney said they could play with 11 forwards and seven defensemen, that’s not ideal. Mark Divver tweeted Thursday night that he expects Jakub Lauko to be called up from Providence, which makes sense given that Lauko has already played four games with Boston this season and has played pretty well.
If Krejci is going to miss at least seven days, the Bruins could put him on injured reserve, free up another roster spot, and recall both Lauko and Reilly. But whether or not Krejci will miss that much time is not yet known. Obviously, the Bruins hope not.
If Krejci is still out on Tuesday when Marchand re-enters the lineup against Pittsburgh, we could see this for a forward lineup:
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - Jake DeBrusk
Taylor Hall - Pavel Zacha - David Pastrnak
Trent Frederic - Charlie Coyle - Craig Smith
Nick Foligno - Tomas Nosek - A.J. Greer
How Jim Montgomery lines things up for Friday night remains to be seen, though. Someone needs to be moved up into the top six to play with Bergeron and DeBrusk, or to play on the second line if one of Hall or Pastrnak moves up to Bergeron’s line.
Given how often Montgomery has juggled his lines, it’s safe to assume he won’t hesitate to change things up if whatever he starts Friday’s game with isn’t working.