The Bruins will be without two of their top defensemen for the next four games. In addition to Matt Grzelcyk being out a couple weeks with an upper-body injury, Charlie McAvoy has now been suspended four games.
The NHL's Department of Player Safety announced the punishment Tuesday evening. McAvoy threw an illegal check to the head of Florida Panthers defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson during the third period of Boston's comeback win Monday night.
McAvoy was assessed a five-minute major and a match penalty on the ice. It could have cost the Bruins points, as it handed the Panthers a five-minute power play late in a tied game. Even with just four defensemen left (Grzelcyk suffered his injury in the first period), the Bruins killed off the major and went on to win in overtime, improving to 8-0-1 in the process.
It could still cost the Bruins over the next four games, all of which are tough matchups. They host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday, go on the road to face the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday and Dallas Stars on Monday, and then come back home to face the New York Islanders, who are also off to a good start.
The Bruins were not carrying any extra defensemen on their NHL roster, so they are now expected to make at least two, and possibly three, call-ups from AHL Providence.
A lot of fans will be hoping that one of them is top prospect Mason Lohrei, who had a strong camp and made it to the final round of cuts. A report that Lohrei is one of three defensemen who did not travel with the P-Bruins for their upcoming road trip could suggest that he will indeed be one of the call-ups. Official word could come Tuesday night or Wednesday morning ahead of a 12 p.m. practice.
Mitchell has already played two NHL games this season, and while he struggled a bit, it wouldn't be surprising for him to still be one of the first call-ups. Parker Wotherspoon made his NHL debut with the New York Islanders last season and played 12 games. If the 26-year-old is part of this set of recalls, we would anticipate him being the seventh defenseman.
Here is how the Bruins could line up on defense if these are indeed the call-ups. (UPDATE: The Bruins did indeed call up all three of Lohrei, Mitchell and Wotherspoon on Wednesday. They put Grzelcyk on long-term injured reserve, meaning he will be out until at least Nov. 25.)
Hampus Lindholm – Kevin Shattenkirk
Mason Lohrei – Brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort – Ian Mitchell
Lindholm and Carlo usually play together, and often against opponents' top lines, but Montgomery said on Tuesday that he would probably split them up, at least to start, in order to better balance his D corps.
"Probably be a blend, just depending on the game," he said. "Probably start them apart and then maybe put them together if there's a certain matchup that's not being favorable and you want to maybe squash that matchup, because we know that they can play against anyone. I thought they did a great job against [Matthew] Tkachuk's line last night."
Lindholm and Shattenkirk have already played together a bit this season, and they've produced promising results. In the 24:37 they've been paired up at 5-on-5, the Bruins are out-attempting opponents 38-19 and have an 18-5 advantage in scoring chances, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Putting Lohrei with Carlo would also make a lot of sense, as Carlo was one of the two players Lohrei spent the most time with during training camp. The other was McAvoy, who is obviously out right now. Pairing Lohrei with McAvoy could become an option when McAvoy returns from his suspension, as Grzelcyk (McAvoy's usual partner) could still be out.
