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Bruins make five moves ahead of tilt vs. Bolts |
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Ty Anderson
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Don Sweeney and the Bruins had themselves a Tuesday morning, to say the least.
Looking to keep the momentum of last Saturday’s overtime win over the Panthers rolling with tonight’s visit from the Lightning at TD Garden, the Bruins kicked their day off with the long-awaited recall of crafty centerman Matt Poitras from AHL Providence.
Sent down to Providence in November, Poitras has been a major impact talent down in the minors, with eight goals and 20 points in 23 games for the P-Bruins. Obviously not the biggest or baddest center (Poitras is listed at just 5-foot-11 and 172 pounds), fans have been downright clamoring for Poitras to return to the NHL given the Black and Gold’s lack of pop in their middle six, as well as their struggles to execute on the man advantage.
The decision to call up Poitras comes one day after the club recalled veteran (and Poitras’ linemate in Providence) Vinni Lettieri and sent Marc McLaughlin down to the minors, and with Charlie Coyle considered a game-time decision for Tuesday’s game due to an illness.
The Bruins will also continue to be without fourth-line forward Mark Kastelic after Kastelic took a crosscheck to the face and was piledriven down to the ice by the Bolts’ Emil Lilleberg in the waning seconds of last Thursday’s loss to the Lightning at Amalie Arena.
In a corresponding move, Kastelic was placed on injured reserve.
On the backend, meanwhile, the Bruins also recalled Michael Callahan from Providence, potentially setting the Franklin, Mass. native up what would be his NHL debut.
A 6-foot-2 left shot, Callahan comes to the NHL with one goal and six points in 35 games for the P-Bruins this season, and with 175 games of AHL experience over the last four seasons.
This was not a move to return the Bruins back to the comfort of an eight-defenseman roster, though, and instead comes with Charlie McAvoy placed on the injured reserve. According to interim head coach Joe Sacco, McAvoy has been dealing with a ‘nagging’ injury and will miss the next two games at least.
In addition to placing McAvoy on injured reserve, the Bruins also moved Hampus Lindholm to the long-term injured reserve. That decision has nothing to do with a health update on Lindholm, who has been out with a lower-body injury since mid-November, but rather the cap space the club needed to make the moves to recall both Callahan and Poitras from the minors.
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