Boston Bruins center Chris Kelly hasn’t had a very easy season, and he hit another bump in the road this week.
Kelly played only one shift during the third period of the Bruins’ shootout loss to the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night, and that’s because he’s dealing with back spasms, Boston head coach Claude Julien revealed Thursday. Julien labeled Kelly’s status as “day to day,” but with just three regular-season games left, the coach is confident his veteran forward will be ready when the Stanley Cup playoffs start next week.
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Kelly missed 22 games earlier this season after suffering a broken fibula during a Dec. 7 game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He has just nine goals and nine assists and is a plus-2 in 57 games this season. Lately, Kelly has been playing on the left wing of the Bruins’ third line after being moved from his customary position with Carl Soderberg centering that line.
The Bruins recalled Ryan Spooner from Providence on Wednesday on an emergency basis. He’ll likely be in the lineup Thursday night against the Winnipeg Jets with Kelly out and Patrice Bergeron expected to get the night off.
