Kampfer, who is battling for the final spot on the Boston blue line, suffered an injury to his left knee in the third period of Thursday’s exhibition loss to Ottawa at the Garden. Kampfer was hit along the boards by Senators defenseman Jared Cowen and went down awkwardly. He was helped off the ice and did not return, and is scheduled for tests Friday afternoon to find out the severity of the injury.
“He’s going to have an MRI this afternoon,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said after Friday’s practice. “He’s scheduled for that and we’ll release whatever comes out of it. But until we get those details, we don’t know. We hope it’s looking better. We feel there’s a possibility that it won’t be the max and he’ll be back sooner than later, but we’ll be able to confirm that once he’s had his MRI.”
Kampfer’s injury puts Matt Bartkowski in position to make the club as Boston’s seventh defenseman, though that may just be a temporary position as Julien wants to give Kampfer every opportunity to compete for the job once he’s healthy.
“Right now we got one guy that got injured [Thursday] night, so we’re down to seven [defensemen],” Julien said. “So the calculations are there right? If we plan on starting with seven things obviously look pretty good for [Bartkowski] right now. Having said that, when Kampfer’s back, the battle’s still on.”
That’s fine by Bartkowski, who would rather win the job with his own performance than get it by default because of his friend’s injury.
“I’m ready to go, but I’d rather earn my spot on the club than have it happen like that,” said Bartkowski, who roomed with Kampfer last year in Providence.
“Every second, every shift I get more comfortable,” Bartkowski added. “I’m getting to know the guys a little better and on the ice I’m getting to know tendencies and stuff like that. It feels better every second.”
Julien has also been impressed by Bartkowski’s development in the Ohio State product’s second pro camp.
“He’s been good,” Julien said. “From what I’ve seen last year to this year, he’s stronger, more confident, moves the puck well. He’s got good size and I find him a lot stronger and see him as a bigger player this year. Last year there was a little bit of unsureness I guess. He was looking over his shoulder a bit, but now he’s standing tall and making the plays that he needs to make.”
Julien also offered plenty of praise for Kampfer, who played 38 games with the big club last year in his first pro season after playing at the University of Michigan.
“Kampfer had a great game [Thursday] night,” Julien said. “I thought he was extremely good. It’s unfortunate that happened to him, but he’s earned the opportunity to get back and continue to battle for that spot. So it’s not going to be a given [that Bartkowski remains the seventh defenseman].”
