The B’s turned in an ugly defensive effort in a 7-4 loss to Buffalo, but there was also plenty of injury added to the insult. The club announced Friday morning that Shawn Thornton would likely miss 7-10 days with a concussion.
Following practice Friday, head coach Claude Julien told reporters that Daniel Paille won’t be making the trip to Toronto this weekend either. Paille left the game in the third period after taking a stick to the head.
It’s unclear the extent of Paille’s injury. Julien indicated that he has a head injury, but they won’t have all the information until more evaluation is done.
That leaves Julien to do some juggling. He said there’s a good chance that Jamie Tardif will be inserted into the Boston lineup Saturday night against the Maple Leafs after being called up on an emergency basis Friday morning.
If Julien does insert Tardif into the lineup, it would be his NHL debut. He’s spent the better part of seven seasons in the AHL, scoring a career-high 27 goals a couple of years ago with Grand Rapids. He has 21 goals and nine assists and is a plus-31 in 39 games for Providence this season.