BOSTON — It was one up, one down for the Boston Bruins on Thursday.
Sean Kuraly returned to the Bruins’ lineup for their tilt against the Florida Panthers after missing the previous two games with a concussion. But Kuraly’s return was matched by less-than-stellar news pertaining to Jake DeBrusk, who participated in Wednesday’s practice but was inactive Thursday with a lower-body injury.
Following Boston’s thrilling 4-3 win over Florida, Cassidy provided a relatively vague update on DeBrusk, who might not be out of the fold for very long.
“Lower body. He tried to skate yesterday and kind of had a tough time,” Cassidy said. “This morning, we didn’t go on the ice — only a couple guys went on, so we were going to see today when he got to the rink how he was. It hadn’t progressed very well, so we weren’t going to push it. I’ve said this before this year, I don’t think it’s anything major. I don’t, and that’s our official report from the doctors. This isn’t me just making crap up, but it may be a couple days. He might be ready Saturday, it might be a week. But I don’t believe it’s anything noteworthy that’s going to keep him out for an extended period of time.”
It’s been a tough week for the Bruins’ new-look second line, as Marcus Johansson sustained a lung contusion in Tuesday’s win over the Carolina Hurricanes that will sideline the veteran winger for at least a week. Peter Cehlarik and recently recalled Karson Kuhlman got the start on David Krejci’s left and right side, respectively, Thursday night, but Boston’s lines didn’t stay intact throughout the contest. Charlie Coyle saw time on the first line, while Danton Heinen dropped down to the second and helped account for the B’s first goal against the Panthers on a slick give-and-go with Krejci.
It should be interesting to see how Cassidy handles his lines with both DeBrusk and Johansson out of action, but it’s become clear the head coach isn’t afraid to shift players from role to role.
