Bruins Rule Out Pavel Zacha, Charlie McAvoy For Devils Matchup

The Bruins will be without two key players when they hit the ice at Prudential Center to take on the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday.

Jim Montgomery told reporters at Warrior Ice Arena on Tuesday that Pavel Zacha and Charlie McAvoy will miss Boston’s matchup against New Jersey. The B’s head coach did not confirm if Zacha or McAvoy would play against the New York Islanders on Friday.

McAvoy suffered an injury last week against the Buffalo Sabres and did not play the following matchup against the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday. Zacha suffered his injury during that Saturday matinee game. The veteran center didn’t play the third period, but rookie Matthew Poitras also sat on the bench, which was a situation he spoke about and resolved with Montgomery in the days after Boston’s win.

” … You don’t replace one of your top two centers and you don’t replace your top D-man with an individual,” Montgomery told reporters, per team-provided video. “It’s got to be an effort by everybody eating more minutes, and they got to do the job.”

The Bruins on Tuesday recalled Jesper Boqvist from Providence, and Montgomery had a clear goal in mind for the 25-year-old.

“There’s a lot of players playing well down in Providence,” Montgomery said. “A little bit is how well he’s playing and also it’s New Jersey, and it’s where he played. I always find guys dig in and want to show the other team why they could have kept him.”

Montgomery also noted Boqvist is versatile enough to play center or on the wings, which would give the Bruins flexibility to move things around in Zacha’s absence.