Bruins make four roster moves for first day back at practice
As the hockey world waits for another USA-Canada showdown, this time for the 4 Nations Face-Off championship, the rest of the Bruins returned to work at Brighton’s Warrior Ice Arena.
It was the club’s first organized team activity since going on break following a Feb. 8 loss to the Golden Knights at TD Garden, and came with four roster moves made by the club ahead of the 2 p.m. skate.
The big move was a mere formality, with Matt Poitras recalled from AHL Providence. Poitras, along with defenseman Michael Callahan (also recalled by Boston on Tuesday), found himself sent down to the minors the night that the Bruins went on break so that he would remain active and practicing with AHL Providence during the two-week break. During the break, Poitras appeared in one game for the P-Bruins, and it was certainly an efficient one, with one goal on one shot in a Feb. 15 win over Bridgeport.
Poitras has certainly been an impact player since his recall back to the Bruins in January, with seven assists in 12 games for the Big B’s, with his seven points over that span ranking sixth among all Bruins.
Elsewhere, the Bruins also recalled Riley Tufte on an emergency basis.
The 6-foot-6 forward comes back to the Boston roster with 15 goals and 28 points in 40 games for the P-Bruins this season, and is on a heater of late, with four goals and seven points in his last seven outings. Tufte, who last made an NHL appearance for the Bruins in a November overtime loss to the Blues, has appeared in three games for Boston this season, with a minus-3 rating and two penalties taken.
Tufte’s recall comes with Canada’s Brad Marchand still participating in the tournament, and with Elias Lindholm playing in Sweden’s round-robin finale against the Americans on Monday night.
And with Jeremy Swayman serving as the No. 3 goaltender for Team USA, the Bruins also recalled Michael DiPietro from AHL Providence. What’s interesting here is that the Bruins themselves outright specified that DiPietro has been brought up simply to be a practice goaltender for the Bruins.
The 25-year-old DiPietro, an AHL All-Star this season, has posted a 17-7-4 record and .928 save percentage in 28 games for the P-Bruins this season.
The Bruins will return to action Saturday night against the Ducks, and will begin their unofficial second-half push on the outside looking in in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
