Bruins forced to make more changes on backend
An already battered Bruins defense took another hit Wednesday, this time with Nikita Zadorov ruled out for the Black and Gold’s showdown with the Ducks at Anaheim’s Honda Center.
“He won’t be available for tonight’s game,” Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco confirmed following a morning skate. “He had to fly back home to Boston today to attend to a family matter. I don’t have any further update as to when he’ll be back or not, but he won’t be available for tonight’s game.”
The confirmation on Zadorov’s absence came after the Bruins ran through a morning skate without Zadorov spotted on the ice, and with Parker Wotherspoon in Zadorov’s (new) normal spot to the left of Henri Jokiharju on Boston’s makeshift top pairing. Carrying seven defensemen on this road trip,
Zadorov’s absence will throw Ian Mitchell back into the lineup after two straight scratches and set the Bruins up for a third pairing with Mitchell to the right of the left-shooting Michael Callahan, based on the morning skate lines and pairings shared by The Boston Globe’s Jim McBride.
With Zadorov slated to miss tonight’s game, the Bruins’ hopes of a perfect attendance defenseman season on the backend are officially dashed, with Zadorov coming into tonight’s contest as the only Boston defenseman to appear in all 72 games to date this season.
The Bruins have not had an ’82-of-82′ season from a defenseman since Brandon Carlo played in all 82 games during the 2016-17 season. Overall, just three Bruins defensemen have been able to have a full 82 season since 2005, with that list featuring Carlo, Dennis Seidenberg (2014-15), and Mark Stuart in back-to-back years in 2007-08 and then 2008-09.
(And in case you’re wondering, just three Bruins skaters have appeared in all 72 games to date this season: Elias Lindholm, David Pastrnak, and Pavel Zacha.)
But it’s not all bad for the Black and Gold’s defense, as Charlie McAvoy was once again on the ice (albeit still in a red, non-contact sweater) on Wednesday after participating in Tuesday’s practice.
This is the first time that McAvoy has participated in team activities since suffering an injury and subsequent infection while playing for Team USA during the 4 Nations Face-Off.
“He won’t play this trip but it’s good to have him here,” Sacco said of McAvoy, who met up with the Bruins in LA on Sunday night, following Tuesday’s practice. “It’s good to see him on the ice with his teammates and I just think it’s good for the morale of the team to have him around.
“He’s an experienced player. He’s progressing the way he should be right now. He’s not pushing himself any more than he has to. When he’s available he’ll be in the lineup, when he’s ready.”
The McAvoy and Zadorov-less Bruins, meanwhile, will look to avoid dropping their seventh straight game tonight against Anaheim, and in the process will look to avoid their first stretch of at least seven straight games without a win since what was a 10-game winless skid (0-6-4) during the 2009-10 season.
