Bruins’ Jim Montgomery shares latest intel on Taylor Hall, Nick Foligno injuries

UPDATE: The Bruins are placing Taylor Hall on long-term injured reserve. So, the injury obviously is more serious than they initially believed. They are also placing Nick Foligno on regular IR.

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Bruins forward Taylor Hall isn’t believed to have a serious injury, but his absence will now extend into the team’s return to Boston.

Head coach Jim Montgomery said after Tuesday night’s road win over the Calgary Flames that neither Hall nor Nick Foligno (both lower body injuries) are expected to suit up on Thursday night against the Buffalo Sabres at TD Garden, according to the Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont on Twitter. Hall traveled back to Boston instead of staying in Alberta after suffering his injury. Foligno is a new one, though.

• Nick Foligno was very slow to the bench after this collision: pic.twitter.com/13b8qkTOB2

  — Evan Marinofsky (@EvanMarinofsky) March 1, 2023

• Montgomery had no immediate update on Foligno after the game, per Dupont. Foligno had to leave Tuesday’s game early after a collision with Flames defenseman Nikita Zadorov.

  It’s unclear whether he suffered the injury from the collision itself or just prior to it. You can see in the above video clip from Evan Marinofsky that Foligno got his skates tangled up along the boards just before colliding with Zadorov. He looked to be in a lot of pain at the time.

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  CALGARY, CANADA – FEBRUARY 28: Nikita Zadorov #16 of the Calgary Flames collides with Nick Foligno #17 of the Boston Bruins during the second period of an NHL game at Scotiabank Saddledome on February 28, 2023 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images)

• Perhaps “no news is good news” would apply here with Foligno. Montgomery could have hinted at something serious (“Doesn’t look good”) but did not. Then again, it’s too early to speculate. I speculated on Tuesday that Hall could be back against Buffalo on Thursday, but that sounds unlikely now.

  Either way, expect another call-up from Providence to replace Foligno in the Boston lineup on Thursday night. A.J. Greer was already in the lineup with Hall out, so expect him to stay. If they want to go one-for-one on left-shot forwards, Joona Koppanen would be the logical replacement for Foligno. Jakub Lauko is another option.

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  Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Yell at him on Twitter @mattdolloff and follow him on Instagram @realmattdolloff. Check out all of Matt’s content here.