The injury bug just can't seem to leave Matt Grzelcyk alone so far this season.
After missing five straight games due to his second lower-body injury of the season, the puck-moving blueliner made his return to the ice during Wednesday's OT win over the Rangers, but clearly didn't look right — logging just 11:41 of ice time and getting tagged for a pair of goals against during 5v5 action against the Blueshirts.
While some rust was to be expected for Grzelcyk after such a layoff, it does appear as though he tweaked something again during Wednesday's win — as he was laboring when skating back in an attempt to slow down Mika Zibanejad.
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Speaking on Thursday, Bruce Cassidy noted that Grzelcyk was tabbed as "day to day" moving forward due to a lower-body issue — adding on Friday ahead of Boston's pregame skate that Grzelcyk will be ruled out for the sixth time in his last seven games. With Grzelcyk out, Connor Clifton will slot in on Boston's second D pairing next to Brandon Carlo.
Lower-body injuries have plagued Grzelcyk throughout this season, with the 27-year-old skater falling awkwardly along the boards after getting tied up with Jordan Eberle in a loss to the Islanders on Jan. 18. Just a few days later, Grzelcyk collided awkwardly into the end boards during a game against the Flyers that looked much, much worse in the immediate aftermath — as the defenseman was able to skate off the ice.
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At this point, Boston should give Grzelcyk as much time as he needs to rest up and avoid additional flare-ups down the stretch — with the promising play of Clifton giving Boston a bit more breathing room when it comes to depth on the blue line.
Even with Wednesday's poor showing against the Rangers and his struggles with remaining healthy so far in 2021, Grzelcyk is still a key cog on this B's D corps, and a pairing of Grzelcyk-Carlo offers plenty of potential. Despite having just 35.29% of that pairing's faceoffs set in the offensive zone, the Bruins hold the edge in goals scored (4-3) and shots on goal (31-22) during their 56:21 of ice time.
Studnicka hits ice with Providence; Wolff stands up for teammate
After being sidelined for the last few weeks with an upper-body injury, Jack Studnicka was back on the ice this week — with the B's top prospect getting his legs back under him with the Providence Bruins.
Studnicka appeared in his first pro game since Jan. 28 on Thursday afternoon in Marlborough, skating on the wing in Providence's 4-0 loss to the Hartford Wolf Pack. While the 21-year-old winger didn't get on the scoresheet against Hartford (he landed two shots on goal), he did make some noise when he dropped the gloves with Hartford’s Patrick Sieloff during the second period.
While scrapping isn't exactly the best course of action when you're returning from injury, Providence head coach Jay Leach was at least happy to have Studnicka back and logging shifts after spending a few weeks on the shelf.
"I mean, we certainly want to get him comfortable playing the wing," Leach said of Studnicka. "First of all, we just want to get him back playing. So we accomplished that. We want to make sure that he's comfortable on the wing, obviously had some opportunity there earlier in Boston. And I think that was fine. We obviously want him playing in all situations, which we did.
"And then obviously wanted to make sure that he got out of all right — coming back from an upper-body injury like that is always a challenge. We did not want him fighting someone else, which was certainly not part of the plan. Things happen. I'm not sure what exactly happened. I couldn't see it from my viewpoint. But overall, it's a game for him to get back into — I don't know how long it's been — maybe close to a month. So certainly good to get him into some game action and playing in all situations."
Studnicka was not the only Baby B to drop the gloves on Thursday, as undrafted college UFA Nick Wolff also fought Sieloff in the third period after he objected to the Hartford skater's hit against Providence's Alex-Olivier Voyer.
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Wolff could very well find himself up in the NHL ranks in a year or so, given his ability to throw his 6-foot-5, 230-pound frame around — with his snarl reminidng me a bit of Adam McQuaid. So far, the returns have been good so far down in the AHL ranks for the Minnesota Duluth product.
“We know Wolfie’s a physical player, and that's certainly part of his game and he did a terrific job there at the end — I don't think he liked some of the liberties that were being taken against some of his teammates and so he stepped up huge for us there," Leach said. "And overall, he was solid — he looks to be a defensive defenseman with a good stick and good positioning and being physical. And I think he was all those — relatively clean with the puck in most areas of the ice. So it was a good performance."
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February 13, 2021 at 04:27AM
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Bruins Notebook: Injury bug continues to halt Matt Grzelcyk's season; Studnicka drops gloves down in Providence - bostonsportsjournal.com
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