Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, right, appeared to suffer an injury on Sunday and joins a growing list of Boston players out with an injury. Paul Vernon/Associated Press
With 10 games left in the regular season, the overall health of the Boston Bruins is not trending in the right direction.
With Hampus Lindholm (knee) and David Pastrnak (core) already out, the Bruins lost Matt Grzelcyk quickly in Sunday’s 4-2 loss to the Capitals. On just his fourth shift of the game, Grzelcyk appeared to hurt himself as he pinched down in the offensive zone. The left-shot defenseman, who has been dealing with shoulder issues most of the season, appeared to be favoring his right shoulder as he went off. He saw just 3:11 in ice time.
“We obviously missed his puck moving back there. It was a big, big, big factor in the game, our inability to transition well and it cost us in the end,” said Bruins Coach Bruce Cassidy, who did not give any kind of prognosis on Grzelcyk.
With the Bruins wanting to get a better look at Josh Brown, who went into the lineup for Connor Clifton, the back end was already somewhat unbalanced. Derek Forbort wound up seeing shifts on the top pair with Charlie McAvoy as well as time with Brandon Carlo. Forbort finished at minus-3 for the day.
The Bruins narrowly missed sustaining a couple more injuries. Dmitry Orlov, he of the head shot that concussed Kevan Miller in the playoffs last season, drilled Marc McLaughlin into the boards near the end of the first period. Orlov was called for boarding.
Lars Eller got away with what looked like an obvious boarding on Carlo in the second period. Carlo, who has a history of concussions, appeared to be shaken up on the play but he finished the game.
“He got hit from behind. There were a couple of those tonight but he played through it,” said Cassidy.
There was some glimmer of hope in the health department. Cassidy said that both Lindholm and Pastrnak skated on their own on Saturday.
THE BRUINS DEMONSTRATED they have plans for Oskar Steen. They inked the scrappy right wing to a two-year, one-way contract worth an NHL cap hit of $800,000.
Steen, with a 5-foot-9, 199-pound tree stump-like physique, made an impact for the Bruins with his physical play when he was brought up earlier this season. But with just six points (2-4-6) in 19 NHL games, he was sent back to Providence. In 41 games there this year, he’s got 31 points (15-16-31).
With Curtis Lazar, who added to his career high with his eighth goal of the season in the second period on Sunday, set to become an unrestricted free agent after this season, Steen would seem like a logical replacement at fourth line right wing.
As for his goal, it was typical of the kind Lazar scores as he banged home a loose puck in the crease. His fourth line with Tomas Nosek and Nick Foligno, who snapped an 11-game game pointless skid with his helper, has not had much luck around the net lately.
“Realistically, I don’t focus on those goal totals,” said Lazar. “I focus on faceoffs, being strong defensively, blocking shots and just those character stats. But if you can chip in offensively, it’s great. I’m feeling good about my game. I feel strong on my skates, creating turnovers on the forecheck. And us as a line, we needed a game like this to break through and feel good for our confidence. We actually went to dinner together (Saturday) night, just to clear our heads, have some fun and find that passion again. I thought it was a good game for us as a line and hopefully it can continue.”
DESPITE TAKING HIS first loss in seven starts, Linus Ullmark continued to play extremely well. He robbed Evgeny Kuznetsov with a glove save in the first period and and then stopped Kuznetsov and Conor Sheary on breakaways in the third period. He made 27 saves.
“You see his confidence back there,” said Lazar, who played with Ullmark in Buffalo. “He’s relishing the challenge and I think that’s good. We’ve talked about that. He hasn’t had the chance to play in these meaningful games down the stretch and to see the way he’s battling and competing and keeping us in games is outstanding. He’s a great guy, battles hard in practice and he’s getting the results. It’s a matter of us just rallying around him.”
The start was Ullmark’s 37th appearance, tying a career high for him.
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