Jeremy Lauzon next man up for Bruins on blue line

Having to dig even deeper into the organization’s reserves on the blue line, the Bruins will see yet another defenseman make his NHL debut on Thursday — just two games removed from Urho Vaakanainen accomplishing the same milestone over the weekend.

Of course, Vaakanainen’s concussion and a number of other injuries on the blue line have forced another call-up from Providence, with 21-year-old Jeremy Lauzon set to skate in Thursday’s home matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers.

“It’s what you’re waiting for all your life,” Lauzon said. “Just going to soak it in and play my best.”

Lauzon, who got the news at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, participated in the team’s morning skate Thursday — skating on the third D pairing with Steven Kampfer, balancing out the duo as a left-shot defenseman.

Boston’s second-round pick (52nd overall) in the 2015 NHL Draft, Lauzon was solid in his first AHL campaign last year, posting seven points over 52 games — rebounding from a nasty concussion that knocked him out of action from November to mid-January.

While it took him so time to get back up to speed upon his return, he opened the 2018-19 campaign with the P-Bruins with four points over six games. A puck-moving defenseman that amassed 130 points over four seasons in the QMJHL and played for Canada in the 2017 World Juniors, Lauzon stood out at B’s training camp for the second year in a row before being one of the final cuts in September.

While Lauzon’s skill set has always made him a weapon in terms of pushing the puck through the neutral zone and closing in on opposing skaters, his focus on improving his play with the puck on his stick has stood out to Bruce Cassidy.

“Exhibition games, I thought he showed better composure with the puck than I anticipated. I knew last year, that was an area that I know they were working hard with him,” Cassidy said. “His compete level is high. He closes well in the D zone, will help our penalty kill. Just want to make sure he can make the plays that are in front of him and hopefully tonight he has the ability, composure and confidence to do that.

“It’s your first game, you always get a little worried - don’t want to make mistakes. So keep an eye on that. But at the end of the day, he’s played well down there and it’s his chance and off he goes.”

Lauzon noted that he’s pretty good when it comes to calming down his nerves before a big game. Still, there will be some butterflies when he skates out on the TD Garden ice Thursday night.

“Really looking forward to it,” Lauzon said. “That was my dream, playing in the NHL and now I’m here, so I’m just going to try to play my best and stay here as long as I can.”

BSJ Analysis:



While Cassidy mentioned Cody Goloubef as a possible call-up, it looks like the B’s went with the younger option in Lauzon, who should have put up much more impressive totals last year in Providence before a concussion sidelined him.

Even though he projected as a bit of a playmaking defenseman in juniors, Lauzon does have a strong frame (6-foot-1, 204 pounds) and isn’t afraid to throw the body around — a nice addition on a blue line lacking in some size down in the final two pairings with Matt Grzelcyk (5-foot-9) and Kampfer (5-foot-11).

Going up against a Flyers forward corps with some big bodies in Sean Couturier (6-foot-2), Wayne Simmonds (6-foot-2), Nolan Patrick (6-foot-2), Jakub Voracek (6-foot-2) and James van Riemsdyk (6-foot-3), Lauzon could be a solid equalizer.

“Yeah, he’s hard - he gets after it,” Cassidy said of Lauzon. “Sometimes, you almost have to reel him in a little bit. Make sure, ‘Once it’s your turn to go, go.’ Should be a good matchup. Philly’s got some big bodies, he’s a big kid, so hopefully he neutralizes some of them.”

OTHER PRACTICE NOTES:

No major changes to the B’s forward groups following Tuesday’s win over Ottawa, with Danton Heinen remaining on the second line and Joakim Nordstrom centering Anders Bjork and Chris Wagner on the third line. Ryan Donato remains on the fourth line, although we did see him get some reps on Boston’s top power-play unit, skating in his usual spot on the man advantage as the net front guy.

Jaroslav Halak will get the nod in net for the Bruins against the Flyers, while Tuukka Rask will start in net on Saturday against Montreal. In his career against Philly, Halak is 9-5-1 with a .917 save percentage.

Much like Charlie McAvoy and Kevan Miller, there wasn’t much in terms of an update for David Backes on Thursday, with the veteran center still sidelined due to an upper-body injury. “Better. Upper-body. He’s still out,” Cassidy said of Backes. “Didn’t skate today, didn’t skate yesterday. So obviously that’s the next progression for him, to get back on the ice. But again, I don’t have a definitive timeline for him.”