As Bruins' D corps situation grows desperate, Jakub Zboril and Connor Clifton join revolving door on blue line

Friday will be a night to remember for Jakub Zboril and Connor Clifton — with the blueliner duo set to become the first Bruins defensemen to make their debuts in the same game since Brandon Carlo and Rob O’Gara accomplished the feat on Oct. 13, 2016 against Columbus.

But Zboril and Clifton’s fortunes stand in stark contrast to the misery that is the Bruins’ current D corps — with five of the team’s six Opening Night starters sidelined due to injury.

The last 36 hours have seen some of the final remnants of Boston’s starting blue line fall to injury — with captain Zdeno Chara suffering a lower-body ailment against Colorado on Wednesday after his knee appeared to buckle following a check.

Chara’s status is still uncertain going forward, but he was sent back to Boston on Thursday to undergo further evaluation.

Just hours ahead of Friday’s road tilt against the Stars, Boston’s blue line suffered another blow — as John Moore did not participate in morning skate due to a lingering lower-body injury. Bruce Cassidy noted that Moore is listed as “day to day” going forward, and is “questionable” for Saturday’s matchup against the Coyotes.

That gives Boston a hobbled defense without its starting right side in Brandon Carlo (upper-body), Kevan Miller (hand) and Charlie McAvoy (concussion) — along with a decimated left side with Chara and Moore both out of commission.

Even the reinforcements on the back end have been hard to come by for the Black and Gold, with Boston’s go-to option down on the farm in Urho Vaakanainen still on the road to recovery after suffering a concussion against Ottawa on Oct. 23.

Stuck in a back-to-back slate this weekend, it seems as though the Bruins will have to trudge through with their inexperienced D corps for at least a couple of games, with Wednesday’s matchup in Detroit standing as the likely return date for Miller.

McAvoy and Carlo also have a chance to return after this weekend, but neither player traveled with the team on its flight out west on Tuesday.

So for now, the Black and Gold will put their faith in a defense with an average age of 24.3 against a Stars club with some big weapons in front in Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn.

He’s been a coach in some capacity since 1996, but Cassidy can’t recall a roster situation quite as dire as what the Bruins’ defense is facing right now.



“Not this many at the same time. I've seen when you lose guys through the course of the year, five or six, but not at the same time. It'll be a challenge, no doubt, all at once,” Cassidy said. “You've got guys going into situations, that as young guys, it's not ideal, you want them to play their minutes where they can most have success, but some will be forced into penalty kill. Power pay is intact, so that a part of it, we're ok.

“But the penalty kill and playing against top lines, it's going to be a real indoctrination for a few of them. It is what it is and it's the National Hockey League. You can either play in it or you can't and we'll find out.  Sometimes this is the best way to find out. That's the positive of it. The negative is that we have a lot of good players out of the lineup back there."

Zboril and Clifton are set to join Jeremy Lauzon as the latest skaters to join the revolving door on the blue line, with the 21-year-old Zboril looking to live up to the billing as the first-round talent Boston saw in him when they selected him with the 13th overall pick back in 2015.

“Skating, puck moving, got a good shot,” Cassidy said of Zboril. “Hasn't translated offensively down there as much as we'd like, perhaps. There's not always an easy answer for that. Because (Matt Grzelcyk) didn't have great numbers, his second go-around, he came up and he's been a good offensive, secondary offensive defenseman for us, so I'm not saying it won't happen here.

“But for him, it's just a matter of being consistent and a bit like (Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson), you're playing against men, it's battles and you've got to be willing to win your share, stick your nose in there. So we'll see how that translates.”

Clifton, 23, may not have the pedigree that Zboril has as a first-round pick, but what the former Quinnipiac captain lacks in skill, he more than makes up for in his willingness to compete for the puck.

Since signing with the Bruins organization as a free agent in 2017, Clifton has posted four goals and 17 points over 68 games with the Providence Bruins.

Much like Lauzon, Cassidy has noted that Clifton is never one that needs to get geared up before a matchup. Rather, the challenge for a young, passionate player like him to stay composed and stick to his game despite the anticipation that comes with a debut outing in the NHL.

“Clifton is very engaging, competitive,” Cassidy said. “With him, it's learning the nuances of the game, when to be competitive. I think they've really worked hard with him at the start of this year with that. Last year, we saw a very raw talent.

“Likes to get up and get involved in the play. A defenseman that leads the forecheck at times. So it will be interesting to see what he's done this year to help settle those parts of his game down. Just does his job, does it well and adds a few things here and there. I'm interested to see him play, because sometimes, those are the guys that get to this level that have the willingness and want to get engaged in the game that do well. We'll see.”