It might be a new year, but the injury woes that plagued the Bruins in 2018 don’t seem to be subsiding any time soon.
Bruins forward Joakim Nordstrom is now the latest casualty, with the Bruins announcing the versatile Swede suffered a non-displaced fibula fracture during Tuesday’s 4-2 win over the Blackhawks at the Winter Classic. He is set to be re-evaluated in three weeks.
Despite the diagnosis, Nordstrom managed to play for the entirety of Tuesday’s outdoor showcase at Notre Dame Stadium, logging 20 shifts and 13:14 of TOI. He even was out on Boston’s final shift of the game following Brad Marchand’s empty-net goal.
No early exit for Joakim Nordstrom during the Winter Classic — he finished with 20 shifts and 13:14 TOI.
He was even out on the ice for the final seconds of the game. pic.twitter.com/yq8Uy7ujjj
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) January 3, 2019
“Third period — he blocked a shot, I believe,”
Bruce Cassidy
said of the timing of Nordstrom’s injury. "It was the middle of the ice, went low to high and he kind of went halfway down. …. I just remember he was out above the top of the circles in the middle of the ice at that end. Because he played through it.”
With Nordstrom out and
David Backes
still serving his suspension,
Ryan Donato
will slot back into the lineup for Thursday’s game against Calgary, skating on the second line with
David Krejci
and
Jake DeBrusk.
The fourth line of
Sean Kuraly, Noel Acciari
and
Chris Wagner
will be reunited as well, while
Colby Cave
will center the third line with
Danton Heinen
and
Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson
.
Along with some lineup shuffling up front, the Bruins will once again be without
Charlie McAvoy
on Thursday and for the rest of the weekend, with the defenseman still sidelined due to a lower-body injury. He has not played since Dec. 23 against Carolina.
“
He’s coming along. Back working out, should start skating soon,” Cassidy said. “Won’t play tonight, unlikely for Saturday. But trending for next week, whether that’s Tuesday or Thursday.”
BSJ Analysis
He may not be as dynamic as some of the other Bruins skaters bitten by the injury bug this season, but Nordstrom has quietly established himself as a key cog within the forward corps thanks to his ability to carve out a niche both in a top-six role and down on the third and fourth line.
Signed over the summer as a depth option and another piece to add to the penalty kill, Nordstrom has skated in 39 of 40 games this season — already surpassing last year’s goal-scoring totals (2) with five tallies and seven points on the year.
The addition of Nordstrom has made it easier for Cassidy to shuffle up his lines on a regular basis due to both injury and ineffectiveness. In total, he has appeared on at least 13 different line combinations that have logged at least 10 or minutes of 5v5 ice time together.
He might be more known as a bottom-six grinder and special-teams contributor, but the line that Nordstrom has played on the most so far this year? A top-six spot next to Krejci and DeBrusk (107:00 5v5 TOI).
And while that second-line assignment might be a bit of an unconventional fit, that trio has still managed to generate a Corsi-For Percentage of 57.36 this season.
(All Stats via
).
On the penalty kill, Nordstrom has recorded the highest TOI total among Bruins forwards at 66:13, playing a key role on a unit that has stymied 21 of its opponents’ last 23 looks on the man advantage.
Things aren’t getting any easier for Cassidy and Co., with the coach now forced to tinker with his lineup without one of his steadier pieces on the depth chart.
“He does a lot of things for us,” Cassidy said of Nordstrom. “He’s not a guy that’s dynamic, per se, but he kills penalties, he’s moved up in the lineup, given some energy to Krejci and DeBrusk. He’s played down in the lineup, he’s reliable.
“He’s a real good player to have when you have a lead, because he’s responsible. He’s pitched in offensively. Scored an overtime goal for us. … We’ll miss him. He’s one of those guys, kind of an unsung — I don’t want to say hero — but he’s an unsung player for us that does a lot of little things well.”