If Ondrej Kase is cleared to return, where could he fit in Bruins' lineup?

With Brandon Carlo making his return this week following a month-long absence due to an oblique injury – coupled with Kevan Miller getting back on track following a flare-up with his surgically repaired knee — it seemed as though a Bruins club that entered Thursday's game against the Rangers with an absurd 247 man-games lost due to injury was finally getting most of the usual suspects back in the fold.

And while Charlie Coyle is likely set to miss his second-straight game on Saturday due to an upper-body injury, Bruce Cassidy said Coyle "should be back before long" on that revamped third line with Sean Kuraly and Nick Ritchie.

And with his return, the gang should be all here come the postseason, right?

Well, you might be forgetting someone.

In a move as encouraging as it was, candidly, surprising — winger Ondrej Kase took part in Boston's practice at Warrior Ice Arena on Friday, marking his first full-contract skate with the rest of his teammates since Jan. 16. If you're keeping track — that was the morning skate ahead of Boston's second game of this 56-game campaign.

https://twitter.com/NHLBruins/status/1390690413695148033

Kase — acquired back in February 2020 from the Ducks and tabbed by yours truly as an X-factor for the 2021 Bruins given his top-six potential and ability to compliment David Krejci (don't think he needs much help in that regard anymore) — has unfortunately had his first full campaign in Boston felled by injury, getting knocked out of commission during that Jan. 16 game against the Devils due to a hit from Miles Wood.

While the reasoning for Kase's extended absence was tabbed as a "upper-body injury", it seems fair to assume given both his history of brain injuries and his extended time on the shelf, that it was a concussion that did the 25-year-old forward in. And while the road back has been arduous, the Bruins never conceded that Kase was going to be ruled out for the year — with Cassidy noting multiple times that Kase was either skating on his own ahead of practices and working with the taxi squad.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1350522248545886208

And now, so long as he feels alright on Saturday — Kase could find himself back in the mix and potentially playing again during either of Boston's final two games of the 2021 campaign.



"There's a chance," Cassidy said of Kase returning next week. "Once he's in contact — this was some of his first real, it wasn't full blown, middle of the year practice, but there was some some jostling out there, some battling. So let's see how he feels tomorrow.  Won't go in tomorrow. But if there's no ill effects from tomorrow, that really ups his chances for Monday or Tuesday. That'll depend where we are, what's the best fit for us? And then is he ready — what's best for him as well. So try to merge those two. But yeah, I mean, I've always said that, if he's in a normal-colored jersey in practice, going through what everyone else is going through, then that's probably the last hurdle, typically, for guys to get in the lineup in terms of their process of practicing."

Of course, while Kase could add some skill and scoring punch to Boston's lineup if he's indeed healthy, the more pressing issue becomes where exactly he would fit on the depth chart, considering that Boston's top-six unit is pretty much a lock at this point. And with Coyle likely on the same recovery timeline as Kase in terms of returning next week, it seems likely that Cassidy will want to keep that Ritchie-Kuraly-Coyle grouping together, given how encouraging their shifts have been over the last few weeks.

So we very well could have a situation in which Boston's forward depth could push a former 27-goal scorer in Jake DeBrusk and a middle-six caliber forward in Kase down to the fourth line, whether they would be centered by a pivot in Curtis Lazar would could drive a third line on a lot of lesser teams.

"We don't know with Ondrej yet, so he may go into a spot where if we're resting a guy, if our playoff seed is determined, so that will factor into it down the road," Cassidy said of where Kase might best fit in the lineup. "By Monday and Tuesday we'll have much more clarity — Pittsburgh's season will be done. Washington will have one game left. So that may determine where he plays as well. So I really can't answer that until Charlie gets cleared to get back in the lineup.

"If he's not, is Kase better with a Lazar and DeBrusk — that type of line, than a Kuraly and Ritchie? So we'd have to sort through that — so it's a little bit early right now to say. We would like to see him, if he does get cleared. Obviously it's been a long time. A lot of catching up to do,  but it's still nice to know what is available to you should we need to put them in the lineup in the playoffs at some point."

Now, with Ritchie-Kuraly-Coyle taking the mantle as Boston's heavier, puck-possession line, Cassidy does have some freedom to augment that fourth line into whatever he sees fit — whether that's a speed line with guys like DeBrusk, Kase or Karson Kuhlman, or a more traditional checking unit with Chris Wagner and Trent Frederic. Whatever the case may be, look for plenty of shuffling on that fourth line over these last couple of games — and perhaps even going into the postseason.

Ultimately, it's a good problem to have if Cassidy can tailor one of his lines into whatever matchup presents itself. And having guys like DeBrusk and Kase further down the depth chart could cause some issues for opposing defenses.