After losing 2-1 in overtime to the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, things didn’t get any better for the Boston Bruins on Thursday.
The team announced on Thursday afternoon that they have placed injured defenseman Charlie McAvoy and center Pavel Zacha on injured reserve.
The Bruins have also announced that they have recalled forward Patrick Brown from the Providence Bruins and defenseman Parker Witherspoon on an emergency basis.
Defenseman Jakub Zboril cleared waivers on Thursday after the Bruins waived the 2015 13th overall pick on Wednesday.
Both McAvoy and Zacha suffered upper-body injuries over the last week. McAvoy left early in the third period of the Bruins’ 3-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 7 and has missed the team’s last two games. Pavel Zacha left after the first period of the Bruins’ 5-3 win over the Arizona Coyotes in the following game on Dec. 9 and hasn’t skated since.
McAvoy skated prior to practice on Monday and Tuesday, but apparently, whatever is nagging the Bruins’ top defenseman isn’t going away, and the team has decided to shelve him.
McAvoy and Zacha cannot return to the lineup now for at least seven days. That means both players will miss at least the team’s next three games. The Bruins are on Long Island to play the islanders on Friday night and then return home to host the New York Rangers on Saturday night and the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night.
The six-foot-1, 209-pound McAvoy has three goals and 14 assists in 21 games.
In his first 26 games playing as a full-time center for the Boston Bruins, the 6-foot-4, 207-pound Zacha has eight goals and 11 assists.
With McAvoy out the last two games, Ian Mitchell has drawn into the lineup and been paired up and down the Bruins’ blue line. Meanwhile, center Morgan Geekie has been getting top 6 center minutes in place of Zacha.
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