BRIGHTON, Mass – It hasn’t been the kind of devastating injury that the Bruins suffered earlier in the season, but Bruins winger Joakim Nordstrom will be back after missing the past four weeks with a broken bone in his leg.
The exact injury was a non-displaced fibula fracture that was expected to keep him out at least three weeks and Nordstrom’s recovery was right on schedule considering the 10-day break that the Bruins just returned from this week.
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Nordstrom got hurt blocking a shot in the Winter Classic victory over the Blackhawks on New Year’s Day and missed the past 10 games sandwiched around the bye week and NHL All-Star weekend. Nordstrom, 26, has just five goals and seven points in 39 games this season, but has been extremely valuable based on his versatility and ability to play multiple positions on many different lines.
He’ll be manning the fourth-line wing tonight with Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner, which continues to cement his identity as the “Swedish Army Knife” for the Black and Gold capable of filling just about every role. For Nordstrom, he’s just happy to be back in the lineup as is Bruins defenseman John Moore as well.
“It helped a bit that so many of the games were at home over the last month so I was still around the other guys, but it’s always tough to sit and watch when you’d rather be playing,” said Nordstrom. “It doesn’t bother me at all [switching spots in the lineup]. I think I’ve always prided myself on my versatility and not really trying to change my game no matter where I’m playing. That’s what I’ll try to keep doing.”
Bruce Cassidy also confirmed that Tuukka Rask will get the start while returning from a concussion suffered in the Jan. 19 loss to the New York Rangers. That means the Bruins won't have a single player missing due to injuries and that's the first time this season they've been able to say that.
Here are the Bruins projected line combos and D-pairings vs. the Flyers based on Thursday morning skate:
Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak
Cehlarik-Krejci-DeBrusk
Heinen-Frederic-Backes
Nordstrom-Kuraly-Wagner
Chara-McAvoy
Krug-Carlo
Moore-Miller
Rask
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