Carlo Closing in on Return

BOSTON - Brandon Carlo has only been in the National Hockey League for three seasons. But he knows the current state of the Bruins' defense corps is anything but routine.
Just 24 games into the season, Boston has had eight defensemen miss at least one game to injury - and most of them much more than that. The 12 blue liners the Bruins have used already are the most they have played in a season since 2013-14.

"Just craziness, I guess, is the word for it," said Carlo, who has missed the last eight games with an upper-body injury. "I haven't been in the league that long, but I've talked to a couple guys that have been here a lot longer than me and they say they've never really seen anything like this."
Carlo is closing in on a return and practiced with his teammates for the first time since being injured on Nov. 10 vs. Toronto. Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said it's "a possibility" that the 22-year-old suits up on Thursday night against the Islanders.
"I'm feeling good," said Carlo. "Not sure where I'm at with the medical staff yet, some questions there to be answered. But overall I'm feeling pretty good on the ice. Shooting's good, passing's good, contact's pretty good. I'm hopeful."

The Colorado native was playing some of the best hockey of his career before his injury and has been itching to get back on the ice - especially with how decimated Boston's back end has become.
"If it were up to me, I probably would have jumped in a long time ago," said Carlo. "I think it's the name of the game; if I come back in and I get injured that night, that just doesn't look good. Overall, yeah, it's very tough to sit around and watch when you really want to be playing.
"I feel like I can contribute a lot to the D-corps right now - I felt like I was playing pretty well when I got injured and I just want to continue to build off that."

Miller Sidelined Again

Just four games into his return from a hand injury, Kevan Miller is headed back to the shelf. The blue liner suffered a cartilage injury to his larynx after taking a puck to the throat on Monday night in Toronto and will miss at least the next five weeks.
Miller was admitted to the hospital in Toronto and initial x-rays on Monday evening were negative. He underwent a CT scan at the hospital, which revealed the larynx injury. It was reviewed and re-confirmed upon his return to Boston.
"After the game, we got good news. We didn't think it was that serious. I guess they looked at it again and found something," said Cassidy. "He plays his heart out. It's two blocked shots that have put him on the shelf. That's his game and hopefully when he comes back he's healthy and ready to go.
"We'll miss him. We saw when he was out of the lineup, I thought we weren't as gritty of a team or as hard to play against. That's the part we really miss."

Walking Wounded

Jake DeBrusk was on the ice for practice and appeared to be feeling fine after taking a puck to the back of the helmet in the closing minutes of Monday's loss in Toronto.
"Felt good out there, it was nice to get out there on the ice again after a day off. Felt all right. It's pretty cleared now," said DeBrusk, who has seven goals in his last 10 games. "At first it was just more so shock, kind of slew footed into a puck to the head. Didn't really have time to react to that one. Obviously unfortunate and something you don't really see too often."

Donato Recalled

The Bruins recalled winger Ryan Donato from Providence on Wednesday morning. The 22-year-old notched five goals and four assists in 10 games with the P-Bruins - after scoring one goal in 11 games with Boston - and improved his all-around game, particularly along the walls, according to Cassidy.
"I learned a lot, scored which is nice," said Donato, who also took a puck to the mouth during his time in Providence, which cost him five teeth and required 25 stitches. "Hopefully I can bring what I learned at that level up here. Just playing in every situation, penalty kill, power play, D-zone draws.
"Now that I have that confidence that I'm a full 200-foot player and I have the abilities to be a 200-foot player, I know I can carry it into this level and hopefully I'll have the opportunity to do those things here."
Cassidy said he is not sure when Donato will get back in the lineup.
"We'll have to discuss that this afternoon," said Cassidy. "Is it Ryan's time to go in? His offense vs. the kind of lineup we've had where we've had low-scoring games…there's a little bit of that to be considered."

Bergeron, Chara Impressed

Patrice Bergeron (rib, sternoclavicular) and Zdeno Chara (left MCL) both met with the media for the first time since their injuries before the Champions for Children's Gala on Tuesday night at the Seaport World Trade Center. Both have been sidelined for nearly two weeks and are expected to miss at least a month.
"That's the way it is," Chara said prior to the event, which honored David Pastrnak with the 2018 Champion Award. "We all wish not to have any challenges, but unfortunately they do happen and we do have to deal with them. I think guys are fighting really hard for every point we can get…hopefully this is gonna be enough and we all get healthy as a team and get on a roll."
Bergeron, who was injured on Nov. 16 in Dallas, admitted it's difficult to watch from afar, but that he's enjoyed watching his teammates step up.
"Real impressed - or maybe I shouldn't say impressed," said Bergeron. "We all know the depth that we have in this organization, the guys that have come from Providence have shown some pretty amazing stuff and are playing some great hockey.
"Everyone kind of stepped up their game and that's what you expect when that happens. As hard as it is to watch, sometimes it can be a positive for the long run, so hopefully it is."

Kovar Practices

Free agent forward Jan Kovar practiced with the Bruins on Wednesday after spending the last few weeks on a PTO with Providence. The 28-year-old Czech native had four goals and six assists in 12 games with the P-Bruins.

Wednesday's Practice Lineup

Brad Marchand - Colby Cave - David Pastrnak
Danton Heinen/Ryan Donato - David Krejci - Jake DeBrusk
Joakim Nordstrom - Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson - Noel Acciari/Anders Bjork
Chris Wagner - Sean Kuraly - David Backes
Torey Krug - John Moore
Steven Kampfer - Brandon Carlo
Jeremy Lauzon - Matt Grzelcyk
Connor Clifton
Tuukka Rask
Jaroslav Halak