BOSTON – James Hagens will be sidelined for the next few weeks, according to head coach Marco Sturm. The rookie forward was placed on injured reserve on Saturday morning after exiting Thursday’s win over the Penguins in Pittsburgh during the third period.
Hagens, who was cutting to the net, was struck with a cross check in the midsection by Penguins defenseman Samuel Girard and gingerly made his way back to the bench before exiting down the tunnel.
“It's definitely gonna be a few weeks,” Sturm said following Saturday’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena. “Very unfortunate, it's not a dirty play or anything like that. Just got him at the wrong spot there and so he just needs some time to heal.”
With Hagens sidelined, the Bruins recalled Mikey Eyssimont from Providence. The veteran forward made the opening night roster following a strong training camp but was sent to the P-Bruins in early October when Matt Poitras returned from injury.
Eyssimont has been among the best players in the American Hockey League to start the season, posting a league-high 13 goals and three hat tricks in just eight games. On Friday night, Eyssimont scored a natural hat trick over the final 2:08 to turn a 4-3 Providence deficit into a 5-4 comeback win over Hamilton.
“He definitely deserves the call up, let's put it that way,” said Sturm. “We really liked him, actually, at training camp. He was really good, if you guys remember, too, he had a really good camp. But we had a lot of bodies.
“I guess he continued his play in training camp to the minors, was really good too. He didn't pout or anything…he worked really hard and that's why he deserved the call.”
Marat Khusnutdinov took Hagens’ spot as the right wing alongside Casey Mittelstadt and Elias Lindholm during Saturday’s practice with Poitras sliding in as the left wing next to Fraser Minten and Morgan Geekie. Sturm, however, said the coaching staff still had to make some final decisions on the line combinations before Sunday’s matinee against Florida.
“For the most part, yes,” Sturm said when asked if the combos from practice will translate to game action. “But we also have Mikey coming in and then we will decide today or tomorrow how I have those line combination going in for tomorrow. D will stay the same.”
Sturm added that Khusnutdinov’s strong defensive acumen should make him a natural fit with Mittelstadt and Lindholm in a shutdown role.
“We use this line for a shutdown line most of the time,” said Sturm. “We thought the next guy up will be probably a guy like Khus, he is just one of them.
“We'll see. Might give it a try tomorrow, but we do have some options…he just does a lot of things right. And especially defensively. That's why we will try it out.”
