BOSTON –– Matt Poitras is back.
The 21-year-old forward was recalled from Providence on Thursday and is projected to be in the lineup for the Boston Bruins’ 7 p.m. matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers at TD Garden.
Poitras has 24 points (eight goals, 16 assists) through 39 games in the AHL this season. He joined the B’s for morning skate and centered the third line between Mikey Eyssimont and Marat Khusnutdinov.
“I think first of all, he’s got to be himself. I don’t need to see anything special out of him. I want to see him go up and down, and play really good defensively,” head coach Marco Sturm said. “He is going to play with a guy like [Khusnutdinov] today; he’s going to have his back. Today, he just has to play hockey. That’s going to be the main thing.”
Sturm said Elias Lindholm is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. The forward left Tuesday’s win against the Nashville Predators in the second period.
Poitras has played a total of 66 NHL games in the Black & Gold and has logged 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) through that time.
“I think just simplifying my game. Trying to play fast and move my feet. When I simplify my game, the other stuff kind of just takes care of itself,” Poitras said. “I think the mindset was not to kind of sit and wait. For me, it was just go down and not worry about what’s going on up here. Do my thing and worry about where I am.”
Thursday marks Boston’s final game on home ice ahead of the Olympic break. The team has won the last eight consecutive games at TD Garden.
“Definitely our fans. Just how they have been supporting us,” Sturm said. “We feel it. We feel it as a team. And that just helps us. Anytime the crowd is behind us, and of course, winning helps.”
