FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Boston Bruins forward Alexander Khokhlachev will get another chance to prove his worth in the NHL, this time on a very big stage.
Opportunity has presented itself more than once for the 22-year-old who was the Bruins' second-round pick (No. 40) in the 2011 NHL Draft. Khokhlachev does not have a goal in his eight NHL games, and Game 9 won't be an ordinary regular-season contest.
Khokhlachev was recalled by the Bruins to play in the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic against the Montreal Canadiens on Friday at Gillette Stadium (1 p.m. ET; NBC, TVA Sports, SN). He's one of a few young players who will be asked to step up in the absence of injured forward David Krejci (upper body), and forward Brad Marchand, who was suspended for three games by the NHL Department of Player Safety for clipping Ottawa Senators defenseman Mark Borowiecki in the first period of Boston's 7-3 win Tuesday.
"I think every call-up is an opportunity," Khokhlachev said Thursday. "Every game I play right now I get better and better and feel better and better. I just try to do my best every time I'm here. It doesn't matter who's hurt. If you got called up you will be in the lineup. It's an opportunity for you every time. I'm not looking for somebody to get injured. I just want to play and show what I can do."