BOSTON — Marco Sturm knew for over a week that Charlie McAvoy, recovering from facial surgery, would not be available Friday against the New York Rangers. It caught the Boston Bruins coach somewhat by surprise that David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha would also be out of uniform because of undisclosed ailments, considering both forwards played in Wednesday’s 3-1 win over the New York Islanders.
“Where do you want me to start?” Sturm cracked before the 6-2 loss when asked about lineup adjustments.
Injuries have turned the NHL upside down. The Bruins have not been immune.
Consider the following ways that absences affected their lineup against the Rangers:
1. The Bruins were missing their No. 1 line from Wednesday: Pastrnak, Zacha and Matěj Blümel. Sturm classified Pastrnak and Zacha as day-to-day. Blümel (lower body) was placed on long-term injured reserve Friday.
Blümel must miss at least nine more games and 23 calendar days. The earliest he would be eligible to play is Dec. 21. He was scheduled for additional testing to determine the nature of his injury.
Morgan Geekie, getting congratulated by Henri Jokiharju, scored his 18th goal of the season Friday. His career high is 33 goals, achieved last season. (Winslow Townson / Imagn Images)
Blümel has zero points in four games while averaging 10:52 of ice time per appearance.
2. Casey Mittelstadt returned after missing the last nine games because of a lower-body injury. Mittelstadt did not practice with the team before playing. The Bruins were off Thursday. Mittelstadt was not with the team during its four-game road trip.
“When you’re hurt, skating and working out, you’re almost working harder than when you’re playing because you’re so focused on the recovery side,” said Mittelstadt, who estimated he had skated four or five times before Friday. “I felt good. Legs felt good. Lungs felt good. Overall, I thought it was a positive game.”
He started the game as the No. 2 left wing with Marat Khusnutdinov and Georgii Merkulov. Mittelstadt moved up to the first line and scored in the third period when he punched in a short-range rebound. He played 17:14, second-most among team forwards behind Morgan Geekie (19:34).
“I thought he was great,” Sturm said. “I could tell already before the game that he will have a good game. Because he wanted to play. He didn’t care about anything else. I’m going to tell you this: A lot of guys would pull the chute. He didn’t. So I give him a lot of credit.”
3. Merkulov made his season debut. He was informed of the recall Thursday while Providence was in Toronto. He played 10:35, the least of any Bruin, and missed the net with his only attempt.
Merkulov is a natural center. But he has been playing wing this season after the organization determined he would have more opportunity there than in the middle.
The 25-year-old has six goals and eight assists in 17 games for Providence. A challenge for the 5-foot-11, 174-pounder at wing is pulling pucks off the boards with opposing defensemen regularly in his face.
“It’s hard making plays off the wall, especially in this league,” Merkulov said. “D’s are pinching. Everything happens really quick. But I think it’s a good opportunity for me.”
He has zero goals and one assist in 11 NHL appearances since 2023-24.
4. Just one Bruins draft pick played: Mason Lohrei (2020). The Bruins usually have four in action: Pastrnak (2014), McAvoy (2016) and Jeremy Swayman (2017). In comparison, the Rangers had eight of their draftees in their lineup.
Ten Bruins players were signed as free agents. Seven arrived via trade.
5. Only one of their alternate captains was in uniform. Hampus Lindholm started the season as one of three letter-wearers. With McAvoy and Pastrnak out, Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm wore the “A.”
It was the first time Elias Lindholm had played with a letter as a Bruin. The No. 1 center recorded his first five-on-five point of 2025-26 on Friday with an assist on Mittelstadt’s third-period goal.
Mittsy’s back and on the board. pic.twitter.com/10fKZ051t1
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 28, 2025
6. Sixty percent of their No. 1 power-play unit did not start the season on the top five: Mittelstadt, Khusnutdinov and Hampus Lindholm. They replaced McAvoy, Pastrnak and Zacha.
7. Sturm shuffled three of his four lines after the Bruins fell behind 4-0. The only line he did not touch was the No. 3 trio of Tanner Jeannot, Fraser Minten and Mark Kastelic.
“We have toughness. We have grit. We have a little bit of speed,” Sturm said of the line. “We have a young kid kind of playing his way into this league. He doesn’t have to worry about anything else. It’s just a combo I really like. Once in a while, I wish they would be on the scoresheet a little bit more. But I’m really glad they found it the other night in New York. Because they work extremely hard.”
8. Four players started the season in Providence: Merkulov, Alex Steeves, Riley Tufte and Jonathan Aspirot.
9. Like most teams, the Bruins prefer to carry an extra defenseman. But they assigned Michael Callahan to Providence on Friday, leaving them with only six blueliners. They were down to five in the third after Aspirot was bloodied after taking a stick to the face. Aspirot returned later in the third.
