The Boston Bruins are still without superstar forward David Pastrnak, who has not seen the ice since November 26th as he deals with an undisclosed injury.
It’s not all bad news for Boston, however, as the second line of skaters will get a huge boost with offseason signee Viktor Arvidsson returning to the lineup ahead of the Bruins’ second consecutive puck drop against the Detroit Red Wings.
Arvidsson posted five points in seven games in November but missed the second half of the month after suffering an injury on the 15th against the Montreal Canadiens.
First-year head coach Marco Sturm is looking forward to adding the 32-year-old talent as the Bruins look to secure two more divisional points.
“He’s just one of those players you kind of want to follow, just the way he leads on the ice,” Sturm recently said. “I thought when he got hurt, I remember that game in Montreal, that was probably his best stretch I’ve seen him playing for a while. Hopefully, we can get him to be back to the way that he played during that time, but it’s definitely nice to have him back that’s for sure.”
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The Bruins’ second line is starting to look more like the dangerous unit it was built to be this offseason. Arvidsson will play on the wing opposite the dangerous shooter Casey Mittelstadt, centered by the playmaker Pavel Zacha.
Arvidsson told reporters that he is looking forward to building more chemistry with the two.
“I think we have fun together, and we talk about stuff that is happening on the ice, and we think the game pretty much the same way.” Arvidsson said. “I thought at the beginning we might not have talked too much about our games, but now we do, and I think that’s started to show on the ice. I think we’re starting to understand each other better.”
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The Bruins are currently in second place in the Atlantic Division and are set to play 14 games in December.