The Bruins kept things steady at Monday’s practice, but that doesn’t mean Marco Sturm has locked in his plan for Tuesday.
Boston skated with the same lines and defensive pairings it used at the end of Saturday’s 4-1 win in Los Angeles, even as two names continue to sit at the center of the conversation: Pavel Zacha and Nikita Zadorov.
Zacha missed Saturday’s game because of an upper-body injury, and Sturm said ahead of that matchup that he was “day-to-day.” On Monday, Zacha skated as the extra forward, though NESN’s Adam Pellerin reported that he was a “full go” at practice. Sturm still stopped short of saying the center would be back in the lineup, calling him a game-time decision while emphasizing that he’s moving in the right direction.
“Maybe. You always have to see after practice, even tomorrow, when he wakes up, morning skate.
So we’ll see,” Sturm said of Zacha. “He will be a game-time decision, but I think he’s definitely heading [in] the right direction.”
Zadorov’s situation has taken a different turn. Sturm revealed before Saturday’s game that the defenseman would be a healthy scratch, pointing to “his discipline on the ice.” He also said Zadorov “was not happy” with the decision, though he believed the veteran would respond the right way.
That message didn’t change on Monday. Sturm again backed Zadorov and said he wasn’t worried about any lingering effect from the scratch, even if he declined to say whether Zadorov would draw back into the lineup Tuesday.
“He’s good. He’s a competitor.
He wants to be on the ice all the time. He wants to help the team.
I know that,” Sturm said. “And I really believe he’s going to be even better when he comes back.
So I’m pretty confident that he will do that.”
Sturm also said, “I think we’re all professionals. We are, and especially him,” before adding, “He’s been around for a long, long time. So he’s been through it before, and he’s going to do it again and again [and] that’s just part of the game in any sport, but he will be fine.”
As for the reaction around Zadorov, his agent Dan Milstein added fuel during the game on social media. In response to a comment that read, “he wouldn’t be treated like this in Toronto,” Milstein replied, “No he would not…”
That sparked plenty of chatter about Toronto, though there’s no clean line connecting Zadorov to the Maple Leafs beyond the noise that has followed him before. Elliotte Friedman reported last November that the Bruins “outbid Toronto by $500,000 for Nikita Zadorov in the summer of 2024.” And when Zadorov asked for a trade out of Calgary in 2023, Chris Johnston reported that he “would welcome a move to Toronto.”
Zadorov also brushed aside summer trade speculation in a pre-camp conversation with the Boston Herald’s Steve Conroy last month, saying he’s under contract and likes playing with the team’s players.
The Bruins, meanwhile, are riding a five-game winning streak, and Sunday’s practice didn’t offer any real clues about how Sturm will handle the next step. He made it clear the setup from Monday should not be read as a preview for Tuesday.
“Yeah, today’s lines [mean] nothing. It doesn’t mean anything for tomorrow,” Sturm said after practice.
“We will see. We will talk about it and sleep through it.”
In Other News...
Bruins Waste Big Opportunity In Loss That Leaves One Clear Concern
The Bruins left Dallas with a point but not the result they wanted, falling 3-2 in overtime at American Airlines Center in a game that felt like a missed chance for a team sitting atop the Atlantic Division and tied for first in the Eastern Conference. Boston had enough strong stretches to make the trip feel winnable, with Jeremy Swayman, Matthew Poitras and Nikita Zadorov among the players who helped keep the game on track.
Still, the details of how the loss unfolded will linger. Boston could not cash in on a key advantage when it needed to separate itself, and by the time overtime arrived, the margin for error had already disappeared. Against a Dallas team led by Mikko Rantanens big night, the Bruins were left with a reminder that even a solid overall performance can turn into an expensive lesson when one area of the game goes missing at the wrong time. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Gave Fans One More Reason To Watch Khusnutdinov Closely
The Bruins wrapped up a four-game road trip at 3-0-1, a solid stretch that still ended with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Stars in Dallas. Boston had enough going in the right direction to leave the trip with positives, even if Mikko Rantanens hat trick ultimately swung the night for the home team.
Amid that backdrop, theres a reason to keep a closer eye on Marat Khusnutdinov, who has become part of the conversation around Bostons roster beyond just the immediate results on the ice. The Bruins are also being linked to a possible move involving Dylan Larkins trade landscape, while a few other familiar names around the league have recently found themselves back where they started, adding to a busy stretch of NHL storylines. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Suddenly Have A Real Chance In A Surprising Trade Watch
A quiet contract standoff in Detroit has suddenly put the Bruins in the middle of an interesting trade watch. Simon Edvinsson and his agent recently met with interim GM Shawn Horcoff as the Red Wings continue to work toward an extension, and Boston is among the teams keeping tabs on the situation as the 6-foot-6 defensemans future hangs in the balance.
Edvinsson has not formally asked out, but the longer talks drag on, the more likely a move starts to look if no deal comes together. Detroit still says it wants to keep him, yet there is clearly enough outside interest to make this one worth monitoring, with the Bruins one of the clubs that could benefit if the Red Wings decide to revisit the market. [Read more 🡒]