After being listed as day-to-day yesterday, Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk did not travel with the team on their current road trip and will likely miss all of the three-game swing, head coach Jim Montgomery said today (via Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald). Grzelcyk left Tuesday’s contest against the Wild with an upper-body injury after posting a -2 rating in 13:35 of ice time.
The Massachusetts-born defender is amidst the worst season of his NHL career, and it couldn’t come at a tougher time. Regarded as a high-end, complementary top-four defender with exquisite possession numbers since becoming a full-time big-leaguer in 2018, Grzelcyk is now in the final season of a four-year, $14.75MM contract and will be an unrestricted free agent next summer. Unfortunately, his game has cratered this year, posting just one goal and a -3 rating in 20 contests. He is averaging 17:04 per game, his lowest usage since averaging 16:44 per game in his rookie season in 2017-18. When healthy, he’s been stapled to a pairing with Charlie McAvoy this season, which has been the Bruins’ highest-event pairing at both ends of the rink. Grzelcyk’s -3 rating and 48% Corsi share at even strength are both career lows.
With Grzelcyk out of the lineup, rookie Mason Lohrei will skate on a pairing with McAvoy in tonight’s game against the Jets. Across multiple stints on the Bruins’ NHL roster this season, the 22-year-old Lohrei has two goals, three assists, and a -4 rating through his first 15 NHL games and is averaging 16:59 per contest.