Since his recall following an injury to Joonas Kemppainen, Boston Bruins forward Maxime Talbot has played like a guy that doesn’t want to return to the American Hockey League.
That’s been mostly good for both the 31-year-old Talbot and a Boston squad that sits just a single point out of first place in the Atlantic Division. But the cagey veteran crossed a line in Sunday’s shootout victory over the New Jersey Devils at TD Garden by way of his undeniably late hit on New Jersey forward Jiri Tlusty and will sit out the next two games with a suspension for the infraction.
“But I’ll have to see the replay.…
This was a clear as day suspension-worthy hit by Talbot. There was legitimately no need for the hit, and it’s impossible to disagree with the end result (the two-game ban) if you ask me.
But what this suspension means for Tuesday’s game against the St. Louis Blues is intriguing. Kemppainen is still on the injured reserve, as is Zac Rinaldo. David Pastrnak (foot) is still in the American Hockey League on a conditioning assignment and is expected to remain there until the B’s decide whether or not they’ll allow him to play for the Czech Republic at the World Juniors.
The Bruins could of course recall Alex Khokhlachev from the P-Bruins on an emergency basis and have him ready to go for the tilt. Or they could with an off the board recall before the holiday freeze.
No matter the move, this likely means that Landon Ferraro will switch back to center, which could give the slumping Brett Connolly another game to break out of his funk on the second line.