By: Zach Carlone | Follow me on Twitter @zcarlone21
Bruins defensemen Jeremy Lauzon, who has started this season playing valuable minutes on the back end with Charlie McAvoy, suffered an upper-body injury in the first period of the Bruins game Sunday at Lake Tahoe last Sunday. Per head coach Bruce Cassidy as of this morning, that upper-body injury is a fractured left-hand. He underwent surgery on his hand and will be re-evaluated in approximately four weeks, meaning he will miss at least a month of action.
Lauzon’s injury continues the laundry list of injuries the Bruins have on defense. Matt Grzelcyk remains out, as does Jakub Zboril. Zboril seems closer to returning to game action, however, as he is practicing fully today. With the two of them and Lauzon injured, the Bruins have none of their regular left-handed defensemen for the lineup. The injury occurred during Lauzon’s first shift in last Sunday’s game. He only played 34 seconds.
Lauzon’s play this season as a 23-year-old has been stable and noteworthy. Playing top-pair minutes with Charlie McAvoy, Lauzon thus far has three assists in 16 games to go along with a +/- of -2. Those numbers aren’t bad for somebody who began playing his first full NHL season this season, especially when McAvoy and Lauzon face opposing teams’ top lines for the majority of every game.
Lauzon has brought a lot to the table for the Bruins this season that hasn’t resulted in his stats. It’s tough to say who will exactly replace him on the top pair. John Moore, a left-handed shot, and Connor Clifton have filled in during the other absences, and the Bruins would need to call upon Urho Vaakanainen to play until somebody returns. He played with McAvoy the most in Sunday’s win following Lauzon’s early exit.
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