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Boston Bruins Call Up McLaughlin Ahead Of Road Trip

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Boston Bruins

BOSTON – Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery confirmed after Sunday night’s win over the San Jose Sharks that the B’s were bringing up a forward for their upcoming road trip, and they did that by promoting Billerica native Marc McLaughlin from the AHL. The 23-year-old McLaughlin has seven goals and 17 points in 39 games for the P-Bruins this season and had a very strong NHL training camp for the B’s this past fall before being one of the last cuts down to Providence.

With Tomas Nosek out of the lineup for the next month after fracturing his foot blocking a shot against the Rangers, McLaughlin figures to factor into the bottom-6 forward mix while 6-foot-5 inch Finnish center Joona Koppanen has also stepped up his game in Nosek’s absence. Koppanen registered his first NHL point in Sunday’s 4-0 win over the Sharks by getting an assist on Nick Foligno’s tipped goal at the net and has improved with each game that he’s been in the B’s lineup.

“I thought our fourth line was great tonight,” said Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery. “Whether they start in the D-zone or took over in the offensive zone, they kept momentum alive. I thought [A.J.] Greer was skating great, and Nicky [Foligno] was doing his great support plays and owning the net front – what a tip. And then [Joona] Koppanen, I thought, was very visible as far as having a big impact in our lineup.”

There were some strong candidates for callup from Providence whether it was Vinni Lettieri (17 goals and 33 points in 38 games), Oskar Steen (9 goals and 21 points) or veteran Chris Wanger, but ultimately it was McLaughlin’s turn to get a shot after he memorably scored a goal in his first NHL game with the Black and Gold last season.

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