Healthy Lauko Returns To Boston Bruins Lineup Vs. Columbus

The amount of time missed for Boston Bruins rookie Jakub Lauko turned out to not be very long as he’s back in the lineup for Thursday night’s home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Lauko was forced out of Sunday night’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes after crashing awkwardly into the boards and being helped off the ice with an upper body injury. It was an unfortunate ending after scoring a goal and playing an excellent energy game in the 4-3 shootout win over the Canes, but Lauko will get a chance to jump back in against the Blue Jackets after missing the Tuesday night loss to the Nashville Predators.

What a release by Lauko. pic.twitter.com/6uSNjylECP

— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) March 26, 2023

The 23-year-old Lauko now has four goals and five points in 16 games for the Black and Gold this season and has presumably worked his way into the fourth line picture for the Stanley Cup playoffs with the way he’s played every time he’s been in the lineup.

“Here we’re seeing a consistency and just a different way he’s approaching things mentally and the way he’s carrying himself, and how confident he is being an NHL players and being around his teammates, being around the coaches,” said Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery. “There are pros and cons to both, but as of right now we see him staying a Bruins [at the NHL level rather than at the AHL level for the playoffs].”

AJ Greer will be coming out of the lineup to make room for Lauko in the lineup, while Jakub Zboril will be in on the back end with Matt Grzelcyk serving as a healthy scratch. Nick Foligno and Taylor Hall continue to make steady progess toward a return to the lineup. In other lineup news, Linus Ullmark will get his second straight start suiting up against the Blue Jackets on Thursday night while Montgomery indicated Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman will still split the final eight games of the season even if it isn’t in strict alternating fashion.

Here’s the projected lineup for the Boston Bruins:

Marchand-Bergeron-DeBrusk

Zacha-Krejci-Pastrnak

Frederic-Coyle-Bertuzzi

Lauko-Nosek-Hathaway

Orlov-McAvoy

Lindholm-Carlo

Zboril-Clifton

Ullmark