Boston Bruins
Injury Bug Bites Bruins Again; Pastrnak, Zacha Out Versus Rangers
BOSTON — Injuries have ravaged the Boston Bruins lately, and their lineup suffered another a pair of major casualties on Friday.
The Bruins will be without David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha against the New York Rangers at TD Garden. Both players are considered day-to-day, according to Bruins head coach Marco Sturm.
Forward Matej Blumel is also out of action and will be for some time after the Bruins placed him on long-term injured reserve due to a lower-body injury.
Per Sturm, both Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak will be out of the lineup today against NYR. Joonas Korpisalo starts in goal.
— Andrew Fantucchio (@A_Fantucchio) November 28, 2025
“It’s very easy, because we’ve done it before,” Sturm said of the Bruins’ mindset while down two of their top forwards. “I just told the group, ‘I’m not worried at all, because we’ve done it as a group before, with a lot of guys out.’ As long as we play with our structure, especially without the puck, we will be good.”
Both Pastrnak and Zacha have been reliably durable over the last handful of seasons for the Bruins. Each appeared in all 82 games last year. Friday’s contest against the New York is the first that Pastrnak missed since the 2021-22 campaign.
Pastrnak is Boston’s leading scorer, totalling 29 points with 11 goals and 18 assists in 25 games. Zacha has five goals and 12 assists for 19 points over that same span.
Even while losing three skaters for the time being, the Bruins received a bit of good news on the injury front and activated Casey Mittelstadt off IR.
The Bruins have announced the following transactions:
– Casey Mittelstadt activated off IR
– Matej Blumel placed on long-term IR
– Georgii Merkulov recalled from AHL Providence
– Michael Callahan assigned to AHL Providence— Andrew Fantucchio (@A_Fantucchio) November 28, 2025
Mittelstadt has not skated in any capacity and has missed the last nine games with a lower-body injury he first suffered on Nov. 6 against the Ottawa Senators. He’s put up nine points with four goals and five assists in nine games this season.
To fill out the rest of their forward corps against the Rangers, the Bruins recalled Georgii Merkulov from AHL Providence and sent defenseman Michael Callahan back down in a corresponding move.
According to NHL Injury Viz, the Bruins have lost a total of 45 man-games this season due to injury this season as they remain without Charlie McAvoy, Viktor Arvidsson, and Jordan Harris.
The Bruins enter play against the Rangers with a record of 14-11-0. Joonas Korpisalo will start in goal for Boston opposite Igor Shesterkin for New York with puck drop set for 1 p.m. EST.
This story will be updated
