It’s a tough blow for the Bruins and Hagens, who has played in every game this season and had settled into a productive role as the right wing on the third line. Hagens is tied for second on the club with six goals and for fifth in points with 12 through 17 games. Entering the weekend, Hagens was tied with Trevor Connelly of the Golden Knights atop the league’s rookie scoring leaders.
The Bruins called up Mikey Eyssimont to take Hagens’s spot on the roster. Eyssimont was not on hand for Saturday’s practice after scoring a natural hat trick in the final 2:08 of AHL Providence’s win in Hamilton, Ontario, on Friday night.
At the workout, Marat Khusnutdinov dropped into Hagens’s spot on the line with center Elias Lindholm and left wing Casey Mittelstadt.
The three have familiarity with one another, so Mittelstadt believes they will mesh quickly.
“Koozy knows what he’s doing. I think the role we’ve been playing, obviously we want to score, but I think first and foremost, we’re trying to shut down the other team’s top line,” he said. “And I think coming in and defending first, I mean, Hages is a young kid, but he’s played so hard in all three ends and obviously that’s a given with Koozy, so I think it should be a seamless fit.”
Poitras shifts to a wing
Khusnutdinov’s left wing spot on the second line was occupied Saturday by Matt Poitras, who had been exclusively at center this season.
Poitras, who suffered a broken nose in Monday’s victory over the Golden Knights, practiced for the second time wearing a protective brace on his nose and a full bubble.
“It’s different. Having this is kind of just like, I guess having a big nose,” Poitras, pointing at the brace, said. “But yeah, it’s getting better. I feel more comfortable.”
Poitras wasn’t worried about the switch to wing.
“It’s obviously a different position, different responsibilities. But I feel like with my game I can play anywhere and [am] comfortable doing what’s asked of me,” he said.
Poitras said a lot of the responsibilities are similar, particularly when it comes to the offensive end and the neutral zone.
“I think it’s mostly just in the [defensive] zone, and I mean, every guy kind of plays everywhere because when you’re coming back, when you’re the first guy back, you got to be the center,” he said. “You have those positions when you start your shift, but everybody’s kind of moving around and doing everything. It’s not really like you have one responsibility. It’s just go out there and just read off of each other and play hockey.”
Red-hot Eyssimont on way
As for Eyssimont, he will arrive in Boston on a heater. In eight games for Providence, Eyssimont has 13 goals and 16 points. “He definitely deserved the call up. We really liked him actually at training camp. He was really good. He had a really good camp, but we had a lot of bodies,” Sturm said. “And I guess he continued his play and his training camp play in the minors, but he was really good, too. He didn’t pout or anything. He worked really hard and that’s why he deserved the call.” … Sturm said he would likely stick with Saturday’s lines Sunday at home against the Panthers, though it is possible Eyssimont gets in the mix … The Bruins are scheduled for an early (9 a.m.) practice Monday so that a team contingent can head to Toronto for Patrice Bergeron’s Hall of Fame induction later in the day. “It’s my first invite to go to a Hall of Fame [induction], so I really appreciate Bergy thinking about me and some of the other guys,” Sturm said. “Going in [to the Hall of Fame], it’s no surprise [because] of the way he played the game, the way he treated the game on and off the ice, the way he carried himself from Day 1 until the last day he was here for the Boston Bruins, it was absolutely incredible.”
Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com. Follow him @globejimmcbride.
