Pregame update: Krejci, Kelly out; Marchand, Pastrnak game-time decision

The Bruins announced earlier that forwards David Krejci and Chris Kelly are definitely out for tonight’s match against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tonight’s game will be Kelly’s second missed game in a row, as well as Krejci’s third straight. Krejci has missed nine of the last 11 games.

Claude Julien said to reporters early today that while Krejci has taken a step back in terms of his injury, he doesn’t expect this to be a season-long struggle for the center. Julien said he doesn’t expect Kelly’s injury to have him out for a prolonged period of time.

“I don’t think there’s a specific timetable – it’s not three to four weeks, or four to six weeks, that much I can tell you,” Julien said. “But that’s why I can only say day-to-day, I guess, at this point.”

While Brad Marchand has been out for three straight games with an undisclosed injury, he skated this morning and will be a game-time decision. Practice saw Matt Fraser and Marchand alternating in the left wing slot alongside Patrice Bergeron and Reilly Smith.

“All I can tell you right now is we’ve got some game-time decisions, like usual,” Julien said. “With everything that’s going on, it’s hard for me to confirm certain players right now. There’s still some question marks there, still.”

Forwards Jordan Caron and first-round draft pick David Pastrnak were called up from Providence for the added security. Alexander Khokhlachev is still with the team on an emergency basis. Julien marked Pastrnak as a game-time decision as well, while Caron seems to be suiting up for his first NHL match this season. Practice saw Caron, Khokhlachev and Pastrnak skating as a line, with Seth Griffith alternating in for Pastrnak.

Additionally, this morning was the first time that Zdeno Chara has skated since suffering a torn PCL in October’s match against the New York Islanders. His expected timetable was 4-6 weeks out, and this Thursday will mark five weeks since the injury occurred.

Per NHL Bruins

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