Reinhart missed Friday's practice and head coach Ralph Krueger said that they will make the call on his status on Saturday morning. If Reinhart doesn't play, it seems likely that Tage Thompson will suit up on the first line with Jack Eichel and Victor Olofsson.
Rodrigues left Sunday's game vs. the Rangers with a lower-body injury that he suffered in a collision with Filip Chytil. The play left both players injured and it is going to keep Rodrigues out "longer term." With Rodrigues hurt, Drew O'Connor will likely make his NHL debut on Tuesday.
Bobrovsky allowed four goals on 36 shots in the Panthers' 5-4 overtime win over the Blackhawks last Tuesday. With COVID-19 postponements interfering with the Panthers schedule, Bobrovsky will make his second start of the year one full week after his first. Tuesday's game will mark his third return to Columbus--he was 1-1-1 with a 2.00 GAA and .944 SV% in three games against his former team in 2020.
Nick Merkley is coming up to make his season debut on Sunday so they send Boqvist to the taxi squad because he doesn't need waivers. Boqvist has yet to register a point with just two shots on goal in four games this season.
Forsling played 21:15 TOI in his season debut on Sunday but the Panthers want to get a couple of new bodies in the lineup for the second game of the season, so Riley Stillman will replace him on Tuesday.
Studnicka played 11:40 TOI in the season opener but was a healthy scratch on Saturday. With Ondrej Kase getting hurt on Saturday, Studnicka will draw into the Bruins lineup on Monday and is expected to skate on the second line with David Krejci and Nick Ritchie.
Studnicka started the season on the first line but will already get scratched in favour of Anders Bjork. Craig Smith will make his Bruins debut and replace him in the lineup but Bjork will be on the top pair with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.
Bobrovsky has been ramping up his work in practice but the Panthers will be cautious with him and keep him out of Sunday’s game. Chris Driedger will start but the Panthers are hopeful that Bobrovsky will be available for Game 2 on Tuesday.
There was initial concern that Marchand may miss the start of the regular season but he participated throughout training camp and head coach Bruce Cassidy expects him to be available on Thursday. With David Pastrnak out for the start of the year, Marchand will need to get off to a hot start for the Bruins to have success.
Bobrovsky had not been on the ice for the first two weeks of training camp but jumped right back between the pipes for Wednesday's practice. The start of the season for Florida has been pushed back to Sunday, so it looks like there's a chance that Bobrovsky could be ready for their season opener.
Bobrovsky has yet to take the ice for training camp and remains on the unfit to play list. With Bobrovsky still not on the ice, it seems highly unlikely that he will be available for Sunday's season opener vs. the Blackhawks. With Bobrovsky out, Chris Driedger and Samuel Montembeault will be the Panthers' goaltending duo.
Forsling is familiar with new Panthers bench boss Joel Quenneville from their days together in Chicago. Forsling has had a tough time becoming a full-time player in the NHL, never playing more than 43 games in a single-season (2019). He has 27 points (8G / 19A) in 122 career NHL games and will likely continue to serve a similar, fringe roster player role in Florida.
Marchand underwent sports hernia surgery in mid-September and was expected to be sidelined until mid-January. On Thursday, the Bruins announced that Marchand has been skating regularly, will be there for the start of training camp and should be good to go for the start of the regular season.
In 2020, Reinhart was on-pace to set a new career-high in goals but when the season was paused he had 22 goals and 28 assists (50 points) in 69 games. Reinhart has not missed a game in three seasons, averaging 24 goals and 34 assists (58 points) per 82 games. With the addition of Taylor Hall, Reinhart could be pushed from the top-line in 2021 but should still finish with 20-plus goals and 30-plus assists.
