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Bruins’ forward shakes off rust in return from injury
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- Bruins’ forward shakes off rust in return from injury
BOSTON — With two more forwards on the shelf for the already banged-up Bruins , Boston didn't have the luxury of waiting for Casey Mittelstadt to have a practice or a morning skate before inserting him back into the lineup.
With David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha both unexpected late scratches on Friday morning, Boston pressed Mittelstadt right back into action for Friday afternoon's matinee at TD Garden.
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While the 6-2 loss made it hard for the Bruins to be too encouraged by anything, Mittelstadt's return was a bright spot.
"I thought he was great. I could tell already before the game that he was going to have a solid game," Marco Sturm said. "He wanted to play. Didn't care about anything else. "
Mittelstadt scored the Bruins' first goal of the game, his fifth of the year in 16 games, and his 17:14 was the second-most ice time of any Boston forward.
"Obviously, you want to win, but it definitely felt good to be back. You miss it when you're gone. It's hard to watch your teammates play and not be able to help," said Mittelstadt, who hadn't played since Nov. 6.
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He said he skated four or five times when the Bruins were on the road and wasn't cleared to return until Friday morning.
"I felt good," he said. "Lungs felt good. Legs felt good. Overall, it was a positive game."
The Bruins are back on the ice on Saturday at 7 p.m. against Detroit at TD Garden.
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