Bruins have reinforcements on way

The Bruins might be getting some reinforcements shortly.

After several weeks of limbo with the three injured defensemen, and Tuukka Rask on a leave of absence for the final two games of the homestand, they’re all inching closer to returning.

It could start with Rask, whom Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said might be back at practice tomorrow before the team heads west to Colorado.

“Tuesday we have practice, and I suspect Tuukka will join us then,” he said before last night’s 4-1 win. “That’s something we’ll discuss with him tomorrow (Monday). Today the focus for us is on Vegas, then we’ll look at what our lineup looks like on Tuesday.”

Kevan Miller was originally slated to miss four weeks with his hand injury suffered in Edmonton. He’s been skating before practice and holding a stick. He’s likely the blueliner closest to returning, and could be back by the end of the four-game road trip when they play in Detroit Nov. 21.

“If he can practice with a stick in his hand fully, it’s quite possible he’ll be with us,” said Cassidy.

Urho Vaakanainen and Charlie McAvoy, both dealing with concussions, have skated throughout the week and are also nearing returns.

“They’re both skating, so good news on that front,” said Cassidy. “Tuesday (to practice) would be great for both of them, because we don’t have a lot after that…. It would be good to get them back in the mix. They’re possibilities as well.”

Lines shaping up

It’s not the exact personnel they projected, but the Bruins are showing a semblance of how they thought they’d look heading into the season.

It took more than a month for some of those roles to be established, but after scoring 10 goals in two games, each line is establishing a bit more of an identity, even with how new they are.

“The (David) Krejci line had some good chances, (Joakim Nordstrom) ended up getting one,” said Cassidy. “The young kids, (Anders Bjork) was in a couple times, (Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson) made a hell of a play to

(Jake) DeBrusk …. I think the structure of the lines is closer to what we anticipated at the start of the year. In terms of makeup, not necessarily each person. But a younger third line, the top two lines.”

Penalties cost Kampfer

After taking four penalties over two games, Steven Kampfer didn’t play too often late against the Toronto. He played 10 less shifts than any other defender, and that was partially due to Cassidy switching up the top four, with

Matt Grzelcyk playing with Zdeno Chara late. Still, the Bruins would like to see more of an error-free game from the Michigan alum.

“When guys come in here who aren’t necessarily guys in there every day, the message is generally, be clean,” Cassidy said. “If I don’t notice you, it’s probably a good thing. I don’t mean that negatively, it just means you’ve been clean, you’ve done your job. Then as you get more comfortable, then you can add a little more.”

Lauzon back

The Bruins recalled defenseman

Jeremy Lauzon from Providence prior to the game. Brandon Carlo suffered an upper-body injury against the Leafs, and though he finished the game, wasn’t feeling well before the game yesterday.