Bruins Lose Key Forward For Remainder Of Road Trip

The Boston Bruins will be shorthanded when they face the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Saturday night.

Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco shared that forward Mark Kastelic has returned home to Boston and will miss the remainder of the five-game road trip.

“Kasty, he actually went back to Boston,” Sacco told reporters after morning skate, per team-provided video. “He’s not going to be here for the remainder of the trip. He’s out right now with an upper-body injury. We’ll know more when we get back from the trip.”

Even without a timeline for Kastelic’s return, Sacco said he doesn’t anticipate calling up another skater to replace the injured forward. Fabian Lysell will draw into the lineup to replace Kastelic against the Sharks.

“Not right now,” Sacco said. “We still have one extra player. We have 12 forwards and seven (defensemen). So, the plan right now is just to stay as it is.”

Kastelic skated in 10:07 ice time across 16 shifts in the Bruins’ loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday. It’s unclear when the injury occurred or if it is a lingering issue that reemerged during the contest.

Boston acquired Kastelic from the Ottawa Senators, along with goaltender Joonas Korpisalo and a first-round draft pick, in exchange for Linus Ullmark. Kastelic has five goals and nine assists in 61 games for the Bruins. His nine assists and 14 points are both career highs for the Phoenix, Ariz. native. Kastelic missed 10 games in January with an upper-body injury.