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Bruins’ Derek Forbort scratched for missing team meeting
"That's just our standard here with the Bruins. Just like [DeBrusk] earlier in the year.”
The Bruins’ D corps will be shorthanded on Monday night in Seattle. But it won’t be due to injury.
Speaking ahead of Monday’s road matchup against the Kraken, Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said defenseman Derek Forbort will be scratched due to missing a team meeting that morning.
This marks the second time this season that the Bruins have scratched an expected starter due to a meeting-related miscue. In October, Montgomery sat Jake DeBrusk for a road game against the Kings after the winger was late to a meeting.
“Not a player tonight,” Montgomery said of Forbort on Monday. “[Kevin] Shattenkirk is in. [Forbort] missed a meeting today. So that’s just our standard here with the Bruins. Just like [DeBrusk] earlier in the year.”
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Forbort did not take part in Monday’s morning skate at Climate Pledge Arena, with Shattenkirk and Parker Wotherspoon expected to skate on Boston’s third D pairing during the final game of this road trip.
It’s been a difficult season for Forbort, who has dealt with a nagging lower-body injury for most of the year. He has missed 25 total games this year due to several ailments, including a six-week stint on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) from early December to late January.
Since returning from LTIR, Forbort has struggled during the taxing D-zone shifts and PK reps that Montgomery has usually doled out to him during his tenure with the Bruins.
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In his 14 games since returning to the lineup, the Bruins have been outscored, 17-9, during Forbort’s 236:04 of ice time — with his 4.32 goals against per 60 minutes rate leading the team during that extended stretch.
With Forbort struggling, the Bruins might have to scour the trade market in search of another physical, third-pairing option on the blue line before the March 8 trade deadline. Forbort — a pending UFA — could also be a cap casualty if Boston finds a team to take his $3 million cap hit off its books.
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