OTTAWA — David Krejci, the Bruins talented No. 2 center, remains here in body, but not in the lineup.
The 30-year-old slick Czech pivot, one of the remaining members of the 2011 Cup team, missed another day of practice on Friday with an upper-body injury and was all but ruled out Saturday for Game 2 of Boston’s best-of-seven playoff series vs. the Senators. Krejci this week has skated only briefly in one workout (Monday) and then in both the morning and pregame skate on Wednesday.
“Unavailable,’’ said coach Bruce Cassidy when first asked about Krejci’s status following a brief workout here at the Sens’ practice facility.
Cassidy then tempered his remarks slightly by saying, ‘He’s day-to-day, he wasn’t very good today. We were hoping he would skate. Didn’t happen. So not playing for four days, that’s going to be difficult. He’s still day-to-day, we hope he will come around. I guess I should say he’s not looking good for [Saturday].’’
In Krejci’s absence, Ottawa-born-and-raised Ryan Spooner moved into the No. 2 pivot role for practice, flanked by Drew Stafford and David Backes. In Game 1, the resourceful Cassidy anchored that line with Riley Nash, who had Matt Beleskey and Backes to his left and right.
In Friday’s skate, with all lines subject to change, the versatile Nash was on Dominic Moore’s right wing and Frank Vatrano on the left wide. It was that makeshift line that came up with the tying goal Wednesday midway through the second period, Nash dishing to the middle for the quick-firing Vatrano to snap home.
Meanwhile, Cassidy also cobbled together a fourth line that had BU rookie Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson between Beleskey and Tim Schaller. Spares Sean Kuraly and Jimmy Hayes also worked their way in and out of that line.
Playing like a vet
Raw rookie Charlie McAvoy, who looked like a grizzled vet in his NHL debut on Wednesday, paired up on the right side with team captain Zdeno Chara for most of the workout. McAvoy played a few shifts with Big Z in Game 1, but he was mostly with Kevan Miller, who now is expected to twin with Joe Morrow in Game 2.
“Definitely a memorable experience there the other night, for sure,’’ said McAvoy, who finished second only to Chara for minutes logged in Game 1. “I take a lot away from it, from a personal standpoint, but as a team though it was great to get that first one and now get ready for Game 2.’’
Less than a minute into Game 1, McAvoy watched his attempt to fire the puck into the offensive end ricochet off a teammate at the offensive blue line and send the Senators firing up ice for a pair of good chances on Tuukka Rask. Right idea, wrong result.
“I got back to the bench and kinda chuckled to myself,’’ said McAvoy. “And said, ‘OK, let’s play some hockey.’ I got my mulligan out of the way there. The guys kinda laughed and said, ‘OK, you got through the first one, now let’s play.’’’
Subban recalled
Goaltender Malcolm Subban was recalled from Providence of the AHL on an emergency basis. Goaltender Zane McIntyre was assigned to Providence. Subban, 23, has appeared in 32 games with Providence this season, posting a 11-14-1 record with a 2.41 goals against average and .917 save percentage. The 6-foot-2-inch, 200-pound goaltender has also appeared in two career NHL games with Boston . . . Noel Acciari, dealing with an undisclosed injury, practiced in a red (non-contact) sweater on Friday. He is inching ever closer to a return. Perhaps the club’s top-hitting forward, Acciari could provide some valuable pop in front of the home crowd in Game 3 on Monday (7 p.m. puck drop) . . . The workout, which lasted no more than 40 minutes, wrapped up with a high-energy small-space drill, a 3-on-3 workout that stressed puck possession. The two nets, manned by Rask and Anton Khudobin, were stationed at the center of the blue lines.
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeKPD.
