Boston Likely to Recall Zach Trotman for Monday Matinee

Prior to the start of today's 3pm EST game between the Providence Bruins and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in Providence, the Boston Bruins game against the Chicago Blackhawks was well underway.

Up until almost game time in Providence, Zach Trotman was scheduled to be in the lineup in his usual position on the right side of the top defensive pairing with David Warsofsky. That changed when the Providence Bruins coaching staff was alerted to an injury that had just been sustained in the Boston Bruins game.

The injury to Adam McQuaid occurred about halfway through the second period. It was announced during the third period that he would not return to the game. After the game, it was not clear whether or not McQuaid would be out for tomorrow's matinee against the Los Angeles Kings back in Boston.

Julien said there's no further update yet on Adam McQuaid, until after he's evaluated ^CS

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) January 19, 2014

Surprise Scratch

Playing their third game in three days this afternoon, the Providence Bruins would not have been in any shape to send up a healthy, rested defenseman if McQuaid isn't good to go tomorrow. Thus, Zach Trotman was a last-minute healthy scratch.

After the game in which Providence fell 5-1 to the Penguins, head coach Bruce Cassidy explained the reason for Trotman's healthy scratch. "There was an injury in Boston so we were alerted that we may or may not be needed," he said. "They play tomorrow so it’s a quick turnaround. They wanted a healthy body."

It hasn't been officially announced yet, and may not be announced until tomorrow, but we can assume that Trotman will be recalled to Boston for the second time this season before tomorrow afternoon's game against the Kings.

Second Recall Less Crazy Than First

Thankfully, the game is in Boston, and Trotman is coming from Providence - which is a much more reasonable travel schedule than the one he had to endure in his first recall earlier this season. The emergency recall back on December 28th was nearly last-minute when it was determined Zdeno Chara was too sick to play.

With the P-Bruins in middle-of-nowhere upstate New York, Trotman had about four hours to jump in a car and book it to Ottawa. He made it just in time for the game, joining the team on the ice mid-warmups. It was his first NHL recall for the Lake Superior State alum who is in his second full season with Providence.

Trotman had 16:41 of ice time with three shots on net in his sole NHL game.

Bouncing Back from Injury

Last season was rocky for the American-born defenseman after he sustained multiple concussions, including a season-ending concussion in game two of the second round of the playoffs against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins courtesy of twitter own-name searcher Warren Peters. He spent the summer recovering from the concussion and showed up to Boston Bruins training camp looking like he hadn't missed a beat.

Earlier this season, Trotman again missed a substantial amount of time with a broken wrist suffered at the end of October. He was back in the lineup by late November and has been a steady force on the blueline. In 32 games this season, he has four goals and seven assists, and is a +13.

Trotman was the number one star in Friday night's 5-1 victory over the Penguins. He had a goal and an assist, which gave him three points in two games after he was the only P-Bruin to score a goal in the previous Sunday's loss. Here is last Sunday's goal:

And Friday's goal:

Trotman was the last overall pick in the 2010 entry draft. He has a career total of seven goals and 23 assists for 30 points in 89 career AHL games. At Lake Superior State, Trotman played in 119 games and recorded 19 goals and 30 assists.

It should be exciting to see what he can bring to the NHL lineup under normal circumstances, unlike his first recall.