Bruins assign Czarnik to Providence ‘to find his game’

BRIGHTON, Mass. – It appears sustaining the concussion at the end of the preseason took some of the steam out of Austin Czarnik’s engine and the Bruins assigned the rookie forward to Providence on Thursday so he could again find his harassing, high-energy game.

The 5-foot-8, 160-pound Czarnik was scratched in the win over the Winnipeg Jets after starting the season with no points, one shot on net and a minus-3 rating against Columbus and Toronto and instead veteran Riley Nash replaced him as third-line center in the Monday night win over the Jets.

Claude Julien indicated it was a matter of Czarnik getting more than the 13 minutes of ice time per game he was getting in Boston and finding the level of play that was so effective in the preseason.

“He had a tremendous camp. We just want him to go down there and play, and we’ll see what goes on from there,” said Julien, who also confirmed that Patrice Bergeron will indeed play against the Devils after missing the first three games. “I was extremely impressed with his training camp. He’s a smart player, and when we get into these situations he needs to play in order to find his game. We’re going to allow him to do that. With the way that he’s played, there’s a good chance we’re going to see him again.”

There were other changes to the game day lineup, as well. It appears both Ryan Spooner and Rob O’Gara are going to be scratched for tonight’s home opener against the New Jersey Devils. Spooner has struggled while playing the wing in the first couple of games this season and O’Gara practiced despite taking a shot off the inside of his right leg in the Winnipeg win. The changes mean New Hampshire native Tim Schaller should be in the Bruins’ lineup for the home opener and Joe Morrow will make his 2016-17 debut in Boston’s fourth game of the season.

Here are the projected Bruins line combos and D-pairings vs. the New Jersey Devils based on morning skate:

Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak
Heinen-Krejci-Backes
Beleskey-Nash-Hayes
Schaller-Moore-Acciari