Gino Hard just flagged that Bruins forward James Hagens left tonight's game in Pittsburgh early in the third period after a cross-check from Samuel Girard.
The Bruins won it 6-2 over the Penguins, so the score is the easy part of the night. Hagens' status is the open question heading into a quick turnaround.
Hard noted that Hagens left after the cross-check from Girard and added that he was hoping it's nothing serious.
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No update on Hagens' condition is available at this point. The latest injury report lists nothing for him, but that report predates tonight's game and tells us nothing about what happened in the third period.
That uncertainty matters because Hagens has been a real part of what Boston is doing. Before tonight he had 6 goals and 6 assists in 16 games, and a +7 rating that fits a team sitting first in the Atlantic Division.
The Bruins came into the night at 11-4-1, fourth in the NHL, with a +20 goal differential. Those numbers are from before the Pittsburgh game, which only adds to the win total.
What a Hagens absence would mean for Boston
The seventh overall pick in 2025 has had a quick climb. He has played 18 NHL regular-season games in total, and 16 of them came this season, so this is effectively his first full run in the league.
Losing a young center who is producing at that pace would force Marco Sturm to rework his lineup in a hurry. Sturm hasn't said anything yet, and the sheet has nothing on who would slot in if Hagens can't go.
The next game is Sunday, November 8 against the Panthers. That gives Boston a couple of days to sort out the situation, but not much more than that.
Then there's Girard. The Penguins defenseman is a veteran of 620 NHL games, and the cross-check that Hard pointed to is exactly the kind of play the league's player safety group tends to look at. Nothing in the information available says a penalty was called or that a hearing is coming, so that part stays open.
Boston can live with a lopsided win. It can't afford to lose a rookie who has been this productive, and the next update on Hagens will matter more than anything that happened on the scoreboard.
Should Samuel Girard face a hearing from the NHL for the cross-check on James Hagens?
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