Mike Loftus The Patriot Ledger

Tuesday

Feb 26, 2019 at 7:59 PM


Marcus Johansson, who missed more than two months of action after Brad Marchand left him with a concussion, said Marchand was one of the first Bruins to welcome him to the team when the B’s acquired him at Monday’s NHL trade deadline.

BOSTON -- Blame Danton Heinen.

If Heinen hadn’t played so well in place of David Pastrnak, who suffered a thumb injury in a fall on Feb. 10, the trade the Bruins made on Monday to acquire winger Marcus Johansson from the Devils could have reached a much more full-circle conclusion. And it still might.

For the moment, though, Heinen will remain on the top line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, Johansson will join David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk, and there’s no nemesis-to-linemate angle.

“That’s water under the bridge,” said Johansson, whose 2017-18 regular season ended on Jan. 23 because of a concussion caused by Marchand’s flying elbow. “It’s something I’ve put behind me.”

Marchand, suspended by the NHL for five games for the incident, helped smooth Johansson’s arrival by being among the first to deliver a welcome-to-Boston message.

“He called me (Monday), and we spoke for a bit,” Johansson said. “He apologized, which I think was great. … It just shows that he’s a really good guy, and proves what everybody’s been saying about him.”

Which is?

“I’ve just heard great things about (Marchand) -- that he’s a great guy, and he’s a great teammate,” Johansson said. “I think (Marchand’s call) was a great gesture from him.”

Johansson’s reputation, according to B’s head coach Bruce Cassidy, is that of a player with “good skill. Decent size (6-1, 205 pounds). Good playmaker. Good power-play guy, around the goal line. Speed. He’s been a good player in the league.”

Johansson, 28, scored 12 goals and 27 points through 48 games with the Devils this season, his second in New Jersey after seven with the Capitals. He missed 10 games from Dec. 20 through Jan. 10 with an upper body injury, but was playing well (4-3--7 in his last six games) at the time of the deal.

“I’ve been healthy,” said Johansson, who was held out of the Devils’ last two games before Monday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline. “Lately I feel like I’ve gotten a chance to play for a pretty long stretch without anything bothering me, and it feels like I’ve kind of found a way back to my own game.”

Thanks, boss: Bergeron was appreciative of the fact that the B’s added two experienced NHLers in the days leading to Monday’s deadline, without sacrificing a player from their own NHL roster.

Johansson, who cost the Bruins a second-round pick in this year’s draft and a fourth-rounder in 2020, was added five days after the B’s obtained Weymouth native Charlie Coyle from the Wild. The B’s had to surrender Scituate’s Ryan Donato, who was playing at AHL Providence, and a fourth- or fifth-round pick in this year’s draft.

“It always gives you definitely a boost, and some confidence,” Bergeron said.

“You worked hard all year to get to a certain point, and you’re obviously happy with the guys you have, but when the team and management is deciding we’re playing well enough to actually add -- and add some really good players to our team, as well -- to give us more depth to carry into the playoffs, I think that gives you even more confidence to keep getting better, and to keep fighting to be the best you can be.”

Around the boards: Defenseman Kevan Miller, battling an upper body injury resulting from a blocked shot, missed Tuesday’s game against the Sharks. “There’s some discomfort there, so we’re going to try to manage that,” Cassidy said. “I don’t believe (Miller’s injury) is long-term.” John Moore, a healthy scratch for the previous four games, replaced Miller. … Joakim Nordstrom, a healthy scratch on Saturday at St. Louis, returned to the lineup at left wing on a line with Coyle and right wing David Backes. Nordstrom replaced Peter Cehlarik, who was assigned (with Karson Kuhlman) to AHL Providence in a deadline-related move on Monday. Cehlarik and Kuhlman were both at the Bruins’ Warrior Arena training facility on Tuesday. … The family of Michael Chesna, the Weymouth police officer killed in the line of duty last July 15, participated in the ceremonial puck drop before Tuesday’s game. Marshfield native James Connor, a State Police sergeant, sang the national anthem as the Bruins hosted First Responders Night.