Hall to make Bruins debut vs. Sabres
Taylor Hall won't have to wait long to face his former team.
The star winger will be in the Boston Bruins' lineup for Tuesday's game against the Buffalo Sabres, Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy confirmed after his team's morning skate.
Hall skated on the Bruins' second line alongside David Krejci and Craig Smith at Tuesday's practice. He also joined Boston's second power-play unit with Krejci, Smith, Charlie McAvoy, and Jake DeBrusk, according to The Athletic's Fluto Shinzawa.
"To get a guy of Taylor's magnitude, knowing we could use that extra layer of secondary scoring, was big for our guys," Cassidy said.
The Sabres traded Hall and forward Curtis Lazar to the Bruins on Sunday in exchange for a 2021 second-round pick and forward Anders Bjork. Boston also acquired defenseman Mike Reilly from the Ottawa Senators before Monday's trade deadline.
Hall said Monday he'd "love to be a Bruin for a few years," adding that he nearly signed with Boston in the offseason and that the club was his desired destination in a trade. He approved Sunday's deal by waiving his full no-movement clause.
The 29-year-old collected only two goals and 17 assists in 37 games with the Sabres after signing a one-year, $8-million pact with Buffalo, but bad luck and poor team play contributed to his diminished production. Hall posted an expected goals for percentage of 52.76 at five-on-five, and his shooting percentage of 2.3 was down significantly from his career average of 10.4 over his previous 10 NHL seasons.
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