Bruins activate Mark Kastelic off injured reserve

When speaking to the media, Boston Bruins head coach Joe Sacco revealed that forward Mark Kastelic will be in the lineup on Tuesday night against the Minnesota Wild, as the centerman has been activated off injured reserve.

In response, the Bruins are sending forward Vinni Lettieri down to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Providence Bruins.

Kastelic has been out of game action with an undisclosed injury since Jan. 20, when the Bruins hosted the San Jose Sharks. It was just the 25-year-old’s second game back after returning from an upper-body injury that led to him being placed on IR, resulting in him missing almost two weeks.

Along with a lower-body injury suffered in mid-November, Kastelic has had to miss nine games due to an ailment of some sort. In 45 games with the Bruins, he has notched four goals and nine assists for 13 points, registering a plus/minus +1 while averaging 11:11 of ice time.

Kastelic came to Boston, along with Joonas Korpisalo, as part of the deal that led to Linus Ullmark being sent to the Ottawa Senators back in June. He’s made enough of an impact in his new home that the Bruins elected to sign the Phoenix native to a three-year contract extension. The deal will carry an AAV of $1.567 million through the 2027-28 campaign.

Lettieri has been in the lineup for eight of the Bruins’ past nine games since getting called up on Jan. 13. He scored back-to-back goals on Jan. 18 and 20 but didn’t get his name on the scoresheet after that. During his stint with Boston, the 29-year-old had an even rating while averaging 12:05 of ice time per game.

The Bruins (26-22-6) are sixth in the Atlantic Division, one point back of the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.