On December 27th, Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg’s season ended when he tore his ACL and MCL in his right knee late in the third period against the Ottawa Senators.

At a Monday practice after the injury, Seidenberg told ESPN Boston reporters, “It’s very disappointing, it’s tough luck the way it happened. But in the end there’s nothing I can do. It’s all about getting it fixed now and preparing for next season.”

For the entire season so far the Bruins have been dealing with injuries, especially among their defenseman. Adam McQuaid has been in and out all season with reoccurring lower body injuries. Dougie Hamilton was also hit with a lower body injury and while he started playing again near the end of December, on January 11th he received a mild concussion and was unable to play for two weeks.

Seidenberg is one of the Bruins top defenseman and his shut-down style of play will be missed greatly for the rest of the season. Since his injury the Bruins have lost six out of their last eleven games, but seem to be adjusting a little better to him being gone with a strong performance against the Chicago Blackhawks on January 19th in Chicago.

A huge factor in the Bruins’ ability to still play very competitive hockey during Seidenberg’s absence is the strong play from defenseman on the Bruins’ AHL affiliate team, the Providence Bruins.

Defensemen from the Providence Bruins have been called up to play more this season than any other time in recent years and a lot of them have made their NHL debuts this season. One standout among the group of P-Bruins is Kevan Miller, who played college hockey at UVM.

Claude Julian, the head coach of the Bruins, told reporters after Miller’s first NHL game that “Kevan Miller played extremely well, he’s a defensive defenseman who makes good strong plays; he did that tonight. He was strong, I really liked his game. I thought he was a poised player out there for his first real NHL game.” Miller has proven himself since that game and has consistently been the player the Bruins call on when they need help.