For the first time in his young pro career, Matt Poitras is heading down to the AHL ranks ... Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.

It’s possible that the Bruins got on their team plane for the St. Louis-Dallas trip on Monday with just 18 skaters. With Andrew Peeke injured and still unavailable and Matt Poitras sent down to Providence, the varsity roster only had 18 players as of Monday afternoon.

It should come as no surprise that the young pivot has gone through some growing pains this season, but the Bruins are also inviting plenty of risk by shipping him out.