For the Boston Bruins' Oct. 19 matchup against the Utah Mammoth, Bruins head coach Marco Sturm made a notable decision regarding the Black and Gold's lineup. Sturm scratched top-six forward Casey Mittelstadt and replaced him with Marat Khusnutdinov. 

Mittelstadt being scratched came after he did not record a shot and had a minus-2 rating in Boston's Oct. 18 contest against his former team, the Colorado Avalanche. This was after he also did not have a shot against the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 16. 

Overall, Mittelstadt has had a bit of a tough start to the 2025-26 season, as he has just two goals and a minus-1 rating in six games. With Mittelstadt expected to be one of the Boston's top forwards, the Original Six club are hoping that the 26-year-old forward will start to make more of an impact offensively. 

Once Mittelstadt gets back into the lineup for the Bruins, he will undoubtedly be looking to have a big response game. Sometimes players can have strong performances after being forced to sit, and it would be clutch if Mittelstadt can provide the Bruins with just that once he returns to the lineup. This is especially so when noting that the Bruins are ice-cold right now, losing each of their last four games. 

Nevertheless, it will be very interesting to see if Mittelstadt can heat up after being scratched. The potential for him to be a solid offensive player for the Bruins is there, as he had 59 points during the 2022-23 season with the Buffalo Sabres and then 57 points during the 2023-24 campaign split between the Sabres and Avalanche.