Max Talbot recalled from Providence

A fractured femur is one of the most painful injuries in all of sports, and unfortunately, we witnessed one tonight.

Kelly, who turns 35 next week, is in the final season of a four-year, $12-million contract with the Bruins, and will be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason. Bruins general manager Don Sweeney announced that Kelly is scheduled to undergo surgery on Wednesday at Massachusetts General Hospital and expected to miss six to eight months.

The 34-year-old veteran grabbed the puck from Stars winger Colton Sceviour, but somehow lost his balance during the play.

Kelly’s injury occurred in the first period of the game against the Dallas Stars at TD Garden. The Bruins, one point out of second place in the Atlantic Division, start their Kelly-less journey on Thursday versus the Washington Capitals in Washington kicking off a three-game road trip.

As Kelly laid in front of the Stars bench, wincing in agony, a pair of ex-teammates – former Bruin Tyler Seguin and former Sens captain Jason Spezza – had the misfortune of being merely feet away from a friend in distress. “We brought in Max Talbot because, No.1, he is a good penalty killer; and No.2, because he’s a veteran and a great leader”.

Talbot will try to bring the same wisdom, leadership, grit, penalty killing and two-way play to the Black and Gold that Kelly has over the past five years. Chris Kelly came over at the trade deadline in the 2010-11 season to the Bruins. “Hopefully the pain is not too bad”. What may have originally been a short-term call-up may now have much longer implications, as Khokhlachev will likely be given a larger chance to prove himself in the absence of Chris Kelly, another center. “When you lose a guy like that on the PK, it’s tough to fill that void and it just puts more pressure on the rest of us, so it will be tough losing him”.