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Bruce Cassidy still trying to fit the pieces together

One decision Bruce Cassidy has to make for tomorrow is who starts in goal.Barry chin/globe staff file/Globe Staff

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Bruce Cassidy is the Bruins’ puzzlemaster. He has pieces scattered around the ice and more in the locker room, some of them key pieces that connect to many others, and some of them just the common edge pieces. The coach’s job is to fit them together and create a recognizable picture.

With the team on a two-game win streak, he wants to assemble an effective lineup quickly to keep that little roll going. At practice Tuesday at Warrior Ice Arena, three players took to the ice wearing red noncontact jerseys, meaning Cassidy can’t work them into the puzzle Wednesday against the New Jersey Devils.

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After practice, Cassidy turned over his puzzle pieces to get a closer look. Brad Marchand (undisclosed injury), who has missed five of the last seven games, skated, but is out Wednesday. Torey Krug (upper-body injury) skated but won’t travel with the team to New Jersey. David Backes skated but is still recovering from his colon surgery. Anders Bjork (undisclosed) did not skate, and Cassidy said he’ll be out until next week. Ryan Spooner (groin pull) skated through his first full practice since Oct. 15 and Cassidy said he expected to have a further conversation with the 25-year-old forward about his ability to play against New Jersey.

One crucial spot in the puzzle has two healthy players trying to fill the space. Goalie Anton Khudobin won the last two games, and Cassidy said he had not decided whether to roll with the backup or shift to No. 1 Tuukka Rask Wednesday.

“We’re no longer concerned with our backup goaltender, so that’s the good news,’’ Cassidy said. “Tuukka we thought has played good hockey for us and hasn’t been rewarded.

“Do you go with your hot hand and leave your No. 1 sitting for a while — does he start to wonder what the hell is going on? — and that’s it, that’s the decision?

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“We’ve got to keep them both in a good place, not lose out on Dobie’s good run and keep Tuukka focused and confident in his game. That’s what we’re battling against.

“We’ll make our decision tomorrow. And hopefully it’s the right one.”

Grzelcyk called up

Cassidy also has a new puzzle piece to work with. To compensate for the loss of Krug, the Bruins recalled Matt Grzelcyk from Providence.

Grzelcyk, 23, shares puck-moving and skating skills with Krug. He has appeared in one game with Boston this season, the opener, earning a plus-1 rating. The 5-foot-9-inch, 174-pound defenseman has four assists and a plus-4 rating in 14 games with Providence.

“He’s a puck mover, he can get up the ice quick and support the rush,’’ Cassidy said. “He’s a good distributor; there’s a lot of similarities to Torey.’’

Cassidy said Krug remains a more dynamic offensive player, and the Bruins are still looking for that in Grzelcyk.

“Whether it’s in him or not, time will tell,’’ Cassidy said. “But we believe it is, we’ve just got to get if out of him.’’

The left-shot Grzelcyk, who skated alongside the right-shot Kevan Miller at practice, said he is approaching his second chance with the varsity with confidence.

“I’m just going to try and continue to do the things I do well, and move the puck up to the forwards and create offense when I can,’’ he said.

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Grzelcyk said the advice from others who have made the trip back and forth from Providence was straightforward: “Just try to remain confident, just try to know that you’re here for a reason and you’ve got to go out there and do your job.

“I was happy with how camp went, and getting into the opening night game was a great experience, so hopefully I can get off to a good start if I get in the lineup. Go from there.’’

Spooner gets closer

Spooner, who skated with Riley Nash and Frank Vatrano at practice, is a lot closer to playing, according to Cassidy, and the 25-year-old center and power-play specialist himself sounded ready to go.

“I’ve been skating the last 3½ weeks, so it’s not really a problem for me,’’ Spooner said. “I’ll just keep it simple, not try to do too much, just go out there and play, just try to help out.’’

Spooner has been on the sideline since Oct. 15, watching the games high above the ice.

“From the ninth floor, it seems kind of slow,’’ he said. “It seems like there’s a lot there, but when you get on the ice, it happens much quicker.

“I’ve just got to go out there and use my speed, and if I do that, I should be fine.”

Absence is felt

Marchand, second on the team in scoring at 8-7—15, has missed the last three games after returning for two games following a two-game absence for an undisclosed injury.

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“I can’t really discuss what’s going on,’’ said Marchand, who added that Tuesday was the first day he had really skated since the team went on its West Coast trip, “but I’m feeling a little better and going to keep progressing.’’

And by coincidence, linemate David Pastrnak (10-7—17) has been pointless in the last four.

“When your leading scorer is not on the scoresheet, you notice it,’’ Cassidy said. “I think he just needs to get back to being inside a little more. He got drifting away from the net, relying on his shot.

“That’s one of the negatives of having a really good shot is that he knows he can score on it and when the sights are off a little bit or people are taking it away, then you’ve got to get back to being inside. He did that earlier this year.’’