The numbers game hasn’t exactly been kind to Johnny Beecher in the NHL ranks.
The rookie’s arrival in hockey’s top league wasn’t ushered in with a soft landing, not with taxing D-zone minutes needing to be accounted for on Boston’s fourth line.
After a half-season spent killing penalties and slowing down top-six matchups, Beecher found himself on the outside looking in at Boston’s roster — with his waivers-exempt status, Boston’s cap crunch, and an influx of healthy bodies prompting an assignment to Providence on Jan. 20.
Considering Beecher’s encouraging returns amid a daunting baptism by fire on Boston’s checking unit, a return to the AHL was initially a tough pill to swallow.