As if the Bruins needed another player hurt – let alone another defenseman – Kevan Miller received a cheap shot towards the end of the Bruins 5-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs Sunday night by Dion Phaneuf.

Thankfully for Bruins fans, head coach Claude Julien shared some good news on Miller’s status following Sunday’s victory.

“His injury was very minor and shouldn’t impact him playing with us next game,” Julien said.

Before the injury, Miller had a night to remember as he potted his first career NHL goal, which turned out to be the game-winner.

“He’s been pretty solid,” Julien said. “He’s been that from the beginning. I’ve said that from the beginning. He’s been thrown into the fire and I’m happy with how he’s handled the whole situation.”

Miller has been up and down from Providence the past few weeks, but we may see him up with the big club for the near future as Dougie Hamilton also left Sunday’s game with an injury – joining teammates Adam McQuaid and Johnny Boychuk.

The rookie blue-liner has one goal in five games while sporting a plus-2 in the process. The B’s rookie is looking comfortable back there and is limiting his mistakes.

Miller’s goal versus the Maple Leafs gave the team some breathing room in the second period when his slap shot beat Leafs goalie Jonathan Bernier. And its safe to say that he and his teammates were very excited about the outcome.

“Very happy that old guy finally scored,” fellow defenseman Torey Krug said. “It was great. You see the excitement on his face. I remember when I scored my first goal and it’s such a great feeling. Anytime you can help contribute to a team win it’s a lot of fun.”

Matt Fraser, who was recently called up from Providence in the wake of the injury-ridden B’s, grabbed the puck for Miller after he scored.

“It’s always a special wish every kid growing up could have that feeling of scoring their first NHL goal,” Fraser said.

It looks like the Bruins dodged a bullet here with the careless hit by Phaneuf on Miller. The B’s really can’t afford to lose Miller at this juncture for lack of players at the position for the time being.

What a night to remember for this kid in just his fourth NHL game. He scored the game-winning goal putting the Black and Gold back on top in the Eastern Conference.