PROVIDENCE — While the Bruins defensive corps has been thinned by injuries, the repercussions have trickled down south.

The Providence Bruins have fed some of their players to the NHL club, but in return have had to scramble to put together a defensive lineup night in and night out.

“Guys are ready when they need to be,” said defenseman Wiley Sherman. “Guys have been ready when they’re called upon. I think everyone has been doing a good job doing what they need to do, staying in shape. Everyone is ready when their name is called.”

First it was Urho Vaakanainen, who made the Bruins roster before a stint in the minors ahead of his NHL debut in Calgary. He was injured the next game in Ottawa, and more reinforcements were needed.

Jeremy Lauzon made his NHL debut and Jakub Zboril did so last night. Connor Clifton got the call in Dallas as well once Zdeno Chara was sent back to Boston following his injury in Colorado.

The result is ECHL players and defenders from outside the organization filling in the gaps for the AHL squad.

“It’s a great opportunity for guys who haven’t played much to get in there and play,” said Providence coach Jay Leach. “We will rely on our forward group that has some experience. It’s a deep group. Defensively, we just have to play a simple game. Some guys haven’t seen much action, so when it happens, they just have to learn how to simplify.”

Cody Goloubef has posted seven assists leading into this weekend’s slate of games. He, Emil Johansson and Sherman are the only consistent presences on the blue line.

Christopher Breen has worked his way into nine games and Joel Messner has played in three. Olivier Galipeau and Natick native Desmond Bergin were called up from the ECHL in time to make their debuts last night.

“That’s what pro hockey is all about, especially at this level,” said Leach. “These things happen, they happen all the time. It’s a great opportunity for guys who have come up from Atlanta and the guys who have been here all year and played limited roles are now looked upon to have an expanded role.”

Similar to the parent Bruins, the roster shuffling for Leach’s crew has made for different pairings almost every night. With defenders coming from all over to piece together a lineup, Providence has had to adjust on the fly.

“We’re all pretty close friends in the locker room, so I think you build chemistry outside the ice and that translates on the ice,” Sherman said. “So when you switch around, it’s pretty easy to build chemistry with the guys you’re with.”

Unlike the Bruins, who are on the road until late next week, Providence’s defensive shakeup hasn’t been as heavily noticed. While the NHL team continues to patch together what it can, it can become more difficult in the minor leagues to find capable players to fill in and keep them in games.

So far, Leach and his group have kept it together. It only gets more challenging with more bodies out of the lineup than ever heading into this weekend, but in the same breath, gives new opportunities.

“They’ve all played the game, it’s not their first crack at it,” Leach said. “It’s just a matter of circumstances on a new team and new league. They need to compete and go out there and play.”