NEW YORK — Stephane Yelle’s absence from the Boston Bruins’ lineup today forced rookie Byron Bitz to pick up the slack — not just by getting back into the club’s top 12 forwards but also filling the only somewhat familar center position.

Bitz centered wingers P.J. Axelsson and Shawn Thornton and recorded four hits in 9:49 of ice time during the Bruins’ 4-3 loss to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

“It was pretty good. I made some mistakes, but I think I did some good things as well,” said Bitz, who won just two of seven faceoffs. “It’s a little bit of an adjustment. But I played some center last year (in college) and a little bit this year (at Providence), so I’m kind of used to it.”

That experience skating in the middle was a major reason head coach Claude Julien decided to tab Bitz to fill Yelle’s slot. And the head coach gave kudos to the former Cornell standout.

“He played well; he had good jump,” said the coach after his team rallied from 3-1 down to tie the game before falling on a goal with 6:22 remaining.

Bitz was active on the forecheck and had their been a third assist on Zdeno Chara’s goal that started the Bruins’ third-period comeback, Bitz would’ve got it. He battled after a dump-in and moved the puck to Axelsson to start the passing clinic that led to the goal.

For Bitz centering two veterans like Axelsson and Thornton, it’s tough to screw up too bad.

“Axie and Thornty, same as Yeller and Thornty when I was playing on the wing, you make a mistake they’ll cover up for you because they’re so good positionally, so they’re great to play with,” said Bitz.