The team was unable to scrimmage Saturday, as planned, because nine players were unavailable.
In addition to David Pastrnak and Ondrej Kase, who missed their third straight practice Saturday, the Boston Bruins were without seven other players at Saturday’s practice. Tuukka Rask, Torey Krug, David Krejci, Charlie Coyle, Chris Wagner, Sean Kuraly and Nick Ritchie all missed the session for unspecified reasons.
The Bruins were off Sunday.
Coach Bruce Cassidy said he’s required to say the players were “unfit to practice” under guidelines created by the league and NHL Players Association. He said there were no new injuries, but that an absent player doesn’t necessarily indicate that player has tested positive for coronavirus. He pointed out that assistant coach Kevin Dean tested negative but was forced to miss practice Monday because he’d been in contract with someone who may have been exposed.
“Unfit to play is a league directive for everything. I’ve tried to be upfront in the past, but we’re protecting the players’ rights,” said Cassidy, who recognized the vague designation would create speculation.
