The team was unable to scrimmage Saturday, as planned, because nine players were unavailable.<\/b>
\nIn addition to David Pastrnak and Ondrej Kase, who missed their third straight practice Saturday, the Boston Bruins were without seven other players at Saturday\u2019s 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\u2019s required to say the players were \u201cunfit to practice\u201d under guidelines created by the league and NHL Players Association. He said there were no new injuries, but that an absent player doesn\u2019t 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\u2019d been in contract with someone who may have been exposed.
\u201cUnfit to play is a league directive for everything. I\u2019ve tried to be upfront in the past, but we\u2019re protecting the players\u2019 rights,\u201d said Cassidy, who recognized the vague designation would create speculation.
The Bruins had planned to scrimmage Saturday, but didn\u2019t have enough players available.
It was the third straight day off the ice for Pastrnak and Kase.
If Brad Marchand is any indication, the Bruins players aren\u2019t overly worried about Pastrnak\u2019s continued absence.
Pastrnak\u2019s agent told multiple outlets Friday that his client was in quarantine. Pastrnak and Ondrej Kase both missed practice Monday and Tuesday as they went through isolation protocols after returning from the Czech Republic. Both skated with the team on Wednesday, but were gone again Thursday and haven\u2019t come back yet.
Pastrnak\u2019s agent, J. P. Barry, said his client had been in contact with someone who was infected with the virus, but Pastrnak tested negative. He\u2019s in quarantine as required by safety protocols.
On a Zoom call with Boston media on Saturday, Marchand said he doesn\u2019t expect top line\u2019s chemistry to suffer.
\u201cPasta is going to be back for the playoffs, I\u2019m not really looking too much into it. It doesn\u2019t take long for chemistry to bounce back with us,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m just out there trying to fine-tune my skills and what I need to work on to get back to where my game (should be) on the ice. That chemistry stuff, when we do line drills it comes back very quickly. It\u2019s not something that (Patrice Bergeron) and I are concerned about.\u201d
It could be more challenging for Kase who is trying to create chemistry, not simply regain it. He was traded to the Bruins on Feb. 21, but didn\u2019t play in a game until Feb. 28, as he was returning from injury. Just 13 days later, the NHL shut down.
Kase is expected to play with David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk on the second line. Karson Kuhlman has been skating there in his absence.
The Bruins leave for Toronto, the Eastern Conference hub city, on July 26, and are scheduled to play their first game of the restart on Aug. 2 against the Flyers.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions\/comments to the editors.
\u00ab Previous<\/p>\n