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Julien defends hit that lands Pastrnak a two-game ban; Rask returns

October 28, 2016, 1:08 PM ET [50 Comments]
Ty Anderson
Boston Bruins Blogger •Bruins Feature Columnist • RSSArchiveCONTACT
In a three-game losing streak, things have gone from bad to worse for the Boston Bruins.

On the heels of back-to-back embarrassments at the hands of the Minnesota Wild and New York Rangers -- a 120-minute stretch in which the Bruins were outscored 10-to-2 and had rookie goaltenders Zane McIntyre and Malcolm Subban exposed as two players anything-but-ready for NHL minutes -- the Bruins have been dealt another blow with the word that David Pastrnak will be suspended for the next two games for his illegal check to the head of the Rangers’ Dan Girardi.

(The Bruins are already without David Backes, who will miss at least one more game after having a minor elbow procedure this past Monday, too, so there are your two top right-wingers.)

But speaking before word of the suspension broke, Bruins coach Claude Julien was adamant that Pastrnak, who has never before been suspended in his NHL career, was not going for a knockout hit.

“Sometimes players are in vulnerable positions, some of it their own doing and sometimes it’s just part of the game and you do what you have to do,” Julien said after Friday’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena when asked the Pastrnak hit on Girardi. “I don’t think there was any attempt to injure the player. I think there was an attempt to finish his check, but certainly not to injure.

“If you look at it in slow motion it’s self explanatory,” Julien continued. “He doesn’t jump up, he goes through. It’s normal every time you see a hit, you go through a guy and eventually your skates come up with the flow. But he didn’t jump up in the air and land on a guy.”

With Pastrnak out, first-year pro Danton Heinen will likely draw back into the lineup, and could skate in Pastrnak’s spot on the first line with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron.

Some good news for the B’s? Tuukka Rask, out since last Thursday with soreness issues, skated on his own yesterday and was back on the ice as a full participant in practice on Friday. The 29-year-old Rask, who is 3-0-0 with a .947 save percentage this season, will travel with the team on a three-game road trip that begins tomorrow in Detroit and stops in Florida and Tampa next week.

The Bruins have been a disaster without Rask this year, with an 0-4-0 record and 18 goals against in any game that hasn’t featured No. 40 between the pipes for the Black and Gold.
The Bruins take on the Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena at 7 p.m. on Saturday night.
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