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Judging from Wednesday's practice at TD Garden, the Bruins could very well begin their season without three of their top talents on Thursday night.
With Torey Krug (jaw) skating on a de facto fourth defensive pairing with seventh defenseman Paul Postma, it was the absences that glared brighter than Krug’s red no-contact jersey (meaning he’s unlikely to play tomorrow), as both Patrice Bergeron (lower-body) and David Backes (illness) missed practice.
In the case of Backes, this was the Bruins simply telling him to stay away from the team to avoid spreading whatever sickness he may have. It's the same logic they've applied to forward Austin Czarnik, who missed the last few days of training camp and will begin his year on the big league club's injured reserve because of a nasty virus, too.
But Bergeron's issues go beyond a sickness, and the Black and Gold are doing their part to monitor what they can.
“Not much new; He’s day-to-day, didn’t skate today,… Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said of Bergeron following the rare practice at the Garden. “We would rather him take the extra day [off], do whatever we can to get him ready for tomorrow, and if that means some time off today that’s fine. We’ll have a better idea in the morning, obviously.…
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The 32-year-old Bergeron, who finished his 2015-16 season playing through a high ankle sprain, missed the first three games of the season last year, returned for the next 79 games and all six of the club’s first-round series against the Senators, and did that while playing through a sports hernia that required surgery this past May. And while Bergeron denied that this current injury is related to the sports hernia, there is a legitimate possibility this new injury will be enough to keep him out of Thursday's game against the Predators.
“There is [a question mark] simply because he didn’t skate today,… Cassidy admitted when asked of Bergeron’s availability. “I can’t predict how he’ll be. Like I said, we hope it’s just a minor setback, but yes there is concern simply because he didn’t skate today.…
Down Bergeron, Ryan Spooner skated in Bergeron’s spot on a line with Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak, while the right-shot Riley Nash would likely get the call to skate in Bergeron’s ‘bumper’ spot on Boston’s top power-play unit if No. 37 is unable to suit up.
But even with contingency plans in place, Bergeron’s teammates, who have seen him battle through far worse, know better than to rule him out just yet.
“He’s like Superman,… Marchand said. “He’ll play through anything.…
On Malcolm Subban
As you know by now, the Bruins lost Malcolm Subban to the Golden Knights via a waiver claim on Tuesday. Losing Subban after he appeared to finally turn a corner in his pro development is as rough as it gets for the Bruins, really. And while Subban's NHL cameos left a lot to be desired, you shouldn't be upset about the pick and it not working out, but rather another case of the Bruins mismanaging an asset that once had real value.
I wrote about that as a longread for WEEI, which you can read here.
Ty Anderson is the Boston Bruins beat writer for WEEI.com, and has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010. He can be heard on the Saturday Skate program on 93.7 WEEI (Boston), and has been part of the Boston Chapter of the PHWA since 2013. Contact him on Twitter or send him an email at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.