Despite skating with a small group of forwards on Wednesday, neither David Pastrnak nor Ondrej Kase have been able to skate with the full Bruins squad due to serving the final days of their international quarantine since the beginning of Phase 3 on Monday.
That’s not going to change anytime soon.
Both Pastrnak and Kase were expected to join the rest of their teammates on Thursday, however, neither were able to do so after being deemed unfit to participate.
With the NHL not revealing when players miss practices due to COVID-19 related issues, instead simply deeming them unfit to participate, it’s easy to speculate that their absence is indeed due to COVID-19 issues.
Whether it’s a COVID-19 related issue, or something else, a missing Pastrnak and a missing Kase is obviously a concern. Especially as Thursday’s plan was to have the team's full lineup skating together for the first time since the league’s shutdown in March.
“That was the plan, we were going to have smaller numbers, there’s another group going out around 11:30. Pasta and Kase will not be in it,… head coach Bruce Cassidy said Thursday morning. “As for the league, it’s unfit to participate right now, hopefully that changes in the near future. Anytime players miss a session where we expect them back full speed, then until he’s out there it is a concern for us as a team.…
As uneasy of a feeling it is having your team’s leading scorer possibly facing a COVID-19 related absence, and the uncertainty that surrounds the virus, Cassidy is not thinking ahead to a scenario where he would be without Pastrnak and Kase for the round-robin tournament that begins on August 1st.
“Am I thinking ahead to being without those guys in the round-robin, or playoffs? No, that will be speculating,… Cassidy said. “But for today, if later today I get word that the same thing is going to happen tomorrow then we start thinking ‘okay we looked at a couple of guys', anything else?
In the absence of Pastrnak and Kase, players like Jack Studnicka and Anders Bjork have gotten looks on the wings of the Bruins top-two lines. It sounds like some others such as Karson Kuhlman will filter into those roles as well.
“We're just gonna forge ahead. We’ve kind of gotten different guys in. So obviously missing two guys that play up in your lineup and a guy like David [Pastrnak] that’s your leading scorer, you want him in there, want him getting back in condition, want him returning to the ice and be out there with his teammates, but he’s not,… Cassidy added.
"Today we used Anders up there, we’ll mix different guys in there. We used Jack Studnicka a little on the wing, he gets a look with Krejci, Kuhly’s [Kuhlman] been there before. It does allow you to do some other things, but obviously we prefer to have both of those guys there."
Pastrnak and Kase were not the only Bruins facing issues at Thursday’s practice. For the second time this week, goalie Tuukka Rask was forced to leave practice, only this time, he did not return.
“I think he got stung the other day with a shot, hit him in the wrong spot, so maybe that was acting up again today. I’m going to get an update here in a bit. If it was anything serious, they have not come to me, that’s typically a good sign if they don’t come right to you,… said Cassidy. “I’m suspecting he’s had a little bit of bad luck in the same spot for a couple of days, and hopefully it sorts itself out.…
As players work their way back into hockey shape, and practices begin to ramp up leading up to the start of round-robin play, Cassidy expects some bumps and bruises along the way.
“These will be some of the bumps and bruises and aches that start to appear with your group. We’ve had three good sessions now, ramped it up a little bit more workman like today, physicality as well. So, I suspect that will be part of it here in the next week until bodies get used to the banging around or more contact.…
Hopefully the players get used to it pretty soon, because the absence of Pastrnak, Kase and Rask already have Bruins fans on edge.