Rick Nash missed his 11th straight game because of a concussion on Saturday, but if he doesn’t return to the lineup on Sunday, he’ll have several days to prepare for next week’s playoff opener.
BOSTON -- At times, an unwritten aspect of the NHL’s concussion protocol seems to be to refrain from divulging that a player has been concussed in the first place.
There’s no longer any need for that with winger Rick Nash. The Bruins’ biggest trade deadline acquisition confirmed on Saturday that the upper body injury that has sidelined him since March 19 is a concussion sustained two nights early in a 3-0 win at Tampa Bay.
“I just exposed myself a bit,” said Nash, who lost his 11th, but perhaps final game to the injury on Saturday against the Senators. “I feel like I put myself in a bad area, and just took a shoulder or a forearm to the head.”
Nash, a late scratch for a March 19 game against Columbus after participating in that day’s morning skate, has skated daily since returning to the ice early last week, while the B’s were on a three-game road trip. He participated in Saturday morning’s skate, which he said constitutes a required workout with contact.
“You’re not going to get real contact until you play in a game … so it’s tough to simulate,” he said. “But I think we simulated as much as we could out there.”
Nash’s availability for Sunday night’s regular-season finale against the Panthers depends partly on how he reacts to Saturday’s skate, and partly on a determination as to whether it’s better to play one game several days before an anticipated Thursday playoff opener, or remain out of harm’s way until the first round begins.
“It would be nice” to play a game, Nash said, “but it’s kind of a Catch-22. It would also be nice to get those extra (practice) days to get my conditioning up a bit better, get my skill back a bit more. You’ve got to weigh the pros and cons.”
Comeback trail: Sean Kuraly, himself sidelined by an unclarified upper body injury sustained on March 27 at Winnipeg, also participated in Saturday’s morning skate, but missed his sixth straight game.
“(Friday) was just a skill session; (Saturday) was back with the group,” Kuraly said. “So two good days in a row of skating, high activity, took a little bumping (Saturday). I’m progressing.”
Kuraly, the rookie who has centered the Bruins’ fourth line all year, played the first 75 games of the season before having to come out of the lineup. Now, only linemate Tim Schaller and first-line winger David Pastrnak have a chance to play all 82 games.
“Obviously, I think guys wear that as a badge of honor,” said Kuraly, who hopes to be cleared to play on Sunday night.
“It was hard for me to realize that there is a bigger picture than playing every game, but it’s my first year. There’ll be more chances.”
Good sport: Scituate native Ryan Donato, a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA’s top player, said he was “super happy” to see the honor go instead to Braintree’s Adam Gaudette. Donato, who turns 22 on Monday, and the 21-year-old Gaudette, who played through their junior years at Harvard and Northeastern, respectively, faced each other numerous times as youth hockey players on the South Shore.
“I grew up playing with Adam,” Donato said. “Local kid, great kid … Honestly, I think they couldn’t have gone wrong with any of the three picks. I think all of three of us were very good this season, so good for (Gaudette) for winning.” …
Around the boards: Riley Nash, the Bruins’ No. 3 center, still hasn’t skated since he was struck on the ear by a Torey Krug shot a week ago Saturday. Cassidy ruled him out through the weeknd … Forward Tommy Wingels returned to the Bruins’ lineup after missing two games with a hand injury. … Rookie defenseman Matt Grzelcyk was a healthy scratch for just the third time since his promotion from AHL Providence just before Thanksgiving, but it wasn’t performance related. “It’s just a decision going forward to use all our defensemen (seven are healthy), and to give (Grzelcyk) the day off,” coach Bruce Cassidy said.