Pastrnak and Kase, right wings on top lines, ’unfit to participate’ under COVID-19 quarantine
BOSTON — The Bruins devoted the last 10 to 12 minutes of Thursday’s practice to a scrimmage. Those who weren’t playing, plus coaches, were on the bench. Those who were on the ice passed, shot and hit at close to full speed, and players changed on the fly.
That last aspect was particularly appropriate. Less than a week into the practices that are to prepare them for live games later this month (a July 30 exhibition against the Blue Jackets) and into August, it has become clear that the Bruins can expect to make changes quickly, and potentially often.
Just a day after scoring leader David Pastrnak and Ondrej Kase, the right wings on the Bruins’ top two lines, skated for the first time, they weren’t involved in Thursday’s session, as hoped. Using standard terminology to explain player absences as the NHL attempts to revive a season interrupted since March 12 by the COVID-19 pandemic, B’s coach Bruce Cassidy said Pastrnak and Kase were "unfit to participate. Hopefully that changes in the near future."
Pastrnak and Kase were also kept away from sessions Monday and Tuesday while they were believed to be fulfilling quarantine and testing procedures related to COVID-19. Pastrnak joined a small group of players who skated on Wednesday, when most of the team was given a maintenance day, while Kase joined Trent Frederic for a session after that. (Frederic, a first-round draft pick who has spent most of the last two seasons at AHL Providence, hadn’t participated in a full practice through Thursday.)
Cassidy seemed more resigned than alarmed.
"We’re just going to forge ahead," the coach said. "We’ve kind of plugged guys in … but, obviously, we’d prefer to have both those guys back in there."
Thursday’s session, which lasted slightly longer than the brisk, 45-minute practices Cassidy ran Monday and Tuesday, saw third-year pro Anders Bjork replace Pastrnak for the second time this week on the top line with center Patrice Bergeron and left wing Brad Marchand. Rookie pro Jack Studnicka, the P-Bruins’ top scorer this season, got his first look on the second line, where Kase is projected to play with David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk. Karson Kuhlman took some shifts on that line, too.
"This is what we’ve been doing with all the guys we were told aren’t cleared yet," Cassidy said. "We just look at our lineup, who can do the reps there, who’s the best fit. Nothing’s set in stone. ... For us as coaches, you get used to that."
That’s actually very true of Krejci’s line, which has plugged in a dizzying array of right wings over the last several years. Kase, acquired in a trade on Feb. 21 with the Ducks that allowed the Bruins to shed the final season-plus of David Backes’ $6-million salary, but also cost them this year’s first-round draft pick and defense prospect Axel Andersson, was the most recent hoped-for solution, but he played only six games with Krejci before COVID-19 forced the NHL to suspend the remainder of the regular season.
Pastrnak, who tied for the NHL lead with 48 goals and ranked third with 85 points in his second full season with Bergeron and Marchand, isn’t expected to need much time, if any, to reestablish chemistry with his line mates. He is falling behind, however, in terms of game readiness, and it’s all but impossible to replace his skill and creativity if he’s out long term.
"He’s not a guy you can replace just like that," said Charlie Coyle, who centers the third line. "It takes everyone to kind of take a little more responsibility.
"You’ve just got to be ready for whatever, and if that’s the case, then we’ll adjust accordingly, and everyone’s kind of got to buy in a little more."
Still more than two weeks away from their Aug. 2 round-robin opener against the Flyers in the Eastern Conference hub city of Toronto, Cassidy isn’t ready to write Pastrnak and Kase off.
"Am I thinking ahead to being without those guys in the round robin or playoffs? No," the coach said. "That’d be speculating."
Around the boards
No. 1 goalie Tuukka Rask, who left Tuesday’s practice briefly after experiencing some discomfort while making a save, started Thursday’s practice but didn’t complete it. "I think he got stung the other day with a shot, hit him in the wrong spot, so maybe that was acting up again," Cassidy said. "I’m suspecting he’s had a little bit of bad luck in the same spot for a couple of days. Hopefully, it sorts itself out." ... Cassidy on being named one of three finalists for the Jack Adams Award as the league’s top coach: "It’s an honor to be nominated. Obviously, it’s a reflection of the whole organization. I think that’s an award that goes up and down the organization — management for providing players, coaching staff all doing their jobs and players performing."