The Bruins had a full practice today, their last before tomorrow’s round robin game against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Afterwards, there was plenty to talk about.
Kase has entered the bubble
With the first “real” game on the calendar for tomorrow afternoon, the Bruins got a reinforcement of sorts today:
Welcome to the bubble, Ondrej! pic.twitter.com/k8TCF7P9HG
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) August 1, 2020
Why yes, that IS Ondrej Kase, the mysterious missing forward. Kase joined the team in Toronto today, the first time he’s been with the club in a couple of weeks.
Nick Ritchie returned to the group today as well, albeit in the second practice group. That group was comprised of Ritchie, Kase, Trent Frederic, Max Lagace, Zach Senyshyn, Urho Vaakanainen, and Jakub Zboril.
As you can tell, that isn’t the “main” group, and instead appears to be reserved for guys who are getting up to speed or just need to stay fresh.
Neither Kase nor Ritchie will play in tomorrow’s game against Philadelphia.
Kase mum on reason for his absence
During a media availability this afternoon, Kase was asked twice about his lengthy absence from the team during training camp.
Both times, he declined to answer. In both cases, he said (paraphrasing) that he respected the decision but didn’t want to get into specifics on any of that.
The mystery continues...
Marchand should be fine for tomorrow
Brad Marchand appeared to tweak a muscle during the exhibition game, but Bruce Cassidy doesn’t anticipate him being hindered by it.
Cassidy said today that he expects that Marchand is “going to be 100%.”
Rask misses practice, is questionable for tomorrow
Tuukka Rask didn’t practice with the team today. He was deemed unfit, and it was reported that he simply wasn’t feeling well.
Obviously, the mind immediately jumps to a certain issue if he’s “not feeling well,” but given the whole bubble situation and the rigorous testing, it’s probably not the issue.
Cassidy said that the team would see where Rask is tomorrow, and will make the call on who starts against Philadelphia accordingly.