The Bruins returned to practice today after yesterday’s disappointing showing against the Philadelphia Flyers, and there was a welcome sight:
4️⃣0️⃣ has returned.@tuukkarask | #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/ksjGSW39f3
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) August 3, 2020
Tuukka Rask returned to practice after a brief absence, and in a post-practice media briefing, confirmed that he should be good to go for Wednesday.
He also added an interesting note about why he was out:
“I had a cough, so I just clicked ‘yes’ on the app, and all kinds of red lights started blinking, and I was quarantined for two days,” he said. “They wanted to do two negative tests after that, and that’s it...so now, I was back today.”
I’m not sure if the app he refers to is an NHL-mandated app for bubble guys, but it says good things about both the league’s approach to the virus and Rask’s approach to being honest about a symptom.
As he said, he had two negative tests and is fine, but he deserves some credit for being proactive and reporting it.
Maintenance day for Bergeron
Patrice Bergeron wasn’t on the ice for practice day, meaning it was time to panic.
Maintenance day for Patrice Bergeron, per Bruce Cassidy.
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) August 3, 2020
"He's fine, he'll be back on the ice tomorrow."#NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/oBBvKUFk6R
Oh. Never mind.
Hey, if Patrice Bergeron needs maintenance, Patrice Bergeron gets maintenance.
Line shuffling
With Bergeron out today, the Bruins had some weird lines in practice.
#NHLBruins practice lines:
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) August 3, 2020
Marchand–Frederic/Studnicka–Pastrnak
Ritchie–Krejci–Kase/Kuhlman
Bjork–Coyle–DeBrusk/Senyshyn
Nordstrom–Kuraly/Lindholm–Wagner
Chara–McAvoy
Krug–Carlo
Grzelcyk–Lauzon
Moore–Clifton
Zboril–Vaakanainen
Rask
Halak
Lagace
Vladar
Absent: Bergeron pic.twitter.com/HRvXntGjaS
Interestingly, both Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase got reps on the second line with David Krejci.
After practice, Bruce Cassidy said that Kase was highly doubtful for Wednesday’s game due to the lack of skating/reps with the team, and that they were targeting Sunday for his return.
For Ritchie, Cassidy said that he expects he’ll play on Wednesday.