Brandon Carlo left Game 3 dazed after Clutterbuck hit, status unclear for Game 4

After dealing with injuries for the better part of the regular season, the Bruins had been working with a (relatively) healthy blue line for most of the playoffs...

...until tonight.

In the third period of tonight’s OT win, Brandon Carlo took a hard hit from Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck, and was visibly woozy.

Given his concussion history, it’s the last thing Bruins fans want to see happen to a guy like Carlo.

While it hasn’t been confirmed that he suffered a concussion, watching Carlo struggle to his feet certainly doesn’t make it that much of a leap.

Carlo has suffered multiple concussions in his NHL career, the latest at the hands of Tom Wilson of the Washington Capitals earlier this season.

Carlo did not return to the game, but the news wasn’t all bad after the fact:

Regardless, I have a real hard time believing the Bruins could run Carlo back out there on Saturday night after what he looked like after that hit.

As for the hit itself, the result is ugly, but it’s hard to have too many complaints about it.

Clutterbuck hit Carlo hard and was absolutely hitting to hurt, but did so within the rules. He was looking to deliver a hit on the forecheck that might lead to some skittishness later in the game, and it worked.

The (potential) injury to Carlo sucks, but there was nothing illegal about what caused it.

Carlo is second on the Bruins in TOI/G this postseason, skating an average of 22:30 per night. If he’s out, it’s a huge loss for the B’s.