A seven-game suspension for Capitals forward Tom Wilson for boarding Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo in the first period of Friday’s head-to-head is a certainly justified punishment in the eyes of the Bruins.
“I was glad they looked at it and they did assess some discipline,” B’s coach Bruce Cassidy said when asked about Wilson’s seven-game ban. “I guess what I’m satisfied about is I texted Brandon this morning, he’s feeling better.”
But it won’t bring Carlo, who spent Friday night in a hospital before being released on Saturday morning, back to the lineup. And the Bruins, already without Jeremy Lauzon (hand) and Kevan Miller (knee) on the backend, are expecting that that’ll remain the case for the foreseeable future.
“He’s obviously gonna be out for a while,” Cassidy, who opted to describe Carlo’s status as week-to-week, noted. “But he’s feeling better. So that’s where I’m at with it.”
Bit of a mixed bag there.
It’s good that Carlo was released from the hospital and that he’s doing better. But the ‘for a while’ and week-to-week status is worrisome, and essentially confirms that Carlo is in fact dealing with a concussion. (Teams no longer outright confirm concussions, but Cassidy by all means alluded to that being the case Friday night, noting that this was a shot right to Carlo’s head.) Given Carlo’s history, with a concussion ending his 2017 season and a suspected concussion holding him out of action in 2020 prior to the coronavirus pause, at least three documented concussions in less than four years would be of obvious concern to the Bruins.
“Until he’s back in here skating, I’d say week-to-week is fair,” Cassidy said. “I certainly don’t expect him to be in the lineup Tuesday.”
Boston’s second-pairing rock, the 6-foot-5 Carlo has two goals and an assist, along with 27 hits and 30 blocked shots, in 21 games this season.