Bruce Cassidy frustrated with ‘complete head-scratcher’ rulings from officials
The Boston Bruins did not have an update on defenseman Kevan Miller after a high-and-late hit from Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov knocked him out of the second period of a Game 4 win at TD Garden. The final word from the team as it pertained to Miller was that he was transported to the hospital for additional testing.
But Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy certainly had his opinion on the hit and the officials’ ruling on it, and made it known in the immediate aftermath of his team taking a 3-1 series lead over the Capitals.
“What happened there is their guy left his feet, borderline late [hit] and drove right under his chin,” Cassidy said of Orlov’s hit on Miller. “[The official] told me skating by that he felt it when they reviewed it, he made contact first to his shoulder, I guess. Or whatever he said, upper-body at the time, I forget. But it didn’t look that way from our vantage point.”
Dmitry Orlov with a dangerous hit on Kevan Miller. pic.twitter.com/UFxCQi2KrW
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) May 21, 2021
What seemed to bother Cassidy the most was the fact that a lengthy video review of the incident saw Orlov hit with a double-minor for roughing (two minutes of which were effectively canceled out by the Bruins’ reaction to Orlov, which earned them two minutes of their own), and subsequent hyper-management of the game following the Orlov hit.
“Obviously frustrating to watch that call, even a review, go by the wayside,” Cassidy admitted. “Essentially a two-minute minor. Then later on you watch the [interference] penalty assessed to [Brad] Marchand and it’s just a complete head-scratcher sometimes how that’s a two-minute penalty. But anyway, we played through it. And we have to take care of our business, obviously, and they have to take care of theirs. But I didn’t see it the way they did.”
As for Miller, who has done a tremendous job as a shutdown option against Alex Ovechkin this series, the Boston bench boss maintained that they did not have an update on his status, and that that will remain the case until Miller leaves the hospital.
“Kevan’s at the hospital going undergoing some CTs and until he gets back, we won’t know nothin’ there,” Cassidy, whose team is already without Jeremy Lauzon, said. “And it’s unfortunate for Kevan, but we’ll see how he is.”
Game 5 will be Sunday night in Washington.
Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter: @_TyAnderson.
