Bruins will remain a shorthanded group for Canadian road trip
The good news is that the Bruins are getting Brad Marchand, suspended for the last three games, back in action for the team’s three-game road trip through Western Canada beginning Wednesday night in Vancouver.
The bad news, however, is that the Bruins will remain a shorthanded group, Joe Sacco revealed Tuesday.
With a sickness raging through the Boston room ahead of the team’s departure, the Bruins kept Charlie Coyle and Matt Grzelcyk off the ice. Now, the Bruins did include both players in their traveling party, which is seemingly encouraging. But the same could not be said for another player kept off the ice, Tomas Nosek, who will not join the Bruins for the start of their trip.
“We will take it day by day,” Sacco said. “But [Nosek] will not be joining us right now for the trip.”
Boston’s fourth-line center throughout the season, Nosek has tallied two goals and four points through 21 games this season, while his 1:48 of shorthanded time on ice per game is tops among all B’s forwards on the season.
Nosek’s absence is likely to throw either Erik Haula or Curtis Lazar off the wing and back at center, while the Bruins have recalled Oskar Steen from Providence for the upcoming road trip.
The Bruins will also remain without head coach Bruce Cassidy.
Cassidy landed in COVID protocol last week, and though he is doing better, he is ineligible to return until clearing said protocol, and is unable to cross the Canadian border since he tested positive for the coronavirus within the last 15 days.
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