The Black and Gold still have one more game tonight against Vegas to round out a four-game homestand, but Bruce Cassidy offered a number of updates looking ahead to the team’s upcoming four-game trek out west that will span nine days.
While Dan Vladar is currently serving as the B’s backup netminder, Cassidy noted that there’s a chance that Tuukka Rask could be back with the Black and Gold for Tuesday’s practice before the team flies out to Denver for a matchup Wednesday against the Avalanche.
The Bruins announced Friday afternoon that Rask was granted a leave of absence to attend to a personal matter.
“We are off tomorrow, Tuesday, we have practice. I suspect Tuukka will join us then,” Cassidy said. “But that's something we'll discuss with him tomorrow. Today, the focus for us is on Vegas and then we'll look at what our lineup looks like for when we leave Tuesday tomorrow."
Along with Rask’s potential return, Cassidy didn’t rule out both Charlie McAvoy and Urho Vaakanainen, who are still in the concussion protocol. Both defensemen are starting to make progress in their recovery efforts, with McAvoy skating at Warrior Ice Arena for the third day in a row Sunday morning.
Cassidy was quick to note that concussions have a variable timetable in terms of return, but that there’s a chance both could be back sooner rather than later. Of course, things could get complicated if both McAvoy and Vaakanainen don’t make the initial flight out — as the team will likely taper back on more intense practices at the tail end of next week before getting into another stretch of three games over four days.
"They're both skating as well, so again, good news on that front,” Cassidy said of McAvoy and Vaakanainen. “Protocol will dictate when they get back into live practices. Tuesday would be great for both of them, because we don't have a lot after that. ... It'd be good to get them back into the mix when they're ready. They're possibilities as well."
Another defenseman, Kevan Miller, has also been a regular sight on the ice prior to practices, getting some reps in while clutching a stick — a step in the right direction after suffering a hand injury that is expected to sideline him for four to six weeks.
Thursday will stand as four weeks to the date when Miller suffered the injury after blocking a shot against the Oilers, with Cassidy adding that there’s a chance the veteran blueliner could make a return over the final stretch of the road trip — ideally against Detroit on Nov. 21.
“He is skating on his own now with his stick. So that's the next part of it," Cassidy said. "I think four weeks will be this Thursday, so it will be four weeks this Thursday. Will he come with the team? If he can practice with us, stick in his hand, fully? Then it's quite possible that he'd be with us.
“Now, because we're staying out west before we go to Detroit, he may join us mid-trip as well. He is potentially available, I would say, closer to the end of the trip. I don't think he'll play next week. ... Detroit, could be a possibility. Then it's what, home for Pittsburgh, then Toronto/Montreal. I would suspect somewhere in that window, those four games, that he'd be available."
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