Bruins camp report: No decisions yet on lineup, important deadlines approaching for missing players

In what has been a recurring trend during the Bruins’ “Return To Play” camp, the Original Six club received both good and bad news when it comes to the league’s new “unfit to participate” directive. 

After missing nine regulars in their lineup for Saturday’s afternoon practice, six of those absent skaters rejoined the team for on-ice work on Monday — with Charlie Coyle, Tuukka Rask, David Krejci, Torey Krug, Sean Kuraly and Nick Ritchie all cleared to practice once again.

David Pastrnak and Ondrej Kase were once again ruled out — with Charlie McAvoy, Anton Blidh and Chris Wagner also out of commission. Monday marked the first practice that McAvoy has missed during Phase 3, while Pastrnak and Kase have now missed six of Boston’s first seven practices during camp.

With a number of regulars cleared once again to participate, the Bruins were able to at least organize an extended scrimmage on Monday morning, a positive step during a Phase 3 that has often had Boston’s coaching staff adjusting on the fly.

“We're basically going into every day with two practice plans — one will include a larger group, how we can stretch out scrimmages if we don't have that many players, giving the players the adequate rest,” Cassidy said. "Again, I'd like to have everyone on the ice at same time for the continuity aspect. As far as us as coaches, we'll adapt.

“We'll make sure we get our work in but it's the players that miss — especially the ones that are doing things the right way right now — and they miss a practice for whatever reason, through no fault of their own, I feel bad for them, because again, they're trying to social distance and do everything right so they can participate, but hopefully they'll be back tomorrow.”

Here is the lineup that Boston rolled out for Monday’s skate:

Marchand-Bergeron-Bjork
DeBrusk-Krejci-Kuhlman
Ritchie-Coyle-Kuraly
Nordstrom-Lindholm-Senyshyn
Frederic-Studnicka-Carey

Chara-Zboril
Krug-Carlo
Grzelcyk-Lauzon
Moore-Clifton
Vaakanainen

Rask
Halak
Vladar
Lagace

Given the lack of a consistent lineup when it comes to scrimmages and other in-game situations, Cassidy added that the Bruins haven't made any concrete decisions when it comes to their lineup, although he did add that certain players like Kase and Ritchie could have a bit more ground to make up — not just because of "unfit to participate" designations (in Kase's case), but because of their unfamiliarity with Boston's system.



"Clearly there are some guys that, when they get back to our team, are going to go into the lineup. But we've also said there is some battles. To a certain extent, Richie and Kase came in late. So they were still finding their way. So obviously, I would put them in the category of, 'Yeah, we know they can play in the league. Where do they best fit?' And do they make us a better team than say, 'I'll just use Bjork and Kuhlman' because they were out at the end? Those are some things we look at.

"I assume they would be better. They're more experienced. ... But at the end of the day, we're going to go with the top 12 best forwards that help us win. And some of that will be dictated by who's the most prepared to play, right? Who's practiced, who can get up to speed the quickest without being around the team? And you've seen different guys trickle in and out. So we have haven't made any decisions now. We still have another full 10 days before we play an exhibition game. Thirteen days before we play Philadelphia, so there's plenty of time to sort through that."

Up against the clock: 

While Cassidy noted last week that absences up and down the lineup haven’t put Boston behind the eight ball when it comes to getting the most of Phase 3 camp, the next couple of days are going to loom large for the Bruins when it comes to leaving for Toronto on Sunday with their full traveling party. 

As TSN’s Ryan Rishaug stated on Twitter Monday morning, all players are going to going to need three negative tests spaced 48 hours apart during the seven days prior to travel up to Canada. As such, any positive tests come Wednesday or Thursday could force a few players to remain behind while the rest of the roster heads up to either Toronto or Edmonton. 

Now, there is always the chance that a player that misses the charter flight on Sunday could rejoin the group and enter the bubble a bit later, but when factoring in the strict quarantine and health protocols up in Canada, it is possible that those players might not have much time to get back on the ice and re-acclimated by the time August rolls around and games begin. 

On Sunday, Don Sweeney said that the Bruins were “certainly hopeful” Pastrnak and Kase — the pair of skaters with the least amount of Phase 3 reps — would join the rest of the roster on the ice before Phase 3 wraps up. 

"From what I've talked to him, he seems to be in good spirits,” Jake DeBrusk said of his interactions with Pastrnak. “I mean, obviously it's not the ideal situation. But from what I've talked to him, he's still Pasta, he's still doing his thing. I'm not worried about him at all, to be honest with you ...He wants to be out there just as bad as we want him out there.”

Scrimmage Highlights:

The Bruins were finally able to organize an intrasquad scrimmage with a number of regulars — with Team White and Team Black ultimately settling for a 1-1 draw.

Team Black opened the scoring off the stick of John Moore, who fired home a shot that sailed past a scrum of skaters down low and past Tuukka Rask. Moore, as he has for most of camp, put together a strong showing on Monday as he tries to compete for minutes in the back end of Boston's D corps. 

"Johnny is certainly a guy that we trust, we know we can play in the league, play well, has been to the Stanley Cup Final with the Rangers as well as the Bruins. He's 100% healthy, so he's playing and practicing like he wants to be in the lineup. And he may very well be," Cassidy said. "So I'm grateful to have a guy like that. When you tell him he's not playing — he just wants an explanation. What does he need to do to do better to get in the lineup. He never pouts. Terrific teammate. Terrific person, and I know he's gonna play for us. I just can't guarantee if he'll be in the opening Game One lineup."

Just minutes after Moore's opening tally, Team White countered, with Matt Grzelcyk connecting on a feed from the half wall down to Nick Ritchie — who tapped Grzelcyk's pass home from the crease for the equalizer. After the physical scrimmage concluded, Cassidy and his staff closed out Monday's session with some added emphasis on conditioning drills.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1285225346837680128

New testing results: 

While a number of teams continue to deal with the headaches caused by the "unfit" protocols, new test results from the first five days of Phase 3 revealed that the NHL has only confirmed two positive cases of COVID-19 among over 2,600 total tests.

The full statement released by the NHL read:

“The NHL concluded the first five days (July 13-17) of Phase 3 (formal training camp) of its Return to Play with two positive test results for COVID-19 among the 2,618 tests administered to more than 800 players. Both Players who tested positive have self-isolated and are following CDC and Health Canada protocols. During Phase 3, the NHL will continue to provide regular updates on the number of tests administered to Players and the results of those tests. The League will not be providing information on the identity of the Players or Clubs.”