Bruins Notebook: Pastrnak to take part in warmups ahead of Game 5, Staal could return for Carolina

A Hurricanes team on the brink of elimination received even more bad news on Wednesday morning, as Boston's top scorer could be back on the ice for a potential clinching Game 5 at Scotiabank Arena.

Speaking just a few hours ahead of puck drop, Bruce Cassidy noted that David Pastrnak, who missed the Bruins' previous three games due to "unfit to participate" protocols, will take part in warmups ahead of Wednesday's matchup with Carolina. If Pastrnak is given the green light, he will slot back in at his usual spot next to Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand — while Cassidy did not reveal who would be the odd man out if Pastrnak draws back in.

Even though Boston put Carolina on the ropes with a four-goal outburst in under seven minutes on Monday night, Pastrnak's offensive prowess — headlined by that patented one-time bomb — has been missed for this club. With Pastrnak out, Boston failed to score a single 5v5 goal until the third period of Game 4 — with Boston burying their chances off of power-play bids (three), a shorthanded tally (Sean Kuraly) and an empty netter from Brad Marchand.

In fact, before that third-period rally on Monday, Boston only managed to land nine shots on goal in 33:37 of 5v5 ice time through the first two periods of play. Not only should Pastrnak help solve that inconsistent scoring output, his finish has also been missed on Boston's power play.

Even though Boston has managed to generate plenty of looks against Carolina's PK as this series has gone on (nine shots on goal, five high-danger scoring chances in 5:58 of 5v4 ice time Monday), the B's have still only converted on three of their 24 power-play bids so far this postseason.

"Against Carolina, I think we've generated some good looks," Cassidy said of the power play. "The toughest part for us has been gaining entry into the zone. They do a good job with the blue line, so we've tried different things. One resulted in the goal the other night by Coyle, playing in behind them. We tried that a couple times, different ways to do that. Whether it's indirect, hard off the boards, softly. They’ve done a good job clogging our outside speed lanes. ... We missed an empty net last night, we hit a post – two empty nets, probably Krech and Torey that typically, they are going to force the goalie to make a save and then Krejci hit a post as well.

"So, a little bit of tough luck on it overall, I think. How does it affect it without Pasta? Maybe he's able to finish some of those plays, that’s one thing he does well, is score on the power play from that elbow. Krech did get a goal from there, I think it was game one or two, so I think it’s functioned very well. We’ve moved March in front recently. We found that a lot of our chances are happening in front there and there’s no one tougher on the puck than March. So, a couple of adjustments along the way with Pasta out. Again, functioning well, just not getting the end result and hopefully that changes the Game 5."

Vladar next man up: 

While there is a slim chance that Tuukka Rask could rejoin the Bruins later on this playoff run, let’s be realistic — if Boston intends on going on a deep run this summer, Jaroslav Halak is going to have to be the B’s top option in net. 

But who backs up Boston’s new No. 1 goalie?

For now, it appears as though the gig is Dan Vladar’s to lose. Vladar, who turns 23 on Thursday, has yet to appear in an NHL game in his young career, but had a breakthrough campaign down in Providence in 2019-20. After suffering an ankle injury in 2018, Vladar orchestrated an impressive run down the stretch with the Baby B’s, posting a 14-7-1 record with a 1.79 goals against average and .936 save percentage in 25 games for the P-Bruins.

Going into the postseason with a backup with zero reps might not be the most steady strategy, but such is the hand that the Bruins have been dealt.

“Right now, he is,” Cassidy said of Vladar’s current appointment as backup. “That’s just how the year finished. Goalie Bob’s recommendation, obviously the guys in Providence that see him most – Mike Dunham, etc. So, we watch in practice obviously, but having guys come down and ripping shots in practice, not always a judgment on how a goalie is going to play in a game.”

If Vladar isn’t up to par, the Bruins have another fallback option in Max Lagace, who appeared in 17 games with the Golden Knights from 2017-19. 

“At the end of the day, it's an unknown, no matter which one we put in.We know that, because we haven't seen them all year, live action with us. So, that will be the challenge for them. But at the end of the day, I do feel though that they've gotten good reports and would be comfortable. Also, because we play a good brand of team defense, so we're not asking our goaltenders very often to go in there and stand on their head and win us hockey games. We asking them to give us a chance to win every night? Yeah. If you're going to go places, you need some stellar performances from time to time. But we don't feel we’re the team that needs it every night. That that's good news for both those guys. If they can just be themselves, play. Hopefully they’re up to the task if we need them.

Staal could return:

While Pastrnak’s potential return looms large for Boston, the Hurricanes could also get a key cog back in the lineup for Game 5, as Jordan Staal practiced on Tuesday with his club — just a day after getting knocked out of Game 4 due to a crushing hit from Charlie McAvoy.

"We're evaluating where he is and how he feels," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said Tuesday "But it was a good sign he was out there today."

Carolina would receive a huge lift if Staal is indeed given the green light for Wednesday’s matchup. While he may not possess the offensive talent found in the likes of Sebastian Aho, Dougie Hamilton or the now-injured Andrei Svechnikov, Staal is arguably the Canes’ most valuable defensive presence up front — with the 6-foot-4, 220-pound pivot often tasked with negating an opposing top-six group. 

Now, with Boston back as the home team in Game 5 and having the luxury of last change, Staal’s defensive impact could be negated a bit — as the Bergeron Line will likely try to take on easier matchups away with the Hurricanes’ captain. Still, whether it be trying to slow down either David Krejci or Charlie Coyle’s line, Carolina is still a much, much better team when Staal is out there on the ice. 

Rask left NHL bubble for specific family medical emergency, per WEEI

According to WEEI radio host Greg Hill, Tuukka Rask’s decision to leave the Toronto bubble was made due to a specific family emergency.

Hill, who said he spoke with Rask on the phone on Tuesday, detailed some of Rask’s reasonings for his departure from the Stanley Cup Playoffs while speaking on his show Wednesday morning.

"I can tell you that he got a phone call in the bubble from his wife, because there was a medical emergency with their daughter," Hill said. "Basically the kind of situation where I believe Tuukka Rask did what every parent would do and was obviously very concerned. It was suggested they seek medical help. Without revealing what that was, because I think I probably should leave that to him -- he did tell me -- as a father of two kids, I would be panicked and alarmed upon hearing that about a young kid.

https://twitter.com/TheGregHillShow/status/1296068343531802632

"Again, without revealing necessarily about what he would not want me to reveal, he did speak to his daughter and his daughter did express something to him about where he was and what her situation was, which I think would lead any father, any parent, especially one who feels like that's their most important job, parenting, to want to rush to be with their family at that time."