Bruins' absences affecting timing, continuity, GM says

The Boston Bruins' preparation for the Stanley Cup Qualifiers has been complicated by the absence of players during training camp, including forward David Pastrnak, general manager Don Sweeney said Sunday.

Nine players were missing from practice Saturday, when coach Bruce Cassidy had hoped to do a full-team scrimmage.

"Any player that misses a day here, it's not that big a deal. When you're starting to miss weeks on end, which we've had a couple players that will be in that category, you certainly have rust that you'll have to knock off," Sweeney said, one week before the Bruins leave for Toronto, the hub city for the 12 teams in the Eastern Conference Qualifiers.

"We do have players that had been skating quite a bit leading up to [training camp], but the timing more than anything, continuity with your linemates, situations that you have to work through as you go through practices, you're going to have to hopefully get them up to full speed when you do have them back in a shorter period of time. It's not ideal by any means."

Goalie Tuukka Rask, defenseman Torey Krug and forwards Charlie Coyle, David Krejci, Sean Kuraly, Nick Ritchie and Chris Wagner were all out Saturday, in addition to Pastrnak, who has missed three straight days after practicing Wednesday, and Ondrej Kase, who has yet to participate in a practice, though he was on the ice Wednesday.

As part of the NHL Return to Play Plan, a team is not permitted to disclose player injury or illness information.

Though he declined to confirm any names, Sweeney said, "We've had several of the players that were off the ice yesterday that are on the ice today."

Sweeney said he had seen photographs circulating on social media of Pastrnak and Kase skating at a rink in Boston but said that the players had not done so while in Phase 3.

Asked if they are eligible to return to skate with the Bruins, Sweeney referenced NHL guidelines and those of Massachusetts, saying, "At some point in time we are certainly hopeful that they will join our full group."

That will be crucial in getting the Bruins ready to try to make a run to the Stanley Cup. When the NHL paused the season March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus, the Bruins were the top team in the NHL with 100 points. They lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to the St. Louis Blues last season.

"As we get closer to moving to the hub, we certainly would like to have the full component of our group at some point in time to be able to practice at the level and execute at the level we expect them to when we are playing games," Sweeney said.

Boston (44-14-12, .714 points percentage) will play the Tampa Bay Lightning (43-21-6, .657), Washington Capitals (41-20-8, .652) and Philadelphia Flyers (41-21-7, .645) in a round-robin at Scotiabank Arena to determine seeding for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Bruins' first game is against the Flyers on Aug. 2.

"We're hoping Monday, if the numbers allow, we can do [the scrimmage] then," Cassidy said Saturday. "So we're not that far behind. … We're one day behind, for the scrimmage part, which I see as an easy chance to make up on Monday or Tuesday. We just need the numbers to do it."