Wingels OK with ruling
Bruins winger Tommy Wingels had two reactions to the three-game suspension the NHL Department of Player Safety levied Friday on Toronto center Nazem Kadri.
Kadri felt the long arm of the law for driving Wingels head first into the boards at 8:18 of the third period during the Bruins’ 5-1 win in the series opener on Thursday night at the Garden.
Kadri was banned from Game 2 at the Garden last night, when the Bruins rolled to a 7-3 win over Toronto and a 2-0 lead in the best-ofseven first-round series.
Kadri is not eligible to return to the Maple Leafs for either Game 3 or Game 4 in Toronto.
“I didn’t like the hit, I think I was in a vulnerable spot,” said Wingels, who skated in the B’s pregame practice at Warrior Ice Arena.
“I think the game and the league and as players, that is something we don’t want in our game. It was handled (correctly) and I think the league did a good job. Now it is completely in the past, there is no more need to talk about it.”
Kadri drew a five-minute major and a 10-minute misconduct penalty. He had taken an early run at Wingels and drew a boarding penalty at 4:44 of the third. Kadri’s suspension cost the Maple Leafs their second line center who produced 32 goals and 23 assists in the regular season.
“I thought the call on the ice was appropriate with the five minutes and then the game,” said B’s coach Bruce Cassidy. “After that it was in the league’s hands and I don’t have any experience at doling that out, just what you see over time.
“I think Kadri is a real good player, a 30-goal scorer and good shot on their power play, faceoffs and as a matchup guy. I’m sure they will feel that loss but they have a lot of depth and make the necessary adjustments but at the end of the day they are missing a very good player.”
Cassidy said Wingels was questionable but unlikely to play. Riley Nash missed his sixth straight game with a head injury while Nick Holden and Brian Gionta were healthy scratches.
Rick Nash made positive contributions to the Bruins second line and first power-play unit in Game 1. He missed the last 12 games of the regular season with a concussion and was well rested for his return.
He logged 11:15 evenstrength minutes on the line with David Krejci and
Jake DeBrusk and 5:46 on the power play, mostly with
Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak and Torey Krug.
“It was nice to get one out of the way and you are always nervous about how you are going to feel and how you are going to play,” said Nash.
Five and counting
Sean Kuraly has limited playoff experience but proved he could handle the pressure in Game 1. Kuraly competed in his fifth playoff game and scored his first playoff goal by swatting home an elevated Pastrnak rebound.
“I like to play in a lot more playoff games and that was a small sample,” he said.