DeBrusk in, Halak out for B’s
COVID-19 taking its toll on Bruins
The Bruins got one important player back from the COVID-19 protocols list on Monday, and lost another one.
While Jake DeBrusk was scheduled to be back in the lineup for Monday’s big tilt against the Philadelphia Flyers, Jaroslav Halak tested positive for COVID19 and was put on the shelf for the time being. The B’s are hoping for a false positive, which would not upset the apple cart too much. It was Daniel Vladar‘s turn to start on Monday, anyway. Jeremy Swayman was up from Providence to back up Vladar while Halak underwent more testing.
“We’ll worry about (today, when the B’s play in Philly) when we get more info,” said coach Bruce Cassidy.
Tuukka Rask, who has played one period of hockey since March 7 because of an apparent back injury, returned to the ice to take shots from Greg McKegg and Anton Blidh before the team’s morning skate and he will travel with the team for their three-game road trip to Philadelphia and Washington, but he will not be ready to play today.
At this point it’s anyone’s guess if, even it was a false positive, that Halak will have enough time to get the required testing done to allow him to travel with
the team. If Halak cannot play today — it will present Cassidy, the B’s brass and the goaltending department with an interesting decision for the game in Philly. Vladar (2-1, 2.03 GAA, .929 save percentage going into Monday’s game) has played well since coming up from Providence because of the injury to Rask and could get the start.
But Swayman could very well be the B’s No. 1 goalie of the future. In his first pro season, the University of Maine product posted an 8-1 record at Providence with a .933 save percentage and 1.89 GAA. Maybe today would be a good chance to give him a taste of the NHL, maybe not. We shall see.
As for DeBrusk, the winger did say that he had some of the tell-tale COVID-19 symptoms, but nothing debilitating.
“Nothing too major, it came in kind of midway through,” said DeBrusk, who had last played in Buffalo on March 18. “Obviously it was unfortunate that I lost my taste and smell and that was a little bit of a weird experience. And I had a couple of low days, but honestly nothing too major. Obviously it hits everyone differently, but I had it pretty quick. I
was able to to recover fairly fast. I had nothing that affected the lungs in that sense, so that was the best part about it. But the taste and smell was weird.”
DeBrusk resumed skating on his own late last week and Monday’s morning skate was first full team activity after coming off the COVID-19 list on Sunday.
“I had two weeks off, so obviously there was a little bit (of fatigue when he first started skating). But not terrible,” said DeBrusk. “The thing is, you just have so much energy. You’re expected to see other human beings as well as being on the ice. I pushed myself. Obviously it’s not the optimal amount of time, but
with our schedule it would be hard to get practices. But if there’s anyone who could do it, I think it’s me. I feel ready to go. Obviously it will be a little different with game pace and game level, but that for me is all I really care about.”
DeBrusk said he passed the time in quarantine by watching the shows “Entourage” and “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” among other things, and caught up with family and friends on FaceTime, which he doesn’t usually get to do in the middle of the season.
This year has been tough for DeBrusk. He struggled mightily out of the gate and was a healthy scratch for a game. But he appeared to be turning a corner when he was knocked out of the lineup. Two of his three goals on the season have come in his last four games. When he came back from the healthy scratch, he said he was playing with a chip on his shoulder. The time in quarantine served more as a reset for him.
“It was a matter of taking a step back. It got forced on my and honestly I relaxed and enjoyed it, what I could, if that makes any sense,” said DeBrusk. “But I’m just here to help the team. I don’t know if I need to be pissed. I don’t know what to expect (Monday night), so I’m just coming in and playing and just competing. Try to win my 50-50
battles and try and use my speed.”
Miller could return today
Cassidy said that defenseman Kevan Miller, out since Feb. 18 with ongoing knee woes, has a chance to play today against the Flyers.
“He’s put in some good work and (Monday’s morning skate) was maybe the final tune-up,” said Cassidy. “Obviously backto-backs are going to be a challenge. We’re going to have to monitor that with the way the year has gone. But we’re targeting (today) but we’ll have a better idea late in the day (today). But that’s the plan and then we’ll see how he reacts to it, as simple as that. We’ll see how he feels after and, when he gets through a game, how much can he take, etc. Hopefully he’s recovered well enough so there’s no issues.
Odds and ends
With DeBrusk back, Anders Bjork was scratched as was Jack Studnicka. Karson Kuhlman was back in on the fourth line.
On the back end, Jeremy Lauzon went back in after being scratched on Saturday and Jarred Tinordi came out. …
With 5-2-7 totals in three games, Brad Marchand was named the NHL’s third star of the week.