Backes, Bruins make veteran move
With their Military Appreciation Night on Monday, the Bruins honored many current service members throughout the course of the game against the Dallas Stars. Yesterday, some of the players were able to show their appreciation on a more personal level at a post-practice luncheon held in honor of some World War II and Korean War veterans at Warrior Arena.
BRUINS NOTEBOOK
David Backes’ grandfather was a tail-gunner in WWII and his best friend growing up served in he Marines, giving him a deep appreciation for men and women in uniform.
“Pretty cool, pretty nostalgic of these men and the sacrifices that they made so that we can have the freedoms that we have,” said Backes. “And it was great to see how appreciative they are, especially the Korean War vets, who are thankful of not forgetting ‘The Forgotten War.’ That’s touching. Maybe it means more coming form professional athletes but just as people and fellow citizens, they deserve to be recognized for all that they’ve given us. This is a little token of what we can do after Veterans Appreciation Night on Monday against Dallas and then followed it up with some of the older vets we still have, World War II, Korea. It’s pretty cool.”
Backes visited with Vartkess Tarabassian, an 86-yearold Army veteran of the Korean War who was raised in Roxbury and now lives in Framingham.
“I feel a deep thanks for the recognition that the Bruins are providing all of us,” said Tarabassian. “It’s something about the forgotten war. We haven’t forgotten it, the veterans, obviously. Some of the American public unfortunately has. It takes something like this that gives us a realization that we haven’t been forgotten. Now it’s the remembered war, when you sit down with a group of people such as these folks. We appreciate it. We really do.”.
Talk about talk
A hot topic of discussion surely in every NHL dress- ing room has been the video that surfaced on Monday of a group of Ottawa Senators critiquing the coaching staff with some not-so-subtle shots.
Coach Bruce Cassidy weighed in on the subject.
“Listen, players talk about coaches all the time at any level in any sport and coaches talk about players all the time. You just hope you’re never miked,” said Cassidy. “They got caught in a tough spot. I don’t know the players or that staff well, but hopefully they’re able to put it behind them. Because it does suck for everybody involved, if all of a sudden you don’t trust your players to have your back as a coach and vice versa, if the players don’t believe the coach has the whatever, intelligence, you pick the word, to do the job. Because that’s a tough way to goto work everyday. Hopefully they put it behind them.”
Halak gets Canucks
Cassidy said that Jaroslav Halak, he of the league-leading .952 save percentage and 1.45 goals against average, will get the start tonight against the Canucks at the Garden . ... Urho Vaakanainen, concussed by a Mark Borowiecki elbow/forearm to the head in Ottawa on Oct. 23, skated for the first time since the hit prior to practice. Also on the ice was Kevan Miller, out since Oct. 18 with a hand injury. Miller was allowed to use a stick for a portion of his skate. He’s getting close to finishing up the three-week time-frame that was given, but he hasn’t yet practiced with the team.