With Boston set to be off for a few days while they await the winner of the Penguins-Islanders series to see who their next opponent is, GM Don Sweeney provided updates (video link) regarding several of their injured players.
Ondrej Kase’s postseason has come to an end before it even began. The winger was limited to just three games this season due to concussion trouble although one of those came in the regular season finale, providing some hope that he’d be able to suit up for the Bruins at some point in the playoffs. Instead, he has been shut down and at this point, it seems rather unlikely that he’ll be tendered a $2.6MM qualifying offer this summer.
As for Kevan Miller, who was injured in Game Four against Washington, Sweeney indicated that he is doing well but is early in the recovery process which suggests he isn’t expected to be back anytime soon either. Fellow blueliner Steven Kampfer has undergone hand surgery and is not available either.
However, they may get some good news on the injury front as Sweeney stated that he’s hopeful that blueliners Jeremy Lauzon and Jakub Zboril will be available for the second round. Lauzon suffered a hand injury in the series opener against Washington while Zboril sustained an upper-body injury in the final game of the season (also against Washington).
With the other East Division series going until Wednesday at the earliest, Boston will probably be off for the better part of a week so there should be ample opportunity for other players nursing smaller aches and pains to recover before the puck drops on the second round.
Never thought the bruins would dominate Washington so badly! Good on them!