PHILADELPHIA — With their 4-1 win in Game 3 on Wednesday night, the Bruins took a commanding 3-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Flyers and can sweep at the Wachovia Center on Friday with a win in Game 4.
But the B's may have to do so without defenseman Adam McQuaid and center David Krejci, the latter of whom, according to Claude Julien, was sent to a Philadelphia hospital for evaluation on an undisclosed injury he suffered just prior to the Bruins’ second goal at 5:45 of the first period. Krejci assisted on the goal scored by Miroslav Satan.
Krejci was carrying the puck through the neutral zone and was cleaned
out by an open ice hit from Flyers captain Mike Richards. Krejci
lay on the ice as the puck popped loose to Lucic, who then found a
streaking Satan for the goal.
Julien noted that he felt it was a "clean hit" and had no problems with it.
As Krejci finally made his way to the bench, he appeared to be favoring
his shoulder area, but the actual injury is still unknown. After Julien
announced that Krejci went to the hospital, there was rampant
speculation in the press box that Krejci had suffered a concussion. A source told NESN.com that Krejci needed a wheelchair when he left the building. John Boruk of CSN Philly tweeted that Krejci broke his wrist on the play. The Boston Globe confirmed the report on Thursday.
Meanwhile, McQuaid also took a hard hit behind the Bruins' net later in the first period. After the game, he could be seen favoring his shoulder as he left the arena. His status for Game 4 is unknown as well.
The Bruins wouldn’t rule out a return of Mark Stuart earlier on Wednesday, and now that may become a reality if McQuaid can’t go. Either way, this team will just deal with the newest injuries the same way they have all season.
"Whatever it is, we deal like we have all season," Patrice Bergeron said. "It’s hard, but we’re a strong team — resilient."
