There is no timetable for Savard’s return, but it doesn’t look good.
Put aside your emotions and anger that not one member of the Black and Gold stepped up to defend a fallen teammate, because they claim to have not seen the play on the ice. Two crucial points were up for grabs in the Eastern Conference, and the Bruins chose to channel their anger on the ice into trying to score a goal in order to win the game.
Forget about the fact that NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell has yet to make a decision on his punishment, or lack thereof, for Cooke as of Wednesday morning, more than 48 hours after the play occurred on the ice.
It’s hard to do this, right? It’s hard to just forget the chain of events that the past three days have brought to the Boston Bruins in the midst of their aggressive push to the finish line of theri season and their battle for a playoff spot.
But the players in that locker room know nothing else. They have no choice but to put the past behind them and move forward without their top center and biggest playmaker.
Marc Savard’s absence leaves the Bruins with two highly talented centers. It’ll be up to Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci to pick up the slack, and Claude Julien’s system of rolling four lines effectively — like we witnessed last season en route to the Eastern Conference regular-season crown — is no longer an option.
The Bruins' No.1 line was outstanding against Toronto on Tuesday night. So, too, was Tim Thomas (26 saves). Unfortunately, that was all that was good in the Bruins' overtime loss to the worst team in the East.
"I thought they played well," Julien said of Bergeron, Mark Recchi and Marco Sturm. "They generated a lot and had some good opportunities. We’re going to need more of that. We’re going to need more of that from other lines as well."
As for the collective effort of the team, Julien’s response to their play was that his players were "OK."
OK isn’t going to cut it when you’re this close to missing out on a playoff berth. OK isn’t enough when you factor in Savard’s injury. OK is what mediocre teams in the NHL play like, and that’s not what we know the Bruins are capable of achieving. Or is it this season?
There are many question marks for this Bruins team that has 17 regular-season games remaining to play. They can only look forward, not behind them, for the answers. A playoff berth is within reach, the only question is: Are the Bruins capable of grabbing a hold of it?
