Did Bruins Make Friendly Wager Ahead Of Scrimmage? Bruce Cassidy Explains

BOSTON — The Boston Bruins had nothing at stake when they took the ice at TD Garden on Thursday night in front of a sold-out crowd for their intrasquad scrimmage.

Or did they?

With a long layoff before their Game 1 Stanley Cup Final matchup against the St. Louis Blues, head coach Bruce Cassidy elected to hold a scrimmage in order to keep his team fresh and ready to go. And it sounds as if there was something on the line since the team was playing against one another to keep things interesting.

“I don’t know what there was, I don’t know what was at stake,” Cassidy said after the scrimmage. “(Patrice) Bergeron and Zdeno (Chara) had something, but I don’t know, just to keep it competitive. When Jake (DeBrusk) goes from side-to-side I assume he’s on the winner’s side, the black side, but I’m not sure.

“Like I said I don’t know what they had. … We could guess all night but I honestly don’t know, they get together on the road a lot, it could be (dinner), it could be something as simple as someone has to carry the other guy’s bag or something, something light-hearted probably. … There was something, I don’t know what it was, my guess it was nothing major.”

Hey, what’s a little friendly competition between friends?

The real fun begins Monday night when the Blues visit TD Garden for Game 1. Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. ET.