The Boston Bruins on Thursday found themself in quite the predicament.
They were forced to play with just 11 forwards in New York against the Islanders after seven players were added to the NHL’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols, with Oskar Steen being added to the list just 25 minutes before puck drop.
To make matters worse, Steen had just been recalled to give Boston a little more depth, with Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, Craig Smith, Trent Frederic, Anton Blidh and Jeremy Swayman all unavailable.
Head coach Bruce Cassidy, fresh off a stint in protocols himself, told reporters after the game that a salary cap issue led to the team not being able to get another body down to New York.
Furthermore, with reports that the Colorado Avalanche were given an option to postpone their own game, it appears the Bruins weren’t given that option.
“Were we given the option to play? I don’t believe so,” Cassidy said. “Again, that’s a question for (Don Sweeney). It was not discussed with me. I was assuming we’re playing all along, even with being down one guy. My guess is if there was a few more positives than that option probably would have been on the table but to my knowledge it wasn’t on the table. We were here to play.”
Boston ended up losing the game 3-1, and a lot is up in the air as the team looks ahead to a two-game swing in Canada against the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators.
Montreal already closed the Bell Centre to fans for their game Thursday, and it’s to be determined if that will also be enforced against Boston on Saturday.
