Bruce Cassidy Explains Why Bruins’ Urho Vaakanainen Was Late Scratch

Urho Vaakanainen was set to take the ice Monday with the Boston Bruins, but was scratched from the lineup right before puck drop.

Vaakanainen logged 20:05 minutes of ice time in Boston’s win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, but prior to the squad’s matinee matchup with the Colorado Avalanche was scratched after warmups. Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy gave an update on Vaakanainen’s situation after the Boston’s 5-1 win over the Avalanche.

“He was going to play (but) after warmups he said he wasn’t feeling right so you have to make a quick call,” Cassidy said via team-provided audio. “(Connor Clifton’s) healthy and just played so that for us was an easy switch. You’re not 100%, so hopefully get you checked out and see where it leads.”

Cassidy wasn’t entirely sure whether Vaakanainen’s scratch was due to lingering injuries, or if he was feeling ill.

“I don’t know,” Cassidy said. “The medical team just told me that he’s just not feeling right, I still haven’t gotten an answer.”

Hopefully this is a short-term thing as Vaakanainen has started to carve out a role on the Bruins’ blueline, but injuries already have slowed down the 23-year-old this season.