A young Bruins fan, shown walking past a giant mural of former team captain Zdeno Chara, was one of the few fans to see Game 3 against the Capitals because of limited seating in TD Garden. That will change in the second round, with many virus protocols being relaxed in Massachusetts. Charles Krupa/Associated Press
When the Bruins finally take the ice again, at least six days will have passed since completing a 4-1 series win over the Washington Capitals.
Up next is the Islanders, who finished off the Penguins Wednesday night 5-3 in Game 6. That could leave plenty of time for players to get rusty, but Boston Coach Bruce Cassidy isn’t concerned. In fact, he thinks the extra time will give some guys a chance to get healthy.
That extends well beyond defensemen Kevan Miller, Jeremy Lauzon and Jakub Zboril – who they’re hoping can return in this series – but others who have been in the lineup but are playing through ailments.
Boston Coach Bruce Cassidy says it’s a bonus for his team to have time between series after beating Washington in five games. Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press
“Rest is important. I think we’re a mature enough group, especially if you feel like you’re in it for the long haul, which we do,” Cassidy said. “You want to close out any series as quickly as you can. It takes away the stress and any possibility of losing, obviously. Guys get to rest up a little bit.”
General Manager Don Sweeney agreed.
“It’s such a challenging year from the compression overall of the schedule. I honestly believe the time we have right now will be advantageous to us, to have a little bit of a reset,” he said. “I think if we can get in and stay healthy, we’ll be ready to go for the next round because it’s going to be a hell of a challenge.”
It’s possible the Bruins won’t play until Monday. Cassidy had plans in mind if the break lasts that long.
“We went through this a couple years ago with Carolina. We had a long break,” said Cassidy, who consulted Patriots Coach Bill Belichick about long breaks before the 2019 Stanley Cup final. “If that’s the case, we’ll try to build some things in to keep the guys sharp. At the end of the day, I think our guys have their eyes on the prize and we’ll be fine whenever they tell us we can play again.”
In addition to a potentially healthier roster, the delay in starting the next round guarantees the next series will be played in front of a larger and noisier crowd. Saturday marks the first day COVID-19 restrictions in Massachusetts will be lifted, and TD Garden be allowed to be mostly full.
“We’re fortunate that we’re moving on to the next round and be able to take advantage of what looks like as much full capacity as we can within the protocols and what the league will mandate. And we need it,” said Sweeney. “The players have gone through tremendous challenges over the course of a year and a half and missing the excitement, having the energy of an incredible fanbase. … Hopefully now we can get more fans in our building to fully support them the way that we know all Bruins fans will do.”
Bruins President Cam Neely was excited not only for the added atmosphere but what it represents.
“Maybe show everybody that life is returning to somewhat normal. It’s been – as we all have experienced, it’s been a very strange 14 or 15 months here,” he said. “It does bring so much more energy and excitement when there are fans in the building, especially at playoff time.”
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