When the playoffs roll around, you want to be at your best — and while the Bruins managed to avoid any serious injuries while winding down the regular season clock, that “best” part is now very much in doubt.
Per Jim Montgomery at his post-skate media availability this morning, there’s a “bug” going around the Bruins’ locker room that has affected the status of a few guys.
No one has been officially ruled out (as of this morning), but some big names are questionable:
#NHLBruins Coach Jim Montgomery says he doesn’t have a definitive lineup yet for in G1 vs Florida because some Gus are ill. There’s a bug going on. Ullmark, Swayman, Bergeron status up in the air because of it. - @wbz
— Dan Roche (@RochieWBZ) April 17, 2023
While we probably don’t need the gory details, it appears that this is likely a gastrointestinal bug and not your run-of-the-mill cold, based on what happened to Jakub Lauko:
Montgomery noted that Lauko was under the weather a few weeks ago and lost eight pounds.
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) April 17, 2023
Earlier this morning, the Bruins recalled Brandon Bussi from Providence on an emergency basis, with the team specifically stating it was to serve as the third goaltender (likely in an attempt to calm nervous fans).
Given the questions surrounding Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman, however, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him on the bench.
Guys like Patrice Bergeron have certainly played through more painful conditions than a bug, but given how much a GI bug can take out of you, it’s not really something you can numb and deal with after the game.
In more positive news, David Krejci is fine and is rearing to go:
Montgomery on Krejci's status:
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) April 17, 2023
"He's skating better than he has in two months, in my opinion, in the last couple of days.
So I'm glad that we took the precautionary measures we did with him because he looks — and you can tell — he has that twinkle in his eye, which is good."
Montgomery also noted that Derek Forbort will play tonight, though he didn’t specify who will drop out.
Given all the maybes, it’s hard to really put lines together — the biggest piece will be Bergeron, as if he’s out, Pavel Zacha will likely play as 1C and cause further chaos down the depth chart.
Aren’t the playoffs fun?