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The Bruins were back at work on Tuesday, practicing at the Garden ahead of Thursday’s return to NHL action in a huge game against Columbus Blue Jackets.
But the big question of the moment is the status of Boston’s two gold medal Olympians, Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman. With the rest of the victorious Team USA, they landed back stateside from Italy on Monday, re-routed to Miami because of the blizzard that socked much of the Northeast.
The players had themselves a well-deserved good time on Monday night, as seen all over the internet, and were headed to the White House on Tuesday.
How their minds and bodies will be when the puck is dropped on Thursday is anyone’s guess. Coach Marco Sturm was not able to give a definitive status update on the pair.
“It’s very tough to follow them. I don’t even know where they’re at,” said Sturm with a smile. “I know New York (the original return location) didn’t work out for the guys because of the weather, they got stuck in Miami and now I guess they’re seeing the president, so honestly I’m not sure when they arrive. Hopefully they’re arrive soon because of obviously the flight and the weather conditions.”
If the Bruins were in another situation in the standings, it wouldn’t be a big deal if the players would miss a game. But they hold the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, with the Jackets four points behind them with a game in hand on the B’s. If there’s a silver lining, Columbus’ best player, Zach Werenski, is in the same boat as McAvoy and Swayman, though The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline reported Werenski is expected to play on Thursday.
The B’s did get one of their goalies back, Finnish bronze medalist Joonas Korpisalo, and they also brought up Providence standout Michael DiPietro. Sturm did not rule out using either of them on Thursday.
“I want to see, first of all, how Sway is. We’ve got Mikey here, too, and Korpi. I think it was a good thing that he came today to be on the ice and have at least two practices with us. I think he’ll be good to go on Thursday if we decide (to go) with him,” said Sturm.
Korpisalo didn’t play in the Olympic tournament, with his last game being three weeks ago in Sunrise, Fla.
“It feels pretty good,” said Korpisalo of his game. “Getting back to the U.S. a couple of days ago and getting used to the time zone right now. Throughout the tournament, there were a lot of good practice time and getting prepared.”
Everything since Jack Hughes’ game-winning goal on Sunday until now must be quite a whirlwind for all the players involved. For a lay person, it would seem difficult to switch gears and return to everyday NHL life. But, as Casey Mittelstadt put it, hockey players’ minds and bodies are resilient.
“Obviously huge games and huge momentum swings, obviously. And they were in a different continent. It might take them a little bit of time but they’re both leaders and they’re hockey players. All they know how to do is play hard, so we’re excited to get them back,” said Mittelstadt.
And no one is begrudging McAvoy and Swayman’s savoring the victory.
“They deserve it and they’ve accomplished something big. Winning a gold medal is obviously everybody’s dream. They deserve the celebration,” said David Pastrnak. “Whenever they come, we’ll be happy. They’re a big part of our group. But this doesn’t happen every day so they have to make sure they enjoy it and celebrate it. They accomplished something that hadn’t been done for a while in the USA.”
Pastrnak cherished his own experience at the Olympics, even though it ended in heartbreaking fashion in overtime to the Canadians in the quarterfinals.
The Czechs actually took the lead late in the third period on a goal in which six Czech skaters were on the ice, which no one seemed to recognize until after the game.
“It’s crazy. I think we all saw it after the game. Nobody had any idea. I think Drew Doughty said it the best – none of us saw it, neither the players or the refs,” said Pastrnak. “I guess mistakes happen, but after the game somebody told me that. You saw the pictures. I had no idea. I didn’t know in the (celebration) huddle … there was (Ondrej) Palat, who scored the goal, and (Martin) Necas, who are wingers. And I’m a winger, so … when you think about it, it was weird. Crazy, crazy moment in hockey. It’s been said, maybe Marty said it, that we’re happy that goal didn’t make the game difference. We had chances at other times and that’s going to sting. The overtime, yeah, that was tough.”
Not only do the B’s start off their final 25 games with an important one, the condensed schedule is going to be brutal. In March, they play 16 games in 29 days.
Pastrnak, for one, is fine with that.
“With this Olympic experience, there were so many practices in the beginning and you recognize we’re not used to practice. We’re used to just playing games,” said Pastrnak. “It’s almost better to play games, at least for me, than to practice. Obviously we’re going to have to use every opportunity we get to rest and recover for your body and make sure you’re ready for the next (game).” … Whether he gets the nod on Thursday or not, Korpisalo will be counted on down the stretch to take some of the load off Swayman’s back.
“Whenever the coach gives me the nod, I go in and do my best,” said Korpisalo. “Now it’s go time. This last stretch is huge.”
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