Kase 'On Track' to Return to Lineup on Monday

BOSTON - Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said on Sunday morning that winger Ondrej Kase is 'on track' to return to the lineup on Monday when the Black & Gold host the New York Islanders at TD Garden in the regular-season home finale.
Kase has not played since Jan. 16 - the second game of the regular season - in New Jersey, when a high hit from Devils forward Miles Wood left him sidelined with an upper-body injury. The 25-year-old rejoined his teammates for practice for the first time on Friday.

"He's on track to play [on Monday]," Cassidy said ahead of an optional practice at Warrior Ice Arena on Sunday morning. "Get through today, let's re-evaluate in the morning. It will be his call and the medical [team's] call. If they tell me he's ready and wants to get in, then the sooner the better is the way I look at it.
"He may need another game. The back-to-back, usually when you haven't played that long, they'll recommend, 'Well, let's not start back-to-back.' But we don't have a choice here. This is all we got is Monday-Tuesday. That decision to sort of ease him in is no longer available because we only have two games left and they're two days in a row.
"But again, that will be a decision they make more than I do. We'd like to see him get in there, obviously. But they have to make that call and I'm willing to put him in as soon as he's available."

Cassidy said that he expects to play his full lineup on Monday against the Islanders, before likely resting some players for the second end of the back-to-back in Washington on Tuesday to prepare for the postseason.
"We'll take account of everyone's health, obviously, first, see where everyone's at, but we'll play our team [on Monday]," said Cassidy. "Obviously, we may tinker a little bit with the bottom of the lineup. Tuesday with Washington, obviously, we'll sort of deal with that after tomorrow night's game.
"Back-to-back, we'll be a little more cautious with who we play, etcetera, how we fill in our lineup on Tuesday. Tomorrow we'll go with a very similar group to [Saturday]."
Charlie Coyle, inured in New Jersey on Tuesday, skated on his own on Saturday and took part in Sunday's optional practice, but Cassidy said that it's possible that the forward sits out the final two games as a precaution. He went on to say that Coyle "will be ready to go for the playoffs."
"Better," Cassidy said when asked how Coyle was progressing from his upper-body injury. "I don't know if he'll play these two games. I've got to check with the medical staff, see what the risk-reward is. Or is it better to get him ready for the playoffs? He will be ready to go for the playoffs if he does sit out these two games. Do we further risk injury if he does go back in. Does he need the game or two to get ready? Those are things we'll discuss with the player and the medical team and go from there."
Tuukka Rask will start on Monday against the Islanders with Jeremy Swayman expected to get the call on Tuesday in Washington. Cassidy does not yet know for sure if Swayman or Jaroslav Halak will be the backup for the postseason.
"We have an idea internally," said Cassidy. "Swayman's played a lot more than Jaro recently, that matters. His numbers are excellent. Weighing that against the experience factor matters, but to me it's who gives us the best chance to win if Tuukka's not in the net. That's what we're gonna go with. We don't have to make that decision until later this week. But that will be the determining factor."

Taking Their Shot

The National Hockey League on Saturday announced modified COVID-19 protocols
for fully vaccinated teams and individuals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Clubs that have 85% of its traveling part being fully vaccinated will be able to relax their COVID safety plans.
Cassidy said that the Bruins are not yet there, as many players await their second shots, but that they could reach the mark at some point in the near future.
"We're not there yet because a lot of guys have not gotten their second shots," said Cassidy. "We're not at 85 percent. We know that going on. Hopefully at some point we'll get there. They're in the planning stages of when to get that second shot. I believe the timing of it is sometime later this week."