Kase Takes Part in First Bruins Practice

BOSTON - New Bruins winger Ondrej Kase hit the ice for his first practice with the Black & Gold on Monday morning at Warrior Ice Arena, skating alongside David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk as the second-line right wing.
"He's a good player," said Krejci. "He can skate, he can play…he's fast, he can score. Hopefully he'll fit in well and help the team…met him once last year in Prague. We hung out and had a good time."
The Czech native has not played since Feb. 7 because of flu-like symptoms but was a full participant in his first on-ice session with the Bruins and said following practice that, "I feel really good."
Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy suggested, however, that the winger may not be in the lineup on Tuesday night against the Calgary Flames.
"I don't know if he's gonna play tomorrow, to be honest with you," said Cassidy. "I think he'd like to get a few more reps here with us. That deal is as much for the playoffs and moving forward - whether it's Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday, we'll get a look at him."

Looking Forward

With Kase and fellow former Ducks winger Nick Ritchie now onboard, Cassidy and Bruins general manager Don Sweeney believe their club is set for another strong spring.
"I like our team, I like our makeup, I like our competitiveness, goaltending, balance in our group. Great team defense. We still score. Special teams are solid, so there's really not a lot to complain about," said Cassidy.
"I think the resiliency of group, it says a lot," added Sweeney. "To climb right back on that same hill and stare up and say, 'OK, I'm ready to climb it again.' That's really just a testament to them. We've spoken a lot about the leadership, but now our second layer of players have certainly taken ownership of knowing what it takes, being battle-tested, and hopefully they can continue to take those same steps."

Nordstrom Healthy

Despite being out of the lineup for the last two games, Cassidy confirmed that Joakim Nordstrom has been a healthy scratch. The winger has battled through several injuries as well as an issue with allergies this season, limiting him to just 43 games and seven points (four goals, three assists).
As such, the 27-year-old has struggled to gain traction and regain the chemistry he built with Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner on Boston's fourth line.
"He hasn't played, to me, as well as he did last year - or as consistent," said Cassidy. "Some of that is injury, some of it was just some freaky stuff that happened to him this year. He's in, he's out, he's in, he's out. Now he's healthy and in competition to get in. We're looking at what the best lineup will be for us now and going forward.
"Now's the time to look at a guy like [Anton] Blidh that has some similar characteristics, good penalty killer. That's probably the biggest reason. At the end of the day, if he gets to where his game is, or has been, he'll definitely be a guy on that fourth line.
"He'll get opportunity to get back there. Got a lot of loyalty to Nordy, but we also have to look at our other options, what's best for the team."

Miller Skates

Kevan Miller continued his progression with another pre-practice skate with skating and skills coach Kim Brandvold. The blue liner, who has not played this season as he works his way back from last spring's knee surgery, remains on injured reserve.
"He's on a progression that we're going to not deviate from, and where Kevan continues to make strides we'll have to evaluate week-to-week," said Sweeney. "As far as staying on IR, he doesn't need to stay on IR, but that's where he will remain until he's ready to play."
Sweeney added that he feels confident in his blue line depth, particularly with the emergence of Jeremy Lauzon and the return of Connor Clifton, who was activated from his conditioning stint with Providence on Monday morning.
"Jeremy Lauzon has come in and played very well, provides a little bit of that [physicality]," said Sweeney. "Johnny Moore is a valuable depth piece for us, can go in - you look at one of the recent games for us, goes in and plays 23 minutes because we were shorthanded that particular night. I think our group overall has a good balance to it, and we have a couple guys also in Providence.
"[Steven] Kampfer played in the Stanley Cup Final last year, [Urho] Vaakanainen and [Jakub] Zboril both played very well last year. I think we have to acknowledge you need nine or 10 defensemen the course of the year and we've got 19 games between now and then - hopefully we don't lose any of them. But I think our group has some balance to it."

More Reinforcements?

Give the success that the Bruins have had of late with creating internal competition - Lauzon, Anton Blidh, and Karson Kuhlman were all inserted into the lineup over the last month - Sweeney did not rule out the possibility of recalling other players from Providence between now and the end of the regular season to strengthen the team's depth.
"Yes, 100 percent. We feel that some guys that have earned that opportunity to be a part of this mix," said Sweeney. "And what injection they can have and what impact they can have, I do believe will get some determination between now and the end of the year.
"It depends on when they go in and take advantage of the opportunities. I just think that our group feels like we have depth and that next-man-up mentality. We've taken that approach, and we're in a better position as a result of it. It's not about just internal competition to say, 'OK, who gets ice time and such?'
"I do believe those are valuable parts of what you're trying to accomplish as a team, but it's about depth. And about who can step in and play a role at the right time."

Communication Continues

Sweeney opened up some cap space with the trades of Backes and Heinen in recent days, but did not have any significant updates on negotiations with Torey Krug, who will be an unrestricted free agent following this season.
"We've continued to stay in communication with Torey," said Sweeney. "Whether we find one at an appropriate time between now and the end of the year, I don't know yet. We'll have talks - they've been very cordial. Both sides sort of understand where they are, and whether or not we can bridge something along those lines is to be determined."