Chiarelli With Toucher & Rich: "It's An Exercise In Crossing Your Fingers"
The Bruins fell 5-3 to the Peguins last night at the Garden in their third to last game of the regular season.
At a time when the focus is to just remain healthy in preparation for the playoffs, the B's now have another injury to deal with. Defenseman Johnny Boychuk left in the third period after a leg-on-leg collision with Pittsburgh forward Arron Asham and did not return.
Read: Bruins' Boychuk Injures Leg, Julien Crossing Fingers
Boychuk walked out of the dressing room on his own after the game which seems like a positive. But General Manager Peter Chiarelli did not have much to add when he spoke with 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich Wednesday morning.
"We'll know something more later this morning, but I don't have anything yet."
What is the contingency plan with the playoffs right around the corner if Boychuk is unavailable for an extended period of time?
"One of the reasons we got extra defensemen was for depth and was just for this instance. We'll see how it plays out and what roster decisions we make, but I wouldn't want to make it public yet before I have the discussions with our coach."
Adam McQuaid is another defenseman that has been battling injury recently. He was lucky to escape a bad hit with only a swollen left eye, but is he close to making a return to the lineup?
"He's fine, he'll be good to go," said Chiarelli.
The Bruins have two games remaining, and with a playoff spot already secured they are simply trying to get to the postseaon with everyone healthy. Is it frustrating knowing that there's not a lot to play for and you just have to sit around and hope that players don't get hurt?
"You don't want to get into bad habits," said Chiarelli. "You want to try and rest some of your players, you want to try and maintain the momentum, and I thought we played well last night, and then you cross your fingers. It's an exercise in crossing your fingers for the duration of the game."
What is the plan for Tim Thomas over the next two games? And would Chiarelli have any issue with Sidney Crosby's act on the ice if he was in a Bruins sweater?
